The Most Romantic City in the U.S. – Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, TN Is America’s Most Romantic City According To Amazon.com

Amazon.com announced the most romantic cities in the United States today, based on its sales.

According to a press release put out by the company, the information has been extrapolated by

compiling sales data of romance novels and relationship books (Kindle books and print books); romantic comedy movies (digital and DVDs); a collection of romantic music from Dean Martin, Barry White, Luther Vandross, Maxwell and Miguel (CDs and MP3s); along with sexual wellness products, from Jan. 1, 2012-Jan. 23, 2013 on a per capita basis in cities with over 100,000 residents.

Of course, if your romantic gesture involves buying locally, or from any other website, then your city doesn’t gain the benefit of Amazon’s publicity.

For the second year in a row, the top spot goes to Knoxville, Tenn., while “for the fourth year in a row, Miami is the sexiest city in the US, winning the top spot in the sexual wellness category. Cambridge, Mass. and Alexandria, Va. round out the top three.” And according to their data, Boise, Idaho is officially the least romantic city in the US. Looks like the local chapter of Romance Writers of America, the Coeur de Bois has some work to do.

Here’s Amazon.com’s top 20 most romantic cities in the US:

1. Knoxville, Tenn.
2. Alexandria, Va.
3. Miami, Fla.
4. Orlando, Fla.
5. Cincinnati, Ohio
6. Vancouver, Wash.
7. Dayton, Ohio
8. Murfreesboro, Tenn.
9. Columbia, S.C.
10. Pittsburgh, Pa.
11. Round Rock, Texas
12. Clearwater, Fla.
13. Las Vegas, Nev.
14. Salem, Ore.
15. Erie, Pa.
16. Everett, Wash.
17. Rochester, N.Y.
18. Clarksville, Tenn.
19. Tallahassee, Fla.
20. Billings, Mont.

So with those words from Amazon, I hope your Valentine’s Day turns out exactly as you want it to:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Ramsey Plantation House

Constructed about 1797 for Francis A. Ramsey, the late-Georgian house has a central passage plan on both floors.  Ramsey’s eldest son, William B.A. Ramsey, inherited the house in 1820 on his father’s death.  In 1840, he sold it to his brother James G.A. Ramsey, who in turn gave it to his son Francis A. Ramsey as a wedding present in 1857.  In 1952 Knoxville Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities purchased the house from a subsequent owner and began to restore it.  The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

Last Saturday there was an open day and we went along to look at it. There was a Craft Fare in the grounds and the weather was lovely so we had a great time looking round the house and visiting all the stalls. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the house so there are none of those to look at, but if you ever get the chance do visit it yourself.  It’s well worth the trip.

So here I am outside the house. There is a central door with a path leading up to it, but we were told that the original residents didn’t use the path much, preferring to go round the back because the area at the front of the house  is swampy. Opposite the house on the other side of the road was a large, swampy pond. At least one of the original owner’s children died from Malaria which was caused by a mosquito bite. Mosquitos breed in watery places. After the death of his dear child, the owner had the pond drained.  How sad to lose a little girl like that.

The house has a central door on the first floor, right above the main front door. This was used when furniture needed upstairs. The furniture would be hoisted up and through that door. To the right of the main house is a log cabin. You can see it in the picture. At first I thought this was going to be the kitchen, but later found out that it was the original house where the owner and his family lived whilst the main house was being built.  To build and own a house as large as this one made the owner a rich man because most people would have lived in a log cabin in those days.

The next picture shows the kitchen which was added on to the main house. Usually the kitchen was in a separate building owing to the risk of fire. If the kitchen caught fire, then it probably would not spread to the main house. That was their way of thinking back then.

This is a wooden house quilt on the wall. Isn’t it pretty?

One of the first stalls we came across was a friendly couple who were making and selling popcorn.

…and soon after a stall selling home-made ice cream. We had to try it!

Then I found this lovely old veteran from the Civil War and asked if I could have my picture taken with him. He obliged and this is the result.

Next picture shows the back of the home-made ice cream stall with all the paraphernalia needed to make the delicious ice cream.

The people at the next stall were cooking something delicious in a Dutch oven. From Wikipedia = A Dutch oven is a thick-walled (usually cast iron) cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds of years. They are called casserole dishes in English speaking countries other than the USA (“casserole” means “pot” in French), and cocottes in French,

Tennessee – University of Tennessee Gardens – Knoxville – September 2012

My regular readers will know that Oma has been uprooted and transplanted into Tennessee for the next few weeks. Incredibly, I have been here for one week already! The other day we went for a very pleasant walk around the University of Tennessee pleasure gardens, which is where I took these photos. Now I need your help because I don’t know what a lot of these tropical plants are called. Please could you tell me if you know?

The first picture, above, shows some very pretty plants, which look like a kind of aloe vera.  Am I right?

The red plant in the next picture reminds me of a coleus.  Am I right or is it something completely different?

I know that the next very pretty pink plant is a Sedum. Anyone know which variety of Sedum. Sedum is known also as an Ice Plant and it is very popular with butterflies and bees.

No prizes for the next pic., which shows some gorgeous water lillies doing their thing in a man-made pond. Just lovely.

How about these yellow beauties?  Anyone know what they are?

Now the cactus. What sort of cactus is it and is the fruit edible?  I’ve seen fruit on this before when I’ve been over but I have no idea if it is edible or what to do with it if it is.

The last picture today shows me admiring a sunflower.  It is full of seeds and the birds were enjoying them.

I have more pictures, but that will do for today.

The last time I went to the University Pleasure Gardens was back in February when almost everything was dormant.  What a difference I saw this week. Lots of colour and vibrant growth and the butterflies were gorgeous.

I hope you’re enjoying your day.