Nashville…

Daughts and I took a quick trip to the country music capital of America.

It was spring break and both our schools were closed so we thought,

“Why not?” and hopped into the car and headed for Nashville.

We really didn’t think the ten hour drive through…but it worked out okay, thanks to snacks and audio books.

Leaving before dawn to get there in time for the 4pm check-in turned out not to be such a great idea either;

The clocks had just sprung forward, dawn was lagging and at 5am we still had two hours before daylight;

It was raining and thickly overcast, the dark country roads leading out of Texas into Arkansas were treacherous with huge trucks lumbering past and windshield wipers that couldn’t keep up with the mud splattering spray.

But hey, we were Tennessee-bound with the promise of coffee ahead;

The edges of the night gradually blurred and on both sides of us fields and trees came into view like my just add water painting books I loved so much when I was very, very young.

We made a little detour to Memphis to see Graceland,

Graceland

literally!  No tour for us just a quick whip around the gift shop to buy a few postcards to send home.

We only had 3 more hours before reaching our airbnb and were anxious to be at our journey’s end.

We arrived and located the alley that took us to the new construction above three garages at the bottom of the garden which was going to be our retreat for a few days.

NashvilleAirbnb

The neighborhood was delightful so just ignore the rubbish bins bombing the picture!

We unpacked and headed to the Turnip Truck to buy a few healthy staples followed by a nip across the road adjacent to our abode for happy hour appetizers and cocktails at a wine cellar.

NashvilleWineAfter dinner and still in the spirit of spring break, we walked to a bar called The Crying Wolf for a local beer

NashvilleBar

and then wandered a few doors down to a Speakeasy called Attaboy where our cocktails were made from scratch according to our taste.

Nashville

The place was trendy and dark with a hushed atmosphere that rounded out our evening.

Happily we walked the couple of blocks home.

In Nashville there are loads of good things to do apart from listening to country music and checking out the bar scene so the following morning we drove off to explore Nasty!

We discovered we could park at the stadium on our side of the river and walk across to the main street, Broadway.

Scores of steps led up to the bridge spanning the river and an equal number down.

NashvilleStairs

There were metal sculptures all over the city, random pieces of art work boldly painted red.

NashvilleArt

we had to snap a shot with one of them down by the bay!

NashvilleSculpture

We walked clear across town to the farmer’s market,

wandered around an art museum,

spotted an historic building which was the customs house,

NashvilleCustomsHouse

and popped into a church where the priest wasn’t feeling well so noon day mass was cancelled.

NashvilleChurch

We made the Tennessee State Capitol our last stop and toiled up yet another long flight of stairs to see the statuary in the grounds,

NashvilleCapitol

and yes, it does sit on top of the highest hill in the city!

We walked back along Broadway, live music blasting from the shoulder to shoulder bars, and crossed over the bridge again taking a moment to admire the Nashville skyline and the famous batman building that is  AT&T.  

NashSkyline2

Back in our airbnb’s neck of the woods we found a little coffee shop and ate a lunch of no importance.

Then we popped across the road to a little chocalatiere called Olive & Sinclair and sampled and bought their hand made truffles and a bar of chocolate.  The assistant gave us some ideas for some other places to visit during our stay.  

That night we walked to a pizza place and had dinner with a flight of craft brew beers.  

NashvilleBeer

The following day we took the car over the bridge and visited the Grand Ole Opry,

NashvilleOpry

and took the tour.

Well, we really had to didn’t we?  

We went backstage and viewed all 14 dressing rooms decorated differently to celebrate some of the legends of country music.  We learned the protocol for choosing country artists to become members of the Opry as we sat with our backs against the wall where all the induction plaques are hung dating from the 20’s to present day.  Unfortunately, because there was crew work going on we weren’t able to stand on the famous circle of wood set into centre stage that has survived several moves and a flood.

Our tour guide told us we could see Dolly Parton for the same price as Andrea Ballerini (the newest inductee).  No egos allowed here or alcohol!

Understandably we were tired and hungry after the tour and ready for a break.  We found a cute little cafe called The Frothy Monkey and ordered lattes and a brunchy munch,

NashvilleFrothyMonkey

Then we headed off to visit The Parthenon. 

Yes, you read that right, there is a full scale reproduction of the Greek temple on a hill in Centennial Park.

NashvilleParthenon

Hill being the operative word suggesting more climbing ahead!

It was quite a brain muddler to see this Greek historic ruin re-created in an American southern city.

Before heading up more stairs within the building we were drawn to an exhibit of 6 inch square mosaics, scores of them lining a long gallery.

We lingered and took photos of this very intricate and clever form of art-work created only with shards of glass and tile.

NashMosaic2

and this woman, look at her eye-liner!

NashMosaic

Once on the second floor we entered a massive room where a 42′ 10″ tall replica of the goddess Athena completely gilded in gold stood commanding everyone’s attention.  In her right hand she held the god Neptune on her right hand poised to crown her with a laurel wreath.

NashvilleAthena2

In her left hand she has a firm grip on her shield and there’s a snake coiling all around the hem of her gown.

Just look at those sandals!

We stopped for a quick beer on a rooftop to listen to music and just say we did!  There was a lot of construction going on all around which did not make for a very pretty view.

Fortified we walked all the way home leaving our car safely parked off the road in a large parking garage that cost the same for 4 hours as it did for 24.  We had bought tickets for The Bowie Alumni Tour at the TPAC that evening and thought we could pick up a Lyft to take us back into town later.

Go figure, we went to see a rock concert in the country capital of America!  It was amazing though, if not a little loud!

Our short trip ended all too soon and we packed up and left the next morning, not before dawn but early enough.

We had an un-eventful return journey unless you count 24 mph winds causing the large trucks we were sharing the road with uneventful!?  A Starbucks coffee and breakfast sandwich saw us to Arkadelphia where we stopped at McDonalds, a very fancy Micky D’s I might add, with padded chairs and flowers on the circular bistro tables.

NashvilleMcD's

And here endeth our girls’ road trip to Nashville during Spring break!

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ElRay

2019-04-08 18:42:30 Reply

I am glad you two had such a good time but you were missed!

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