I had a chance to go to Nashville for a weekend, here’s what I loved about it…. Mainly: I love how they honor their long, vibrant history, while making way for their new history. The absolute best way to see the city- a trolley tour. I ended up buying the 2 day pass, it was $34 for one day, $44 for 2 days. You can get on/off at any of the 15 stops & spend as much time as you’d like there. So long as you’re back by the last pick-up of the day around 5pm you’re good to go. I felt like the trolley took the place for any need for a taxi/uber to get around the city as well. I feel like this photo shows the juxtaposition I’m trying to get at: old meets new…. I like it though! They say ~100 people/day move to the city! Between the need for housing for them, and the need for hotels for the millions of visitors each year, there is a lot of construction!
Below, the iconic Broadway Avenue, you see a crane on the horizon just about any which way you look.
above, the war memorial
New hotel or apartments going up directly across from Ryman
Below: coffee dripping all day in the lobby of our hotel. They guarantee to deliver to your room within 10 min of your request, and they did!
Room service coffee below:
The city is so full of random gorgeousness:
Above sculptures are in a round-about in the city center. The same artist sculpted Athena at the Parthenon. This display was the center of many protests for many months. Our trolley tour guide said he say church groups here daily for a long time, covering certain parts up with sheets, making large diapers. Finally it died down.
Random fact: Nashville is a MAJOR bachelorette/bachelor party destination. They estimate that income is twice that of all sporting events combined in any given year! You’ll see a lot of this:
And some of this….
They need to pedal to keep the alternator in the thing going, trolley dude said they often stall out & annoy all around….
Below: the only 1:1 scale replica of THE Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Nashville is known as Music City, USA. But also as Athens of the South. Why? Their #1 industry is health care. #2: music. #3: education. They shadow the same values Athens, Greece held near & dear centuries ago. The Parthenon was built during their centennial celebration, which you can read about here:
Larger than life!
40 foot, gold-gilded statue of Athena?! Yes, why not?
Casts of what is left of the original statues in Athens, Greece.
My Hubby: well, I guess you can cross Greece off your bucket list now…. Lol 🙂
Below, trying to take in some authentic cuisine. I had lobster bisque, crayfish tail risotto, and duck empanadas (not sure where those are authentic to, but they sounded good & were). These were off the appetizer menu, I couldn’t eat even 1/2 of it, they don’t skimp on their portions!
Below is an iconic Nashville spot. It was pointed out to us from a few blocks away on our trolley tour. The next day we went to have breakfast at Biscuit Love, a must-eat destination we were told. Well, the line snaked out the door way too far for my liking so we went to a juice bar instead, I had a green smoothie. But a block away we found this spot, glad we stopped for a quick pic!
The State Capitol building sits atop a gorgeous, green, rolling hill.
50 bell towers representing the 50 states, with 95 bells inside, representing the 95 counties in TN. On the hour the bells ring out an iconic song, and then the bell outside the Governor’s window up the hill responds with 1 ding.
Again, just love the ‘old meets new’ feel the city has.
Contemplating life atop a rooftop bar, my 1st ever Moonshine drink. My pal Dana volunteered to go fetch us a drink. I told her what i wanted & she came back with this bucket! I almost finished it, not quite 🙂
All in all, I had a great weekend. I’m a huge fan of slow travel, and believe you can’t really experience much in a few short days, but really feel the trolley tour gave us a great overview of the city’s rich history, as well as the opportunity to do some quick exploring. Within days of returning I bought concert tickets for my Hubby & I to go see our favorite band there for 3 nights over Labor Day. So yes, you can say the city made an impression on me, and I will be back!!!!
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