Last week Kyle had a few days off for spring break and I was in desperate need of a break with a little adventure. My BIL graciously kept the kids and we went to Nashville. Yes, just the 2 of us! That hasn't happened since our baby moon right before Sawyer was born.
Since it was a spontaneous trip the requirements were somewhere we could drive, somewhere warmer and a place we had never explored…Nashville, TN was the winner. Below is our time documented in iPhone pictures…lets just say a lot of it revolved around food :)
We drove down Wednesday and got in pretty late so we just settled into our hotel. We Pricelined a hotel so we weren't really sure what we were getting, but it was a quirky, modern place complete with pet goldfish, lava lamps and rubber duckies at your request. They also had some fun art in the lobby. Below is a picture of a dress made entirely from pink crayons.
After a restful nights sleep, with no children climbing into bed at 5:30 am, we headed to the historic Pancake Pantry. I had their traditional buttermilk pancakes and Kyle got the Santa Fe Cornmeal Pancakes. Both were delicious and dare I say the best pancakes I've ever had!
After filling our bellies we drove through Music Row and visited Centennial Park, home of the world's only life size Parthenon replica. To be honest this was kind of strange and we both said only in America :) We have been to the real Parthenon in Greece and the large concrete replica did not really do it justice. We walked around it then left scratching our heads and wondering why in the world anyone ever wanted to build this structure.
Next we drove to downtown Nashville and parked for the day. We spent the rest of the day doing a walking tour of downtown Nashville. The first stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame. I didn't take many pictures, but it was a wonderful museum documenting the beginnings, past and present of country music. Even if you don't like country music it would be worth visiting.
I didn't take many pictures, but here is the cornfield from Hee-Haw. This was a long time running show (35ish years?) and I remember watching it with my grandparents. And below is a wall of gold records musicians have gifted the museum. There were tons of artifacts and interesting instruments. There was even a 24 carat gold car owned by Elvis.
Attached to the HOF is Hatch Show Print. It is a famous letterpress shop that prints many of the signs for upcoming shows and is still in operation today. We got to see the letterpress signs being printed and perused some of their wares. The letterpress art is right up my alley, so of course we bought a small piece to put in our travel bathroom.
Next up was lunch at Jack's BBQ. Kyle's food request was BBQ and this is the best rated BBQ joint in the city. It is pretty unassuming and casual, but the food was great.
After a big lunch it was time for some walking so we headed to the Shelby Bridge, a pedestrian bridge over the river with a great view of the downtown skyline. This is a selfie of us standing on the bridge.
And a shot of the city from the bridge. It was a little cold and breezy by the water so we walked back into the heart of downtown to visit the Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand 'Ol Opry.
We took a peek inside then headed to some of the legendary honky tonks. It was only about 4 pm, but the whole street was filled with live music streaming from the small bar establishments. It was such a fun experience, but I am glad we went early because by dinner it was starting to get really crowded and they were removing all the tables. Sorry, but this pregnant girl didn't really feel like standing around in a raucous crowd with her water :) But the time we were there was probably the highlight of our day. We got to listen to great musicians and they really interacted with the crowd and everyone was just in a delightful mood. And as an added bonus it got us out of the cold and off our feet.
We thought about staying downtown for an upscale dinner, but we were still stuffed from our earlier culinary delights so we started the journey back to our hotel. Along the way we stopped at a gourmet popsicle shop, Las Paletas. Now this was right up my alley…I seriously could eaten 4 of these they were so good. I chose the cookie popsicle and it was delightful. As I type this I regret not getting at least one more :)
That night we were pretty lame, but I blame it on being 9 months pregnant. I was tired and sore so we lounged in the hotel and Kyle went out for sandwiches.
After another restful night of sleep we headed south of Nashville to the historic Loveless Cafe. They are known for their biscuits. I believe the same woman has been making them for 28 years and the recipe goes back even further. They sell approximately 7,000 biscuits a day! This was yet another restaurant that did not disappoint. Kyle had biscuits and gravy and loved it. I decided that since we were in the south it was time to take the plunge with a real southern dish, chicken and waffles. This was a step outside my box, but it was soooooo good! It's a little bit of a trek from Nashville and kind of touristy, but I would certainly recommend it.
Our trip was drawing to a close, but we made one more stop on the way out of town. We went to the Grand 'Ol Opry. We didn't have time for a tour, but I'm glad we made the quick stop.
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| at the Grand 'Ol Opry |
Sorry so much of this revolved around food. When you're 9 months pregnant and it's winter outside pretty much every activity revolves around finding a place to sit and eating.
Kyle and I had a wonderful time just talking and enjoying new sites. We obviously didn't do anything too adventurous, but it was so wonderful to have uninterrupted time to ourselves. And for those wondering about the kids they had a great time with Uncle Cliff. We tried to Skype twice and both times they were too busy having fun to really talk :)
So glad you were able to get away. Can't believe that it's almost baby time! Prayers to you guys on the upcoming arrival of your newest little man! :)
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