Welcome to the Music City! Whoohoo!
I stayed at the Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown ($300 per night) ~ best room and breakfasts ever. Over the course of three fun filled days, I did so much walking my butt hurt, but for the longer trips, I was lucky enough to have Uber at my disposal.
Each day, I embarked on a new artistic adventure. Make sure you take lots of pictures using Instagram’s Nashville filter, especially of the AT&T building (which locals fondly refer to as the Batman building).
Here is my list of travel tips for you:
1) Go to the Johnny Cash Museum ($17 admission). He and June’s love story is endearingly enduring. Listen to Ring of Fire with the display’s headphones, watch a documentary of Johnny imitating Elvis, notice his legacy, and buy yourself a Johnny Cash wallet for your man and memorabilia for yourself.
2) See a concert at Nashville Symphony or the Grand Ole Opry, or just walk down Broadway and enjoy a drink at the Honky Tonks! Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Robert’s Western World, and The Bluebird Café are known as the best Honky Tonks on Broadway.
3) Go to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts ($12 adults). Talk to the people who work there. I was lucky enough to stumble in as the tour guide invited me on her group tour for their exhibit Postcards of the Weiner Werkstatte ~ a collection of tiny, artistic postcards from Vienna, Autria (where my family is from). Yeah!
4) I really fell in love with Cheekwood Botantical Garden & Museum of Art. It’s just a short drive from Nashville into blissful tranquility. In the Japanese gardens, I saw so many cardinals (my favorite birds) and chipmunks! They were so cute and tiny. The flowers were so vibrant; my eyes and mind were brought back to life from their brilliant variety of colors! The Cheekwood home is just like a fairy-tale palace. I saw the Juame Plensa Human Landscape exhibit that truly changed my life, and was just what the doctor ordered! Absolutely magical! If you ever get the chance to see his work, trust me ~ you must!
5) Two words. Hot chicken. Prince’s is the originator but I am not a fan of bones in the meat so I opt for Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish and Hattie B’s, which has great marketing. Note: Bolton’s mild is spicier than Hattie’s hot! I really like the euphoric hot and need to head back to Bolton’s, pronto.
6) Go to the Parthenon ($6) the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville’s premier urban park. It is a full scale recreation with beautiful art and a larger than life statue of Athena (inside) just as it was in ancient Greece. Buy yourself a mini Pegasus for extra good luck. Get a couple, and give as gifts!
7) Visit Union Station, which was originally a train station but has since been renovated into a hotel. In it heyday, this hub was the bustling heart of activity in Nashville.
8) Pick one: a shot of moonshine from Acme Feed & Seed, or a Goo Goo Cluster (a sweet, nutty chocolate treat ~ what I did)… and head over to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. You’re in the music city!
9) If it’s in October, catch the Haunted Hearse Tour at Union Station, or go to Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage for A Dark & Stormy Night with Edgar Allan Poe.
10) Hop in an Uber and ask them to drive you around Music Row. Many Uber drivers in Nashville are very knowledgeable. I’ve also heard the Nash Trash Pink Bus tours are a riot. They’re always sold out so I have not yet been able to catch a ride.
Check out my pictures and create your own adventure!
