You know what you do on spring break when you have a junior? Yep...look at colleges. This year was the year for a road trip, checking out Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee, a city we'd never visited before. And it was a blast!
Nashville is, of course, known for it's music. We learned that it's not just country music, but the recording hub of everything from rock to christian and gospel, and even more classical genres. We gave up trying to count all the guitars we saw on signs, and musicians playing in eating establishments and on the street. Music is everywhere.
Pianos are on buildings, on steps...
The juxtoposition of classic architecture with modern skyscrapers conveys the history of the city, along with a modern vibe.
The downtown itself is located right on the river, which reminded us a lot of our own Mpls/St.Paul area. The pedestrian-only bridge was a great place to view not only the city skyline, but the river traffic, also.
We learned that Nashville is our country's fasting growing city. Besides the music industry, healthcare and tech companies are building their businesses there. An average of 87 people move into the city a day! It explains the skyscrapers and construction vehicles we saw everywhere.
Once you park the car and take a stroll down Broadway Ave, the sights, sounds and tastes of this town fill the senses. Yes, it was a spring break week, but what a hub of humanity on a Monday night at 5pm! A hockey game crowd, along with all-age families had this downtown hopping.
The rooftop bars were full and every honkey tonk had their sliding glass windows open, music blasting out from everywhere. And then there's the guitar players and other musicians on the street every 25 feet...
People were meandering in and out of the many cowboy boot establishments, and sampling freshly made pralines, a southern specialty. Both the candy and the boots were elevated to art form here.
We only had a couple of days, and really just touched the surface of all there is to do and see in this vibrant city. We drove to the Parthenon, an exact replica of it's namesake, but didn't partake of the museum inside.
The cloudless, moonlit night made for a perfect tourist view.
The 80's parents had quite a bit of fun at Cooter's Place, reliving the glory days of the Dukes of Hazard T.V. show. We, of course, brought home plenty of kitschy, tourist items from this store.
Mr. Fix-it's favorite part of the trip was definitely watching Dave Ramsey broadcast live from his studio, while sitting comfortably of a couch and drinking free coffee.
I, on the other hand, was plenty happy cruising neighborhood streets where dry-laid stone walls with many variations reigned, daffodils were naturalized in green grass lawns, and mansions with gated entrances and real-flame lanterns burned.
We finished our Nashville week off with a traditional meal of BBQ ribs, hushpuppies and handiwipes.
Such a fun town to adventure in! Have you visited Nashville? What were some of your favorite sights and sounds?
Nashville is probably one of the hottest vacation spots in the Southern US as well. You should have visited Franklin too! Beautiful city, great people, and it's only a few miles down the road.
Glad you had fun on your trip!
Posted by: Nashville Car Service | Friday, September 09, 2016 at 08:52 PM
I was hoping we'd have enough time to visit Franklin, because I'd noticed there were quite a few of my kind of shops there...goal for next time, I guess! Thanks for reading!
Posted by: Lora Bloomquist | Saturday, September 10, 2016 at 07:19 PM