Nashville- The Departure

Sunday we didn't do anything too exciting. We stayed in our hotel until check out and then poked around downtown until lunchtime so we could eat at 5 Guys one last time :) We did the State House grounds and the Tennessee museum (kind of lame!). The grounds were beautiful though, and the weather couldn't have been better.

We headed home and that was the end! I can't wait to go back...we both LOVED Nashville. Maybe we'll get into Vanderbilt?

Nashville- Saturday

(For record keeping sake, we're on Saturday, March 19, 2011)

We started Saturday morning by heading to Franklin (where the stars live!). We went to the "historic downtown" and walked around the shops on Main Street. We sat and enjoyed a small breakfast/brunch at Starbucks and then continued our (my) window shopping. I did however leave Franklin with an adorable hat from this super cute store called Philanthropy. They don't have a website, but they do sell off Facebook. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone famous, and I forgot to stop by the Bluebird Cafe that a lot of people are discovered at (Taylor Swift, to name one), and apparently eat lunch. I was sad about that, but that just means we'll have to take another trip back!!

After Franklin we hit up REI in Brentwood and then headed back downtown to grab lunch at 5 Guys (yeah!!) and catch the Country Music Hall of Fame before getting the Predators played the Red Wings.

We didn't know the Country Music Hall of Fame would close at 5, so when we got there just before 4 we were nervous we wouldn't have enough time...but since the tickets were 1/2 off for being so late in the day we took our chances. It's a good thing we did because we finished the whole place in exactly and hour and didn't rush/skip anything we wouldn't have skipped in the first place.

The architecture was amazing. The building is built to look like the bass clef  when seen from the air. And the windows in the font combined with the facade of the building are designed to look like piano keys- blacks and whites. 

Keith Urban- Days Go By

Miranda Lambert- White Liar

 

The walls were full of floor to ceiling gold and platinum records. Very cool!

After the CMHF we walked over to Bridgestone Arena to grab our seats for the Preds vs. Red Wings. It was a crazy game, people were crazy loud (as it should be) and there was even some Red Wings fans seated by us. I may or may not have shouted mean things at them. Preds won, Scott learned that we don't say nice things to the opposing teams fans, even when they are nice to us, and we headed to the Flying Saucer beside our hotel for celebratory dessert. It was AWESOME!! Hands down, my favorite thing to do (go to NHL games, not eat dessert at Flying Saucer).

I know it's blurry but this was Krazy Kyle. He played the organ the whole game.  Mom- I think I found your new job. Scott said your name could be Tasmanian Tammy

Scott got us great seats!! And there was nobody behind us because we ended the first section. So nice!

In our seats enjoying the win!

Nashville- Friday Part II

Where does the time go?! Updating this blog is hard work :)

So...The rest of Friday in Nashville was spent at the Grand Ole Opry, The Mall at Green Hills, and the Cheesecake Factory.(Delish!)

Scott's favorite part of the trip, or so I think it was, was the Opryland Hotel. Surprisingly enough! We arrived at the Grand Ole Opry, got a few pictures and checked out the concert schedule for that night. There was nothing inspiring listed, so we headed over to the Opryland Hotel to see what that was all about. The only disappointing part is that the outlet malls there were still closed from the 2010 flood.

So...we walk into the Opryland expecting to see a nice hotel, perhaps some historic details, but mostly I'm just thinking that all the hype is because it's part of the Grand Ole Opry. It's riding it's coat tails. I was wrong, kind of (I still think it rides it's coat tails!).

When you walk into the hotel you're in a series of hallways, but it opens up into a large conservatory type room. The entire room is full of live gardens, complete with gardeners working on their plants as you walk around. There are palm trees, streams, waterfalls, tropical flowers...the whole works. There are small shops, shops built to look like you're in New Orleans (or Cuba...), restaurants, etc. It was pretty cool. Scott was blown away!! The hotel rooms had balcony's that opened onto the conservatory room. Would be nice. Mom and dad: it reminded me of the Sheraton in Calgary when we had the room with the balcony that opened onto the waterpark.

Mom- these totally remind me of the arrangements you and Kris used to have in the early 90's. Hilarious (and quite hideous, as I'm sure you would agree!) I'll give you one guess as to who still thinks these types of arrangements are still in....teeing off :)

These buildings looked like Cuba to me, although I think they were aiming for New Orleans. 

After we had strolled around the Opryland Hotel for quite some time we headed out to do the Belle Meade Plantation tour. It was fantastic!!

At Belle Meade we did the guided tour, and our tour guide was great. She was dressed in period costume and had lots of personal details about the family to add to the story/history of the home and family. 

The Plantation was owned by the Harding family (passed down down 4 generations, I think. Somewhere around there). The tour was about each generation, what they did to grow the plantation and how Belle Meade (the name of the plantation) grew to be the most famous thoroughbred horse farms in the United States. In fact, all of the winners of the Kentucky Derby (don't know about the 2011 winner though) can be traced back to Belle Meade. The tour was great and we both agreed it was money well spent.

The Mansion. This wing on the right side was added when the 3rd generation inherited the home. The second generation added the shell motif that sits on top of the house in the far left of the photo.

The playhouse that was built for the grandchildren

The building in the foreground was the smokehouse I'm pretty sure!)

The gardener's quarters/storage shed

The smokehouse again.

The Carriage House where the horses and carriages were kept.

The slave's quarters. The number of slaves that lived in each 10x10 room (2 shown) was staggering. Either 4 adult males or an entire family. Now there are only these few standing, but back in the day there were over 40 rows of cabins for all the slaves.

We spent time on the grounds taking pictures after the tour. The plantation covered 5400 acres, and there is a HUGE retaining wall built from layered stone (aren't they all, I guess!) that was built by the slaves that were employed at Belle Meade (Scott says it's technically "owned" by Belle Meade...I was just trying to be a bit less harsh!). Most of the plantations acres have been turned into a neighborhood (Belle Meade), but the stone retaining wall still stands and wraps around the community. It was so surreal. Being down here definitely makes slavery and the civil war seem so much more real. You just don't hear too much about it or experience the history of it up anywhere else. 

The wall built by the slaves. It outlined the 5400 acres that the Harding family owned.

After leaving Belle Meade we headed to Green Hills were they have a fantastic mall complete with a Tiffany's and Restoration Hardware. I was in HEAVEN at that store. I wouldn't complain one bit if my whole future house was furnished in Restoration Hardware products. Also, it was much more affordable that I previously thought, since I had never actually been/looked around one. A pleasant surprise!

The Cheesecake Factory was at the mall as well, so we enjoyed dinner there and got 2 pieces of cheesecake to take back to the hotel. Unfortunately, due to getting lost on the way back to the hotel, and because they didn't give us plastic forks we had to wait a really long time to eat it and it was warm. Not as good as it could have been :(

That wraps up Friday!! Here comes Saturday...

Nashville- Friday Part I

Our first full day in Nashville and my actual 24th birthday! We were told about the legendary "Pancake Pantry" in the Hillsboro Village area of downtown Nashville. It opens at 6am (I think) and if you don't get there ASAP you wait in a line that wraps around the building and down the block. We were not interested in getting there at the crack of dawn so we got there around 9:30 or so and waited in line.

The line ran all the way down the block, at least 3x's longer than the line shown!

The line was so long, but moved very quickly. We stood in line about 45 mins, but it was worth it! We were worried that since the line moved so quick we would be rushed when we finally got inside the restaurant, but that was not the case.

Scott had a ham/cheese omelet w/ buttermilk pancakes (they're famous for their pancakes and had TONS of varieties) and I had french toast and hash browns. I debated for a long time between FT and pancakes, but in the end I just ate Scott's because he doesn't really like pancakes that much. Crazy, I know! For the record, their pancake recipe was amazing and unlike any other pancake I have ever had.

After breakfast we walked downtown along the river for a little bit before heading out to see the Opryland Hotel and the Grande Ole Opry.

Here's some view from along the river. (This is the river that flooded Nashville in the spring of 2010. A lot malls/sites are still closed because of the flood damage)

Stadium where the Tennessee Titans play (NFL)

The river

"Fort Nashborough" was the original city/fort that was built. There are about 5 of these little buildings fenced in by the river.

Inside one of the homesteads.

Inside another of the homesteads. 

After a little putzing downtown we got out our trusty map and headed to Opryland and the Grand Ole Opry. More to come....