#NashvilleNYE

Hi! Happy First Monday of 2015.... there is a reason to celebrate every dang day, isn't there?? This Monday was particularly hard to wake up to, due to the whirlwind of activity over the past few weeks. If you read my Christmas Coffee Talk Catch-Up post, you know that the holidays were very busy for us. Well, the fun didn't stop when Christmas was over... because to celebrate NYE and the new year, we headed to Nashville to "party our faces off!" (gotta quote my sister on that one... pretty sure she is right!)

C and I flew to Nashville on Wednesday afternoon (originally scheduled for a flight at noon on the dot, but delayed til almost 2, of course!) and met my sister and brother-in-law, along with four of their friends, for a long weekend in Music City. We. Had. A. Blast.

This might seem like a semi-crazy plan, but C & I had money plane tickets burning a hole in our pockets, and it actually seemed like the perfect opportunity to cash them in. We booked a trip to Nashville in May to celebrate C's birthday, but when my grandmother passed away right after my grandfather, we ended up having to cancel so I could fly to California and be with my mom and our family. Southwest didn't refund our money, but gave us vouchers to use by March. When my sister suggested the Nash-Vegas NYE trip, I looked up prices.... and it turned out to only be $20 more out of pocket to fly down for a long weekend to celebrate the end of 2014! Done and done. The money was already spent, so why the heck not.

We went to the huge block party-type celebration on Broadway in Nashville for NYE, which was... an experience. It was a free concert, headlined by Lady Antebellum, attended by 130,000+ people, in freezing cold temperatures. While we had a good time, I'm not sure it is something I ever want to repeat! (Nor do I want to repeat the hangover that followed the next day... #cantdrinklikethatanymore!)

Thursday and Friday were much more our style - bar-hopping from honky-tonk to honky-tonk, listening to tons of great live bands (and a few not so great) and soaking in the fun and excitement that can only be found in Nashville.

We went to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel one afternoon for a drink and to check out the Christmas lights - talk about an incredible hotel. It is absolutely stunning inside and out, and the Christmas decorations just make it that much more extravagant and gorgeous.

We almost made sure that we ate BBQ at Jack's (a Nashville staple) and spent hours at Tootsie's World Famous Orchid Lounge. We had fried pickles at Rippy's (one of Nat's and my favorites!) and danced at Legends Corner. 

On Saturday, C & I met up with one of my sorority sisters who lives in Nashville, and she took us to brunch at Josephine and then for an amazing driving tour of the "not touristy" parts of Nashville. I loved finally having a chance to see places other than Broadway. I totally failed at getting a picture of the two of us, but I was so grateful and happy that she was willing to spend her Saturday chauffeuring us around and showing us the sites. Love ya, Rachael!

It was such a fun (and exhausting) way to spend a few days - we had a great time, and already can't wait to go back! Nashville is one of our absolute favorite cities, and it will always have a little piece of my heart. 

Nashville: The Sights

First things first - my heart, thoughts, and prayers are with the people of Aurora, Colorado, today, as they are reeling in those first few uncertain hours after a horrible, unthinkable thing has happened. I can empathize. Maybe say a prayer today, if that's your thing. Hug your loved ones today, for sure.
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I promise that eating wasn't the only thing we did in Nashville... we played major tourists and saw some of the big attractions that the city has to offer. It's rare that we go on a vacation without an agenda, and can just do whatever we felt like. It was fun to throw around the options and settle on the things that made each of us happy.

As I mentioned before, pretty much the only weather we saw in Nashville was rain. While that wasn't ideal for our trip, we made the best of it, and found our way to some great indoor things. There is so much to offer that we were never in the rain unless we wanted to be! Ha. Here's what we did... **warning: iPhone-picture heavy post ahead!**

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The CMHoF is the kind of place where a person could go and spend eight hours, or go and spend one hour, depending on how into you are. I think we were there for about four before we were just too hungry and needed to find lunch. I definitely could have stayed longer, but I still feel like I got my money's worth out of the ticket price. I loved seeing all the memorabilia and learning about the long history of country music!

The inside of the building is beautiful!

Construction where the museum is being expanded

The Grand Ole Opry

C & I took a backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry, and I loved every minute of it! I am such a sucker for things where you get to "be where the stars are," and I had a blast looking at the dressing rooms, bathrooms, lounge area, and hallways that the Opry members (mainly my #1 girl, Carrie) get to use. I may or may not have turned to C and whispered, "CARRIE HAS BEEN IN THIS HALLWAY!" at one point. Do not judge.

There is such an amazing, deep-rooted history to the Opry, and any country music fan knows it. It was a sweet experience, and I am so glad that we chose to do this while we were there!

So excited!

Tourists.

On the stage!

The circle is unbroken!
This is the 6-foot wooden circle taken from the original Opry floor,
rescued & reinstalled after the floods, that all the performers stand on. Amazing!


General Jackson Showboat

One night that we were there, we got SUPER touristy and booked tickets on the General Jackson Showboat! This is a showboat with dinner and a music show that takes passengers on a 4 hour tour of the Cumberland River. While rather cheesy, it was a lot of fun! We had a good dinner, got some great views of the city that we wouldn't have otherwise, and enjoyed a musical show to boot. Not something I'd want to do over and over, but definitely a fun experience for one night.

We also saw the Bridgestone Arena, where the Nashville Predators play (can't go anywhere without a little hockey in our lives).

And pretty architecture in Downtown Nashville:

I could have spent so much more time there! There is so much to see and do - never a boring moment. C & I collect Christmas ornaments whenever we travel places, and we added some really cool ones to our collection at the Opry and the Hall of Fame. We will definitely have lasting memories of this fun trip!

Nashville: The Food

Skipping over the music, the attractions, and the fun of Nashville, the part of our trip that I seriously can't stop thinking about is the EATS! Possibly unsurprising if you really know me... I do love my food.

We were on a mission to eat deliciously while we traveled, and boy, did we. Take a look!

Rippy's Bar and Grill

We saw Rippy's on Wednesday night when we got into town, and C immediately requested that we eat there. We ended up at a different place for dinner that night, but made our way to Rippy's for lunch on Thursday. I am SO GLAD we did! We ventured to their open-air, upstairs seating area, and enjoyed watching a torrential downpour (common theme during our whole trip) while we ate.

The BBQ at this place was phenomenal - I had a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw, and loved every bite. The meat was smoky and tender, and by adding both the sweet and spicy sauces that were offered on the table, got the perfect sauce combination. The coleslaw was cold and creamy, and I piled it right into my sandwich. Yum! We also drank some yummy local beers. C really liked the Lynchburg Lager, but I preferred the Yazoo beers. Rippy's was also the scene of my first-ever fried pickles! Adored them. Served with a side of Ranch, they were tangy and piping hot. I just would have liked them in slices, rather than spears - we had to wait a long time for them to cool!

Loved this sign - so funny!

Merchant's

Merchant's is where we ended up having dinner on Wednesday night, and I'm so glad we did - the food was delicious! My mom had a vague memory of a restaurant she'd eaten at and loved when she was in Nashville before, but she couldn't remember the name of it. When we walked past this restaurant, she immediately remembered, and in we went. Good call, Mom!

The restaurant is built in the old Merchant's hotel, which opened in 1892. The history of the building is just as amazing as the food that they're serving up - I loved both aspects. There's an upstairs and a downstairs at Merchant's: upstairs is "fine dining," and downstairs is casual. We went with casual, and after a short wait, were shown to a booth with a great view of the nightlife on Broadway. We ordered four different dishes, and each one was a hit.

Half of my Grilled Salmon BLT, half of mom's Portobello Burger, and Sweet Potato Fries

Dad's Grilled Cheese (amazing) and Tomato Bisque (amazing-er)

C's Steak Frites with homemade steak sauce

Mom and I stuck with tradition and ordered Tennessee Mojitos from the drink menu - made with peach rum!


Chuy's

C & I found Chuy's, a Tex-Mex chain that we'd never heard of, while we were exploring the commercial/mall area around the Grand Ole Opry. We had some time to kill before our tour started, I was hungry, Mexican sounded delicious... in we went for "drinks and an appetizer" (or so we thought). A couple of Corona Lights, a basket of warm, homemade chips, a HUGE platter of nachos, and a bowl of chile con queso later, we were absolutely stuffed. There was a hatch chile salsa that was highly recommended when I checked in on FourSquare (that's Mayor Lindsay, of everything), so I special ordered that and greatly enjoyed it on the nachos. The truly bright spot of the meal, though, was the fresh pico de gallo that was brought out when we sat down. While this was just the "salsa" of the usual chips and salsa, I couldn't stop eating it! Fresh tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, and cilantro, all mixed together, served cold - I practically licked the bowl clean. Lucky for me, C doesn't like tomatoes, and I got it all to myself!

Sicilian Pizza & Pasta

No pictures on this one - but needed to mention it! C and I had our Mexican feast on Friday afternoon, and then went to the bars later. We sort of forgot that the bars don't serve food, and were enjoying the music and beers too much to ever go find dinner. Hence, we were in serious need of something by the time we got back to the hotel. The front desk recommended Sicilian Pizza & Pasta and handed over a menu. We ordered pizza (his and hers halves, of course) and had it delivered straight to the room. Maybe it was the drunk in me speaking, but this pizza was SO GOOD. Loaded with cheese and toppings (ham and pineapple on my half, thank you), sweet but tangy tomato sauce, and a really nice, chewy crust.... it hit the spot, and made a great breakfast the next morning!

 

Border Taco

This place... I have no words. Stumbled upon it somewhere (Knoxville, apparently, according to the website) while we were driving to Blacksburg and searching out a Dunkin' Donuts for coffee. Never got the coffee - instead, kick-a$s tacos. Behold:

 

Why yes, those are fresh, piping hot, homemade, thick corn tortillas, made-to-order when I requested them, and tacos filled with every scrumptious topping one desires. No paying extra for guac here! (Chipotle drives me crazy for that. Just give me the guac!) I think this may have actually been taco heaven. Really.

 

Other Nashville Eats...

• Breakfast was courtesy of the Holiday Inn Express we stayed at, which we booked purposefully because it was right on Broadway and offered free continental breakfast. Hotel breakfasts can be disappointing - cold bagels, cereal, and toast, or whatever - but this one surpassed any I've ever seen! We were pleasantly surprised. Biscuits and gravy, a pancake machine, scrambled eggs, skim milk, whole fruit, low-fat yogurt, bagels, muffins, toast... there was something for everyone! It was a great way to start each day, and save a little money by not eating out. Success!
• Made the requisite stop at Cracker Barrel on the way down (because what's a car trip without Cracker Barrel?!) - don't worry, I made sure to photograph the remnants of my hash brown casserole and send that to my sister. She was jealous. It was delicious.
• Can't forget road-trip snacks necessities - gotta make it through that 11 hour car ride!

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I think we could have spent two weeks in Nashville doing nothing but eat, and still not hit all the great spots. I would go back for the food alone! There were tons of places recommended to us that we just couldn't get to. Don't worry, we will go back. And eat our way through town again. Happily!

Any places you love in Nashville that we missed? Tell me about them, and we will add them to the list for next time!