7 Things I Loved About Nashville

Seven years ago, I hit a birthday milestone that I didn't want to celebrate. Instead of having a party, I wanted to take a long weekend vacation to the beach with one of my sisters. Who better but my sister Lisa, who celebrates her birthday 8 days before I do and for those 8 days, we are the same age! Or as they call us, "Irish Twins".

Since that wonderful sister weekend away, we have continued the tradition of an annual sister trip. We go somewhere different every year. This year for sister trip #7, we headed to Nashville, Tennesee!

Kelsey Montague "What Lifts You" Street Art
Found in Nashville Gulch Neighborhood

Without a doubt, we've gotten into a groove with our trips, seeking out the best food, excellent accommodations, and quirky attractions. Sometimes we have to do the touristy things, but we try to balance it out with things that fit our eclectic sense of fun. Here are some of the highlights of our sister trip to Nashville.

The Music
Nashville's nickname is "Music City". The birthplace of country music, you can find live music all day, every day. Most people head to Lower Broadway for live music, where you can find plenty of live music, along with lots of tourists and drunken revelers riding in pedal cars disguised as bars. We checked out Tootsie's, which is the oldest honky tonk on Lower Broadway. You know you're getting old when you walk into a crowded bar and think more about an escape route in case of fire and less about the music.  We went next door to Layla's, where we enjoyed a folky bluegrass ensemble, plenty of breathing room, and a respite from the rowdiness on the street.

Tourist trap and fire trap!
But oh, so much history!

The next night after dinner, we wanted to see live music but after our experience the day before, we weren't eager to go back downtown. I could only imagine the scene after dark. We went to The Row, which was right near our hotel in the Midtown area. The place was packed but you could actually hear the music. There was an excellent line up of musicians, which rotated every hour. My favorite was Kata Hay, who performed original songs as well as her own unique country twist on well-known songs, including "Baby Got Back". She told the crowd about her experience on The Voice. I don't understand why she was voted off--she was that good.

Kata Hay singing "Sweet Home Alabama"

The Scene
My sister and I both agreed that Nashville reminded us a lot of Austin, Texas, where we sister-tripped a few years ago. The vibe is young and the town is fun. Lower Broadway reminded me a lot of spring break mixed with a little Las Vegas. In fact, some people refer to Nashville as "Nashvegas" and after our trip, I could see why. There was plenty to see. Lots of bachelorette parties, too. Our hotel was about a mile from downtown and both of us were glad to be able to escape back to our room when we had enough!

You never know who you're going to run into...

We much preferred the Midtown neighborhood around our hotel, which houses restaurants and bars. While there were still some of the pedal cars and partiers, it just felt more manageable to me. We found another fun area on Demonbreun Hill with bars and restaurants. Wherever we walked, we enjoyed artwork--murals and statues.

Musica statue on Demonbruen

The Food
We didn't have a bad meal while in Nashville. We dined casual and waited in line for hot chicken at Hattie B's and for BBQ at Martin's. Both were well worth the wait. We dined fancy and had 2 fantastic meals at Saltine and Union Common. An unexpected treat was the lunch we had at the Tennessee Brew Works' tap room.

The Beer
Followers of the blog know I have a thing for craft beer and Nashville did not disappoint. I told my sister we had to visit at least one tap room and she indulged me with a walk to the off-the-beaten-path Tennessee Brew Works tap room. With so many good options, it was overwhelming! I was impressed by every beer I tried in my sampler. The delicious grilled goat cheese and tomato jelly sandwich I had for lunch put me over the top.

L-->R Sinsear Red Ale (aged in bourbon barrels), Hank's Saison, 1927 IPA (in my hand), Blonde Ale, and Southern Wit
Tennesse Brew Works

Everywhere we went in Nashville, I asked the bartender for recommendations on beer and they all had their own opinions. I tried Yazoo Pale Ale, Bearded Iris Homestyle Pale Ale, Blackstone IPA, Jackalope IPA, Black Abbey Belgian Style Wit, and Hutton and Smith Session APA. Yes, I drank my share of beer. Not all at once.

History
If you love music, Nashville doesn't disappoint. I'm not a fan of "touristy" attractions, but we did visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and I was impressed by the exhibits. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash and Hank Williams and it was fun to see all the memorabilia from that era. We did not go to the Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline Museums but the next time I go back to Nashville, I plan to check those out. Because there will be a next time.

So many gold records, so little time
Country Music Hall of Fame

We also visited the Ryman Auditorium, which used to house the Grand Ole Opry. This place is just bursting with music history and has hosted just about every musician that I've ever listened to. The Ryman still hosts concerts most nights. The acoustics are supposed to be some of the best. A concert here will be on my to-do list when we return to Nashville. Interestingly, the Ryman started as a church and still looks like a place of worship!

Up on top of the auditorium behind the soundboard

It's a gorgeous space and I'm thrilled that my sister convinced me to visit. Of course, I made her pay for it with a photo op on stage.

We also took a walk through the beautiful campus of Vanderbilt University on our way to check out the Parthenon, which is a full-scale replica of the actual Parthenon in Greece. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and now houses an art museum.

I would never have expected to find this in Nashville, but there you go.

When at the Parthenon...

Walking/Running
I didn't run during this trip but that's because we walked over 8 miles per day. We stayed at the amazing Hutton Hotel in Midtown, which was about a mile from Lower Broadway and all the "touristy" stuff. Prior to our trip, I had planned on running and found a route from our hotel down through Music Row to Lower Broadway, over the pedestrian bridge, and along the Cumberland River. While I didn't run it, we walked it and it was amazing.

Pedestrian Bridge over the Cumberland River

Hidden Gems
On our first day in Nashville, we got lost on our way downtown and ended up in a neighborhood called "The Gulch", which is an old industrial area and railroad terminal turned into an upscale hipster area with restaurants and fun shops. The Gulch is where we found the Kelsey Montague mural.

Actually, we saw a lot of murals everywhere!

My personal favorite.
The Man in Black.

On our way back to our hotel from the Tennessee Brew Works, Mrs. Google took us on 7th Avenue, where we walked past "Third Man Records". It looked interesting, so we walked in. We had no clue about this place but after visiting, we learned that this was Jack White's (White Stripes, The Raconteurs) store and recording studio! Who knew?

If it weren't for the welcome sign, we would have walked right by.

We loved our trip to Nashville. We didn't have a car, yet we felt like we didn't miss a thing. We did a ton of walking and I'd recommend that visitors bring comfy shoes! We didn't make it to Music Row and that would be a must see when we return to Nashville in the future. I loved our hotel but would have preferred a location a little closer to downtown. For me, I'd have loved a run but with all the walking we did, that wasn't going to happen. The Rock 'N' Roll Nashville Marathon or Half Marathon would be a great way to see many of the sights I mentioned. Don't do it for time, though, stop and take in the city.

Considering that we were only there for 3 nights, we packed a lot in!

Are you going to Nashville? Don't miss the best things to do and see! @RunRocknRoll  /via @oldrunningmom #runchat #nashville

Have you been to Nashville? What did you like? Did you get to run while you were there? Would you go back?

I'm linking up with the Weekly Wrap and with Tuesdays on the Run aka Marcia, Erika, and Patti. BTW, I'm still co-hosting the WW with Holly--I just took the week off while I was out of town. Thanks so much to Kim (Kooky Runner) for stepping up and filling in for me this week!!!