Recently my family enjoyed a
visit to the country music capital of the world Nashville, Tennessee. From the Oakland airport, you can get a direct flight to Nashville.
In Nashville, we stayed at
the elegant and centrally located Hermitage Hotel. This landmark hotel has been providing Southern Hospitality since 1910
and is a Forbes 5-star rated hotel. The newly created grand foyer leads to the
stunning lobby, called one of the most beautiful public rooms in America.
After we checked in, we took
a short walk to Kid Rock’s newly opened musical playground. It
has 5 stories of food, live music and fun. It also has a rooftop bar with
stunning views of downtown Nashville. Kid Rock is known as ‘America’s Bad Ass’ and
originally from Detroit. His new
Nashville establishment opened last October and rocks with lots of energy every
night until 3 am. It is the hot new spot In Nashville and packed with a lot of
happy music lovers.
The next day we took the
‘Hop on Hop Off’ tour eyeing the many sights of this vibrant city. We
especially enjoyed the Country Music Hall of Fame and Vanderbilt
University. For lunch, we enjoyed a famous ‘hot chicken’ sandwich at BB Kings Blues Bar with live music.
After lunch, we went to long-time favorite Mike’s Ice Cream and enjoyed a ‘Tennessee Fudge’ waffle cone. After a brief rest at the hotel, we had a driver pick us up and take us to the famous Grand Ole Opry and experienced one of my son’s favorite country singers,
After lunch, we went to long-time favorite Mike’s Ice Cream and enjoyed a ‘Tennessee Fudge’ waffle cone. After a brief rest at the hotel, we had a driver pick us up and take us to the famous Grand Ole Opry and experienced one of my son’s favorite country singers,
Lee
Brice. In addition to Lee Brice, the show had
‘outstanding‘ performances from John Conlee, Jimmie Allen, The Whites, Thompson
Square, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Dusty Slay and Maggie Rose. The entire show
was 2 hours of ‘high energy country star excellence".
The next morning my long-time
friend and Nashville resident picked us up and drove us to Lynchburg to tour
the famous Jack Daniels Distillery. Lynchburg is about 1.5
hours from downtown Nashville and the tour was very informative and interesting. We tasted 6 of their great whiskeys. Our favorites were old number 7
with its creamy and clean finish and Tennessee Fire with the unmistakable
character of old number 7 combined with an intense warm cinnamon taste. The
Honey Whiskey and newly released Apple Whisky would also make for a great after
dinner drink when served chilled.
After the tour we drove to
Brentwood and had a great lunch at long-time favorite Mere Bulles.
It is located in a former southern mansion with stunning art work, and
excellent Southern Food including a few we tried as hot chicken salad, carrot
cake and key lime pie.
Our final day, we toured the
Musicians Hall of Fame. It is more extensive than the Country
Music Hall of Fame as it has a variety of music history from Motown to Jimmy
Hendrix to Johnny Cash to mention a few. If you are brave and feeling on the
wild side, you can play instruments on stage and even do Karoke with Ray
Charles.
After the tour we
enjoyed dinner at famous Tootsies and a concert at the
Ryman Theater featuring the Gatlin Brothers and Crystal Gayle. This 2000 seat theater is a
‘must do’ and features a variety of great entertainers.
In conclusion, we would
highly recommend a visit to the ‘country music capital of the world’. It
is no wonder that 100 people are moving here every day. Low taxes, good
weather, and lots of fun things to do is attracting many new residents.
We look forward to returning
soon.
