Rebooting Raven

A friend and I were able to meet up for a girls weekend in Nashville recently.  We’re not big drinkers anymore so we decided to check out what else Nashville has to offer past the bachelorette weekend shenanigans.  Here’s what we learned. 

We opted for a VRBO rental instead of a hotel.  Vacation rentals are a great opportunity to support the local economy.  I also like the added space of a house or condo compared to a hotel room and a bit of quiet outdoor space when I can get it. We stayed west of the Germantown neighborhood, about a 10 minute drive from most of the attractions. 

After 11 hours in the car I wasn’t excited to get back in to find dinner.  So our first night we walked a few blocks to a great little joint called The Bag Lady.  The fries were of course delicious and so was the chicken.  Even if you can’t walk, drive, check them out. Two sticky thumbs up.

9 times out of 10 being an early riser pays off big on vacation.  Both of us basically rise with the sun naturally so we got an early start every day.  I know that’s not for everyone, especially on vacation, but when you weigh the benefits it might be worth a try.  On this trip we managed to luck out with parking locations and costs and managed to see more in less time, we only had two full days so time was a factor.

We got in on a Thursday evening so Friday morning we were ready to roll.  First stop was the Nashville Farmer’s Market. There is free parking, but it gets busy early, even on a Friday morning.  As we were leaving newcomers were cruising for parking spots.  If you like farmers markets this is a must see; local goods, art, and goodies a plenty. Once the trunk was full we moved on to the Marathon Motor Works to fill the back seat.  This was a good call since the east coast was/is in the middle of a heatwave.  So the AC in the former factory made museum/indoor mall was a welcome relief.  While there stop in and have a sandwich at The Southern Engine.  I got the French dip and it was one of the best I’ve had.  We paid to park here, but you don’t have to!  Check out the website for a parking map before heading out.  

We went back to drop off our haul, then jumped in a Lyft to head downtown to walk Broadway and grab some dinner.  Parking can get expensive and we wanted to cover a lot of ground so we opted for a Lyft to the riverfront and walked up Broadway taking it all in.  This was a great plan, but the walk is mostly at an incline, be ready.  Or possibly start from The Nashville Visitor Center on Broadway and walk downhill toward the river.  The river view would actually be a great way to end your walk.  

If you’re walking Broadway you’ll recognize bars with familiar country music names attached.  The neon signs and music pumping into the street reminded me of a country Las Vegas strip.  As we walked about in the early evening we could see the bars and street start to fill with people.  We opted to walk a little out of the way to Puckett’s for dinner.  Another great find.  If you’re walking Broadway you can also check out Printer’s Alley.  This street gives more of a jazzy vibe that I’m a big fan of, worth a walkthrough.  

Saturday morning we started at East Park Donuts & Coffee.  Get there early, it gets busy. The cafe has massive local and all inclusive vibes; families with dogs, kids in tutus, friends laughing over breakfast. I loved it!  The breakfast sandwich, donut, coffee, and tea were excellent, which explains the repeat business.    

If you’re the type that enjoys city tours you have plenty to pick from in Nashville.  We saw golf cart tours, tractor tours, double decker bus tours, and walking tours.  I’ve done various tours in various cities and have never regretted it.  A tour done right can add so much to a trip as far as experience, personal interactions, history, and cultural knowledge.      

Our next stop was the Grand Ole Opry.  You can take tours of the building including a backstage access tour.  If you go, you may as well make a day of it.  Parking at Opry Mills Mall you can walk to both Gaylord Opryland Garden Conservatory and The Grand Ole Opry and save about $50 in parking fees if you’re willing to walk a bit.  The GOO (Grand Ole Opry) is right outside of the Regal Cinema attached to the OMM (Opry Mills Mall).  From the GOO it’s only a 10 min 0.5 mile walk (or Lyft/Uber ride) to avoid another parking fee and the GOGC (Gaylord Opryland Garden Conservatory).  Unfortunately the heat index was up there so we missed out on this little adventure.  But I’ll be back! Whatever you do be safe and make good choices.  Tennessee gets HOT in the summer, not to mention humid, plan accordingly.  While in the mall check out the stores and Madame Tussauds.  The details in each display at Madame T’s is as impressive as expected.  The OMM has great shopping. We saw lots of discounts on popular brands like Lucky, Fossil, Tommy Bahama, Vera Bradley, & Kate Spade.  We may have even taken advantage of a few while we were there.  

Later we strolled from a not so hot dinner (it came with free 3 hr parking so still a win to me) to The Baked Bear for some ice cream. Definitely made up for dinner and worth the walk.

Our last adventure before leaving bright and early the next day was…you guessed it!  Shopping!!!!  Anyone who knows me knows I’m an absolute sucker for a used bookstore, an affliction that began soon after getting my license.  So I wanted to check out McKay’s Books.  It was amazing.  I scored 8 books for under $16.  Several books were actually on my to read list.  The others have now been added.  They have multiple locations in TN and NC and more than just books.  Records, toys, electronics…check it out.

Now, as I said, we only had two days.  This does not cover all there is to do in Nashville.  Here’s a list of what’s still on my Nashville to do list:

• Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Arboretum
• The Parthenon
• Country Music Hall of Fame/Walk of Fame
• The Caverns Cave Tours
• Burgess Falls State Park

My last bit of Nashville advice, pay attention to the murals throughout the city. There is some beautiful art on display just about everywhere.