Roni: Jen and I headed to Nashville to tour potential hotels for the yearly FitBloggin‘ conference.
1 of 3 hotels we took a look at in the area.
I was on a mission.
Do I always look this serious?
Jen? She was concerned with all the details like the color of the rugs and how nice the bathrooms were.
Nothing like a selfie in the bathroom!
I was not impressed.
My “look”
It wasn’t the hotel per se, it was, sorry to say…
Nashville.
Jen: I cannot explain how excited I was to be going to Nashville. I have grown up on country music and it has always been a dream of mine. Unfortunately, I was also not impressed.
Roni: It’s not that we had a bad time! It just wasn’t what we expected.
Jen: I KNOW! I did love the hotel though.
Roni: So did I! The area though, it just wasn’t…. I can’t really put my finger on it.
We thought we’d share what we did after all the business meetings were out of the way. It may help explain what we mean by being disappointed.
Of course we were hungry, we are always hungry! So we stopped at Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, which was recommended by the hotel.
LOVE how fun they were.
Jen: “What the heck is hot chicken?” was the first question out of my mouth. I don’t like hot.
Roni: Ditto, well not really, I LOVE hot I just never heard of “Hot Chicken” either
Jen: Apparently it’s a Nashville thing?
Roni: Apparently it is!
Hattie B’s was a small, local place with lots of personality.
I love the hot names places think up.
You ordered at the counter and they brought your food out to the table
Jen: I was one happy girl. Chicken, greens, and baked beans.
Roni: Me too! I went with medium spicy, cole slaw and black eyed peas — something I’ve never had before.
Yes it was as good as it looks!
All of it was really good!
Jen: It was but I do have to say mother-in-law’s is better. I also have to say Roni needs to STOP taking photos of me eating.
Roni: I can’t help it, you are ALWAYS eating. Well, we are. It’s kind of what we do.
After dinner we hopped in a cab and headed to Opryland.
This was totally Jen’s idea but I’m game for anything.
Jen: OK. I take the blame for this one. I thought it was going to be AWESOME! I have seen it on CMT and again dreamed of going there. And It was kind of awesome, but not THAT awesome. You know what I mean, right?
Roni: I know what she’s saying. Again, it wasn’t what we expected. We got there at 8:30 p.m. there was no action. Nothing was open. It was quiet and kind of uneventful. Don’t get me wrong, beautiful! But not exciting.
Jen: Confession: All I really wanted was a pin for my collection! We took a $50 (dangerous) cab ride (roundtrip) and all I came back with was NOTHING.
Sad Jen in Opryland
Roni: But at least there were these really fun horses?
Roni happy in Opryland
Or are they donkeys?
Whatever, overall, Opryland was a bust.
Jen: Forever the optimist.
That is not a fake face. It was REALLY how I was feeling … bummed.
Roni: We deiced to head downtown to salvage the night. Everyone said, “Wildhorse Saloon!”
Jen: Again, I was SO excited! We get to the door and … RONI HAS NO ID!!! Really?
Roni: Ugh. I’m so sorry, but in my defense they weren’t even playing country music!
Jen: I KNOW! I swear I heard Justin Bieber playing.
Roni: We strolled around a bit and found another bar with a band.
Indie Band in Nashville
Jen: It wasn’t country music EITHER! Are you freaking kidding me?
Ummmm, no.
Roni: More strolling. We came across Printers Alley.
Jen: This looked fun!
Roni: Yeah, until we took a closer look.
Really?
Jen: This could get interesting.
Roni: Ummm yeah. No.
On our walk back …
REAL COUNTRY MUSIC!
Jen: FINALLY! I am in heaven!
Roni: It seemed our luck had changed. We also found boots!
She’s in HEAVEN right now.
Jen: These were real leather cowboy boots and I absolutely wanted to buy a pair.
Roni: She tried so hard to get me as excited. Even pointing out these little boots for my kids.
Cute, but not gonna happen.
We ended the night strolling down Broadway back to the hotel.
It took about a half an hour. That’s one of the things I didn’t expect about Nashville. There’s lots of little fun places to see and visit but really not walkable. You have to take a cab or a shuttle.
Jen: And, unfortunately, Roni doesn’t like to take cabs or shuttles!
Roni: I really don’t! I’m a walker through and through.
The next morning we went for an early lunch to Elliston Place Soda Shop.
Elliston Place Soda Shop
Elliston’s is the oldest, continuously running restaurant in Nashville, and I totally fell in love with it and its classic soda shop decor.
Inside Elliston Place
We each ordered a Meat and Three, which is apparently another Nashville thing.
Catfish, Green Beans, Cole Slaw and Cucumber Salad with a Chocolate Shake
Jen: You got me eating, AGAIN!
Roni: I know, I’m sorry. But you make the BEST expressions. lol
Anyway, the food was fantastic! And if you didn’t notice, we split a chocolate shake. That thing should be outlawed, it was THAT good.
Jen: OMG!!! She is not kidding. That had to have been a million calories, but I didn’t care.
Roni: After lunch another short stroll and then it was off to the airport. Our 24 hours in Nashville were over.
Jen: As I am reminiscing on the trip, I think I need to go back so Nashville can redeem itself. Maybe we were just not there at the right time? Maybe we needed to stay downtown? Maybe, just maybe, they DO play country music but we were just in the wrong spots. I don’t know, but I am not giving up on Nashville.
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Janna
August 4, 2013Does that mean Austin is still in the running? And seriously...that food looked AMAZING! But it has nothing on Austin. You girls will have your own personal tour guide if you come to check it out :)
Melissa (@TheDailyMel)
August 4, 2013Oh man, I'm so bummed you guys were disappointed. I *love* Nashville. I rarely did stuff downtown though. You can nearly always find local country music happening at the Bluebird Cafe in Green Hills. If you go back, you might want to check that out. Some famous names who used to perform there on their way up are Vince Gill and Garth Brooks. If you want country music downtown, you should always be able to find it at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Broadway. It's a classic Nashville honky tonk in every sense of the word.
Nancy Collins
August 4, 2013You are right. Maybe we just were not there long enough to get the "vibe" of Nashville. I have not given up, we will return!
Jen
August 4, 2013Have you ever thought about Chicago? It's a great city.
Jen
August 4, 2013We were just in Chicago and it IS a great city. We just feel like it is too big. ANy other suggestions? We are open for new and great smaller cities.
Brooke
August 19, 2013You have to stay in the downtown area! We go and park the car and never drive again till we check out of the hotel. I love Wildhorse, but they ID everyone. On 6th Street in Austin, TX I could not get into a bar, because I only had my out of state ID and no other form of ID. He wanted to see a credit card with my name on it. I only take cash we go out.