Driving across the border from Kentucky to Tennessee it felt as if we were going from the Old South to the New South. Instead of historic buildings and years of tradition there was vibrancy and energy for the future; also lots and lots of new construction. Nashville as we soon found out was going through a boom and lots of people from all over were moving to this city. The drive from our campground in southern Kentucky wasn’t too long and within a few hours we were seeing cranes from new skyscrapers going up in downtown Nashville and roadwork everywhere.
We started our tour in Nashville like we do in almost every city that we visit. We check out Google maps to see where the neighborhoods are and what’s in them. If it looks like there are at least a few stores/restaurants/bars in a walk able area it usually means the neighborhood is doing well and it’s where we need to go to check it out. We started our Nashville tour in East Nashville, driving around the neighborhood before going on to Five Points and to the Nashville Parthenon.
A Parthenon….in Nashville….Like the one in Greece you ask? Why yes, exactly like the one in Greece. Besides “Music City USA” one of Nashville’s other nicknames is “Athens of the South”. The Nashville Parthenon was originally built in 1897 as the centerpiece for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. There were a number of other Greek inspired buildings built for the exposition but this was the only full scale building built and the only one kept after the exposition ended. As the building was never intended to be permanent, weather in the following years took its toll on the structure. It was rebuilt using standard building materials in the late 1920’s and today houses Nashville’s art museum.
Julie and I had done minimal research prior to coming to Nashville so besides its music scene and my knowledge that Vanderbilt University was somewhere in town seeing a full scale Parthenon was pretty mind blowing. We ate lunch in the van before getting out and exploring the building and the area. The building was very impressive to say the least but the park that it was in was also pretty neat. As it was on the larger end we took our bikes off of our bike rack and decided to do a bit of biking around. There was a jogging/bike path that wound its way around the outer edge of the park and as it was a beautiful day we took full advantage.
Once we had ridden around the park we hopped back into Bubbles and continued our neighborhood tour. We drove past Vanderbilt University and music row (this is where country stars production studios and offices were), then into The Gulch and to the 12 South Neighborhood. Here we parked and walked around for a bit. Here we found a neat little bar called The Filling Station that was a mix of a beer store with a few beers on tap to drink there. We each chose a beer then sat outside on their small patio, watching people in the neighborhood walk by. From the Filling Station we walked down the street to Las Paletas. Las Paletas is a dessert shop selling Mexican ice pops. These are generally made from fresh fruits and creams. I chose mango while Julie went with a chocolate variety. They were delicious and a great way to end our first day in Nashville touring its neighborhoods.
We woke up the next day ready to explore. Today we would be touring around downtown Nashville. We were camping at the Nashville KOA and as luck would have it one of the services offered was a shuttle service from the campground to a drop off point downtown. As Nashville is the capital of Tennessee our first stop downtown was at the capitol building. The Tennessee capitol building was pretty neat. It sits on top of a hill downtown giving great views from most sides. After one of our better capitol building tours we headed down the hill towards the Nashville Farmers Market.
Here we were catching a tour suggested by one of our good friends Alex from back in Rochester. It was called the NashTrash tour that was a little bit comedy and a little bit history and Nashville culture. It turned out to be a lot of comedy with a little bit of Nashville history and culture. Two sisters ran the tour with their driver out of a converted school bus painted pink. While it was pretty funny, Julie and I both wished that there was a bit more history and culture. Overall we both still had a good time.
After lunch at the public market and exploring the streets of downtown during the afternoon we wandered over to Nashville’s famous Honky Tonk Row on lower Broadway Street as night fell. Honky Tonk row in Nashville was similar to Beale Street in Memphis except instead of Blues & Jazz clubs there were country music bars. On a recommendation from the NashTrash ladies we stepped into Layla’s to grab a beer and listen to some music.
Soon after we recognized one of the other patrons. We had met Lynda at our campground the night before. Normally before going inside for the night we take a walk around the campground looking at everyone else’s RV’s. On our stroll we had noticed a brand new tiny Airstream trailer that looked different and totally unique from anything that we had seen before. Lynda had noticed us looking and came out to say hello and invited us to take a look. This rarely happens to us and we thought it was really neat. After saying hello the 3 of us got a table and a few beers and sat down to enjoy the music. After an hour and a few rounds of beer Julie and I were starting to get hungry. Lynda wanted to stay to listen to some more music but said that if we were ever in the Austin, Texas area to give her a call and we would have a place to stay. As a side note – this is very normal in the RV community. Almost every person that we have met in campgrounds in both the USA and Canada is super friendly, talkative and has always invited us to stay at their house or on their property if we are ever nearby.
From Honky Tonk row we headed a few blocks away to the Farmhouse Restaurant for dinner. It was a great farm to table kind of place and a great way to end our stay in Tennessee’s largest city.
Next up….We head to Jack Daniels Distillery and explore Chattanooga!
