Nashville!

 

Nashville 

We found Nashville to be full of talent, dreams, success, fun, many things to do, great schools (Vanderbilt, Belmont, Fisk, Tennessee State), lovely neighborhoods, the honky tonk highway, noisy drunks, party busses and woo girls, a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, Music Row (like Embassy row in Washington, only with a ba-zillion recording studios in converted houses that have very famous names attached to them) and so much more.  There is a lot of (noisy) construction and nifty, new buildings, many in some way the shape of a guitar.  By far, Nashville is one of the most vibrant cities we've ever visited in the US.  Get a good night's sleep, then take it ON!  

Surprising fact we learned:  The leading industry in Nashville is not music or tourism, but healthcare. Let that sit with you for a minute or two....  

We spent two days in Nashville,  walked the capital Volksmarch on a cold and quite rainy day as you all know we'd do.  And, as old folks do, took a Hop On Hop Off tour on a slightly better weather day ..... Then  we napped and read the Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon mystery novel that's set in the Natchez Trace.   We're on to the Great Smokey Mountains next so have to get that one finished! 

  The capital --  a Greek Revival building.  No Dome.

Andrew Jackson

Printer's Alley -- Once housed actual printers, but then used to hide the booze and associated activities during prohibition and now just full of bars and ....associated activities.

Honkey talk Highway-- a couple of city blocks on Broadway that are full of legendary restaurants and bars and in general, Honkey-tonk.   The Purple building in the foreground is Tootsies, which, as they likely  all do, has a back alley entrance to a back room, directly across a 17-step-wide alley from the Ryman Auditorium (unfortunately, no snapshot of that).  The story we heard is there's nothing behind the stage in the Ryman so performers would finish their shows and head for the back rooms across the Alley.   A lot of name dropping goes on, but evidently Tootsies is famous for Willie Nelson.

WOO Girls -- just having fun!  

One of the prettiest buildings we saw was the old Union Station in Nashville, now a hotel.  There's no passenger service there (Hey, Amtrak and Congress -- why not?).  Still, in the tradition, of the great age of passenger trains, a drop - dead beautiful building.  It wouldn't be a train station without the clock! 

Bill and a giant guitar made of license plates.

  

The way that old folks who have only a day to see a city, see it.

Retirement Lesson Learned:  There's so much to see! 

Voyaya:  On to the Great Smokeys National Park.