Nashvegas

So, I know this is technically an Atlanta blog, but I just got back from Nashville and want to share the experience! Nashville has been on my personal bucket list for quite some time now, so the bf and I decided to go for the 4th of July this year. Let me just say, what a fantastic city!

Broadway Street

There was so much to do in Nashville, so we hit the ground running the second we got to our hotel. Of course, we hit the the Honky Tonk strip bars first and foremost. All day, those places are hoppin'! My favorite place was Tootsies, which had the best bands AND the "Holler and Swaller". You can probably figure that one out on your own, but basically the band will have the whole bar raise their glasses, everyone hollers, and you take a big swig of beer! That pretty much sums up what we did all afternoon each day.

Best Band at Tootsies!

At night, we tried some restaurants that we chose after thorough online research. The first one was Whiskey Kitchen. The drinks and food were both delicious. I settled for my usual wine, while bf tried a New Fashioned, which is an Old Fashioned with apples and cinnamon in it. Delish! (Well, for those bourbon fans out there at least…) The second night we went to Sunset Grill, which was even better! We split a bunch of appetizers, a hummus platter, a seafood platter, some polenta cheese fries… SO much food! Definitely recommend this place if you head to Nashville soon.

To be touristy, we visited the Ryman Auditorium (original Grand Ole Opry) and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Now, I love the “pop country” that you hear all over CMT, but I’ll admit that I don’t really know old school country (Hank Williams, Tammy Wynatte, etc…) so some of the exhibits were a little over my head. Still great museums though! We did get to go backstage at the Ryman to see the dressing rooms, so we saw the rooms that people like Johnny and June once got ready in.

Being tourists on the stage at the Ryman

Tired of the ridiculous tour group we were forced to walk around with, we decided to do something a little more "us", so we found a local Nashville brewery to visit. It’s called Yazoo Brewery, and it was so fun! They just relocated to a larger building, because they are starting to gain some serious street cred. Before the tour began, which is only $6 and includes heavy samples, we got the beer sampler which contained 6 different Yazoo beers.

All the Yazoo brews!

Then we went on the tour and got to see where all the beer is brewed daily. It’s pretty cool, because a lot of it is still done manually. That will soon change as they keep growing as a company, I’m sure. The best thing that they offer is beer in a giant container, called a Growler. All of the locals were coming in with their empty containers to get refills for the weekend.

Growler o' Beer

The last day was geared towards 4th of July celebrations. They had downtown Nashville flooded with cheesy festival stuff; water slides for the kids (or drunk adults), food vendors, live music, and a beer garden. So we spent the day weeding through the crowds and drinking some beers before settling down on a statue of some sort to watch the fireworks. We ended up having perfect seats, as the phenomenal fireworks were right over our head! I’ve never seen fireworks so fantastic in my life; it was a site!

Happy 4th of July

All in all, a perfect trip to Nashville. I came home about 10 lbs heavier from beer alone, but that’s the price you pay for a great Fourth of July with great company :)


~E