Friday, May 15th - Grand Old Nashville

I arrived in Nashville late last night – reaffirmed why I don’t like driving in the dark - but early enough to catch most of Gray’s Anatomy season finale (good ending I thought).  I’m staying outside of town in a long stay business hotel – reminds me a lot of Sierra Suites in Santa Jose with a similar surrounding ‘business park’ feel – I even dreamed of work …. I’m definitely not ready to go back yet - and I know, the question is when …

So this morning I took it quiet – explored suburban life and caught up with some errands – found a Walgreens, a Borders (my favourite book store where I browse the travel books for where to go next …) and a Seattle’s Best (with free wireless from the café next door …).  A great way to spend a few relaxed / non touristy hours – I also love listening to the regular chatter – the barrista greats the regulars by name with a lovely southern accent – all very civilized some how.  In the end, I’ve caught up on some blog articles and started thinking a little more about next week on the southern east coast – and hopefully a little quiet beach time … can’t wait!

There were a couple of spots I wanted to see in Nashville, so I headed out –

• Belle Meade Plantation – a lovely spot for lunch that takes one back in time (and yet where the ladies still lunch …) with a scrumptious Fried Green Tomato salad with buttermilk  biscuits and Iced Tea (I am, said with inflection, truly in the south … and finally a cooked tomato I like!)
  
• Country Music Hall of Fame – I had decided it was only right for me to pay tribute to country music while in Nashville – so I kept the radio to the CMT station (and enjoyed it!) and headed to the hall of fame …. It has a good exhibit tracing the history of the music and I really enjoyed the exhibit on Hank Williams and his family - they truly seemed to live what they sung about. (Pictured)
  
• Downtown Nashville – I drove around a little – must admit, it didn’t inspire me in the way some of the other cities have – maybe just a little too big and too much concrete. 

The day finished in grand country tradition with a performance at the Grand Ole Opry – it was pretty cool to be there and you certainly felt the musicians awe at performing there (Ricky Skaggs 27^th anniversary performance that night).  Unfortunately, it has become a little too touristy for me … from the theme park / mall setting to the seeming focus on the older artists – though to give credit where credit is due – Little (very literally) Jimmy Pickens was the highlight of the night (he can tell a joke!) and the rest of the crowd, of a certain generation, really enjoyed the show …. However, I still think there is opportunity to spotlight the up and coming artists more – the future of the industry.