Nashville

I am in LOVE with the great city of Nashville!  Ty and I made the 5 hour trek up there a couple of weekends ago, and we had a blast! 

If you are on a budget like we were, then I highly recommend staying farther away from downtown and paying to park in one of the parking decks close to Broadway Street.  Sure it's nice to be able to walk to the bars from your hotel, but we weren't willing to pay $350/night.  We decided to stay at a Home2 Suites by Hilton close to Vanderbilt (Ty's Hilton Honors point are definitely coming in handy).  It was really nice for a reasonably priced hotel, and I would definitely stay there again. 

Here is how we spent our time in my new favorite city:

Friday - We didn't get to Nashville until about 11:00 that night, so we didn't get to do anything fun :(

Saturday - We headed out to Fontanel to tour the Southern Living Idea House.  It was absolutely      beautiful!  I am planning on doing a post on it soon.

 

Next we stopped for lunch at the Pancake Pantry.  I cannot even begin to describe how amazing their pancakes are.  Don't be alarmed if there is a line down the street.  It moves pretty quickly, and I can assure you the food is worth the wait.  Ty had the Silver Dollar pancakes (boring), and I decided to go with a lighter option, the Swiss Chocolate Chip pancakes.  Ok....so maybe they weren't the healthiest item on the menu, but they were the most chocolatey.  That's a valid argument, right?  ;)  I am just devastated that I didn't take a picture of them.  I must return for a photo!

 

 

Then, we headed to Bridgestone Arena for the Cirque du Soleil show Quidam.  This was the first Cirque du Soleil performance that I had ever seen, and I really enjoyed it!  My favorite acts were the man in the giant wheel (I'm sure the act has a better name) and the aerial contortionist on silks (pictured below).  I think Ty was pretty skeptical, but he enjoyed it too.  We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance, so I had to borrow one from Cirque du Soleil's website. 

 

{Photo via www.cirquedusoleil.com}

We ate dinner at Merchant's on Broadway Street.  This was my second time here, and it was fabulous! 

 

{Photo via www.wkrn.com}



If you are ever at Merchant's, be sure to try a Tennessee Mojito.  It is amazing!  I believe it's the best drink I've ever had.  I love a mojito, but it's the mango and peach rum that really make this one special!

 

 



We spent the rest of the hanging out on Broadway.  We spent a lot of our time at Big Bang Piano Bar.  I love piano bars, and this one was great! 

 



 



Sunday - We had to make the long drive home.  We did stop in Franklin, TN for a delicious brunch at Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant.  Franklin is the cutest little town.  We saw some really cute store fronts downtown while passing through.  I would love to go back and explore.

{Photo via activerain.com}

We had a great trip!  As I already mentioned, I LOVE Nashville!  I am already eager to go back.  Next time I want to stop in Lynchburg and tour the Jack Daniels distillery.  I also think it would be neat to see the Parthenon replica.  Who knows when I'll be going to Greece to see the real thing?!