{"id":4779,"date":"2016-03-14T06:00:13","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=4779"},"modified":"2016-03-09T16:06:36","modified_gmt":"2016-03-10T00:06:36","slug":"nashville-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=4779","title":{"rendered":"Nashville Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Bob Sparrow<\/p>\n

\"Nash<\/a>Following are my\"note\"<\/a>NOTES\"note\"<\/a>from a recent trip to country music’s mecca, Nashville, Tennessee<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Thursday<\/u><\/strong> – Time: 10:00 am \u2013 Flew out of LAX<\/strong> to Nashville<\/strong><\/p>\n

3:00 pm \u2013 Arrived in Nashville, took Uber<\/strong> to the Hilton Doubletree<\/strong> downtown<\/p>\n

3:05 pm \u2013 Swept out underwear and headed out and remembered that we were hungry.<\/p>\n

3:15 pm \u2013 Stopped at B.B. King\u2019s<\/strong> for roasted chicken and collard greens. \u2013 the best ever!<\/p>\n

4:30 pm \u2013 Headed out to explore \u2018The District\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018The District\u2019 is a region bordered by the Cumberland River<\/strong> and 4th<\/sup> Avenue<\/strong> on the north and \"hats<\/a> south, and Shelby Street<\/strong> and Church Street<\/strong> on the east and west; Broadway<\/strong> runs roughly down the middle. There is a large footbridge across the Cumberland that takes pedestrians over to Nissan Stadium<\/strong> where the NFL Tennessee Titans<\/strong> play. \u2018The District\u2019 was originally called the \u2018Art District\u2019<\/strong>, but now mostly features the art of the pour, as it is full of bars, saloons and honky-tonks \u2013 I guess those are three names for the same thing, but mostly that\u2019s all there is, well, that and lots of places to buy cowboy hats and boots; there is also the Johnny Cash<\/strong> and George Jones Museum<\/strong>. Didn\u2019t see much art. Back to the bars, saloons and honky-tonks \u2013 they are all filled with live music, starting in the morning and going until . . . not sure, couldn\u2019t stay up that late!<\/em><\/p>\n

7:30 \u2013 Went into the Benchmark Bar<\/strong> and ran into some guys from IBM<\/strong> all decked out in their shiny new cowboy boots and hats; they looked like . . . guys from IBM<\/strong> trying not to look like guys from IBM! <\/strong><\/p>\n

Time: Not sure. Just cruised from bar to bar, each one with great live music that made you wonder, how did this guy or girl or group not make it, they are amazing?!! Surprised at how inexpensive drinks are \u2013 this is good . . . and bad!<\/p>\n

\"Printer's<\/a>Still unsure of the time: Strolled over to Printer\u2019s Alley<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Printers Alley\u2019<\/strong> was originally home to a thriving publishing industry. The area had two large newspapers, ten print shops, and thirteen publishers. In the 1940s<\/strong>\u00a0it became a nightclub and entertainment district; sale of liquor for on premise consumption was illegal throughout Tennessee, but restaurants and clubs in \u2018the alley\u2019 served liquor anyway, often claiming it had been “brown bagged” (brought in by customers). Law enforcement agencies normally looked the other way on such sales. Liquor sales in restaurants were finally legalized in 1968. 1968!!!!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It honestly has lost some of its vibe, but still has some classic watering holes.<\/p>\n

\"Martini\"<\/a>

Chocolate Martinis<\/p><\/div>\n

Time: Much later: Crawled back to the hotel, but needed just one more drink before bedtime \u2013 a Chocolate Martini.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 it\u2019s only Friday?! That was quite a Thursday! Slept in due to possible hang over. Don\u2019t think they actually have mornings in Nashville – all days just start around noon.<\/p>\n

Time: afternoon \u2013 walked over to Puckett\u2019s Grocery and Restaurant<\/strong>. Had BBQ pork<\/strong> (melts in your mouth), onion rings, Caesar salad \u2013 most delicious lunch ever! Food here is just terrific!<\/p>\n

Hit some shops and the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum<\/strong>, but wanted to rest up for the concert this evening, so headed back to hotel and on the way bought a \u2018Goo Goo Cluster\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>– a candy bar created in Nashville and a local favorite.<\/p>\n

\"Blake<\/a>

Linda, Blake & Dana<\/p><\/div>\n

7:00ish \u2013 Walked to the Bridgestone Arena<\/strong> to attend the Blake Shelton<\/strong> concert. The opening act was Chris Janson<\/strong>, who, like most of the entertainment seen in Nashville was outstanding! Blake put on a great performance in which he sang all his hit songs, interfaced with the audience and had a great back-up band. The word on the street was that Gwen Stefani<\/strong> was in town, and perhaps was going to make a surprise cameo appearance, but not to be.<\/p>\n

After concert \u2013 what else, visited more bars.<\/p>\n

Time: about 1:00 a.m. \u2013 Remembered we missed dinner, so headed to Merchants,<\/strong> one of only places that didn\u2019t have music, and it was sort of a relief to have a little peace and quiet. After dinner, back to the hotel and opted for the Chocolate Chip cookies<\/strong> instead of the Chocolate Martini. Livers were thankful.<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/strong> \u2013 Slept in \u2013 what a surprise! \u00a0What, it’s only Saturday?!!<\/p>\n

\"GOO2\"<\/a>

Grand Ole Opry<\/p><\/div>\n

Time: 1:30 \u2013 \u2018Backstage Tour\u2019 of the Grand Ole Opry<\/strong>. Tour included videos of Blake Shelton<\/strong> and Charles Esten<\/strong>, (the character of Deacon Claybourne<\/strong> on the TV series \u2018Nashville\u2019<\/strong>); very fun and interesting. Also visited the Gaylord Opryland Hotel<\/strong> \u2013 magnificent.<\/p>\n

Those who watch the TV series \u2018Nashville\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0will understand that a trip to Nashville is not complete until you visit the Blue Bird Caf\u00e9<\/strong>. Even though it is small and in an out-of-town strip center, it is a legendary venue that has given some of country music\u2019s biggest stars their start; such as Keith Urban, Taylor Swift <\/strong>and Garth Brooks<\/strong> to name a few with whom you might be familiar. Because it holds only about 100 people, tickets are extremely hard to get. But they offer about 20 seats on a first-come-first-serve basis.<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a>

Blue Bird Cafe<\/p><\/div>\n

Time: 3:30 \u2013 After about a 30-minute Uber ride from our hotel, we got to the Blue Bird Caf\u00e9<\/strong> and got in line; doors open at 5:30. Looks like we\u2019ll get in. Met two girls from New Jersey, Sherry and Sarah, with whom we shared some chips and a few\u00a0\u2018boxes-o-wine\u2019<\/strong> while waiting in line. They became our new best friends for the evening.<\/p>\n

Time: 5:30, we\u2019re in! Just being inside is an amazing experience when you think about all the stars that have been on this \u2018stage in the round\u2019 <\/strong>at the center of the caf\u00e9. It is never a rowdy crowd here, as patrons are expected to remain fairly quiet and listen to the singer-songwriters performing. Lots of songs about love gone bad, not a surprise at a country venue. Great experience!<\/p>\n

\"Box<\/a>

Linda, Sherry, Sarah with Box-O-Wine<\/p><\/div>\n

Time: Later \u2013 we head back to the bars of Broadway<\/strong> and eventually staggered home<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/strong> \u2013 slept in! Fortunately the flight home didn\u2019t leave until mid-afternoon, so head back to BB Kings<\/strong> for lunch \u2013 brisket, green beans, mashed potatoes; pulled pork, mac & cheese \u2013 gonna miss this southern cooking!<\/p>\n

8:00 p.m. \u2013 Landed at LAX<\/p>\n

After reading this, if you\u2019re thinking you\u2019d really like to go to Nashville \u2013 me too! \u00a0<\/strong>No, I\u2019ve never been, and this vicarious vacationer didn’t lie in my opening statement, these are my<\/em>\u00a0notes from a recent trip, but the trip was given to Linda<\/strong> and Dana<\/strong> as a Christmas<\/strong> gift from son-in-law\/husband, Joe Borrelli<\/strong>. They both said, \u201cBest Christmas gift ever!\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Bob Sparrow Following are myNOTESfrom a recent trip to country music’s mecca, Nashville, Tennessee. Thursday – Time: 10:00 am \u2013 Flew out of LAX to Nashville 3:00 pm \u2013 Arrived in Nashville, took Uber to the Hilton Doubletree downtown … read more<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[813],"tags":[2088,2086,2087,2085,2082,2084,2083],"class_list":["post-4779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-bb-kings","tag-blake-shelton","tag-blue-bird-cafe","tag-country-music-hall-of-fame","tag-nashville","tag-printers-alley","tag-the-district"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Blue-bird.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p31aN0-1f5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4779"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4781,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4779\/revisions\/4781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}