Nashville, Day 2

Our second day in Nashville wasn't as packed since we were in town for K-State's football game against Vanderbilt. We started off eating the donuts we purchased at the Nashville Farmers' Market; so good.

Next, we headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Since roughly 25,000 K-State fans were in town and the fact that Nashville is always busy, the Hall of Fame was PACKED to say the least. One could literally spend hours there. I LOVED looking at the colorful costumes. The museum appealed to my senses via the video clips, music, interactive aspects, and colors.

Of course, I like to add a few "artistic" photos in the mix. I definitely wish the museum had been less crowded, but it was still cool.

I was hungry afterward. We went to a nearby Jack Daniels, but left due to sitting at the table waiting for a server in a tiny, uncrowded restaurant for too long. We went back to "our" neighborhood and ate at Oscar's Tacos, which was across the street from where we stayed.

My friend got tacos and I got the surf & turf nachos. They were HUGE and delicious! We ate at a table outside and my beautiful nachos stopped many a passerby who stopped and went into Oscar's.

We made the poor decision to walk 1+ miles in the Tennessee heat to the game. We'd planned to just pop into bars and shops along the way, but unfortunately, there were none along the way, other than a strip joint that we weren't interested it. The area we walked in didn't look too safe, reminded me of Detroit. Finally, we can along an upscale looking wine shop. We were so hot and sweaty. We went in and stood in front of the open cooler to cool off. We also put our soon-to-be-purchased beverages on the back of our necks too. The good news is that we survived the walk. The bad news is that the Vanderbilt refs and fans were awful. The game was up and down and in the end we lost, while fighting both Vanderbilt and ourselves. :( Photos from our walk:

We got an Uber back where I heated up and finished my nachos.

Since Broadway the main drag was still so crowded, we went back to our beloved, The George Jones. Another terrific band was playing. We so enjoyed that venue and the top-notch bands they brought in.

While our team didn't come away with the win, we still had another great day in Nashville.

Nashville, Day 1

I had wanted to visit Nashville for quite sometime, but never had the opportunity. My alma mater, Kansas State University scheduled an away football game in Nashville playing Vanderbilt, this fall. I tried to convince my friends and coworkers to go, but that was a bust. They're all married or in relationships, so they weren't up for a girl's trip. So, I thought through who might be a good travel partner and I thought of a former MBA classmate who always seemed fun and liked to travel. Thankfully, she was up for an adventure!

Day 1
I was SO excited for this trip. It was my first real vacation in just over two years! We both arrived at the airport around the same time. From there we took an Uber to our Airbnb apartment. I picked out a place with a terrific location near the area we planned to spend most of our time; Printer's Alley and Broadway. The apartment was perfect and the mini kitchen came in handy. I would definitely stay here again!

Our next stop was to Acme Feed & Seed for a late lunch. In preparation for the trip, Acme's name kept coming up as a good place to eat. I've heard that Nashville is always busy, but with roughly 25,000 fans from K-State in town, Broadway Street was packed to the brim along with all the bars/restaurants around. We waited in line at Acme to place our order and then waited even longer for our food to be delivered. I think it took about 30+ minutes to get our food. I was hungry and ready to try their BBQ sandwich and sweet potato fries. The bread was soggy and the fries were so salty that they were inedible. Finding a table once we got our food was next to impossible. The views from the rooftop of the river were nice, but the roof was packed to say the least. I definitely wouldn't eat there again.

After checking out some nearby shops in hopes of adding to my bracelet collection, I realized everything I liked was far outside of my budget.

From there we headed to the Nashville Farmers' Market that I'd read rave reviews on. It was less than a mile to get there. It was in what looked like a park. There, I bought a basil lemonade with whiskey. So refreshing. We also tried the best mini donuts and bought some for breakfast. After reading terrific reviews on it, we tried Jeni's Ice Cream.

Literally, the best ice cream I've ever had. They had fun, unique flavors. I loved the brown butter almond brittle and peanut butter with chocolate flecks. So good and smooth. It was such a fun, unique experience.

Next door to the Farmer's Market we saw some kind of festival. We walked by to see how much tickets were; maybe we'd go. Um, no! It was actually The Wine + Food Festival. Tickets for the whole weekend were $525; more than the cost of my flight. Apparently, famous chefs were there and up and coming chefs.

From there, we walked back to our neighborhood and ate at the Frothy Monkey. I'd seen that in my pre-trip research. All the restaurants had super heavy menu items; I know it is the south, but... The Frothy Monkey was a quaint, low-key spot. We split a delicious Gail salad and Royale sandwich. Each ingredient served a specific, well-thought out purpose. I already miss this place!

Then, we hit Broadway for music. We spent some time jamming out at Second Fiddle. The quality of music and bands in Nashville is off the charts! Next, we headed just off Broadway to get away from the crowds. We ended up at The George Jones, which is on 2nd Avenue. We loved this place, there was a terrific band and a refreshing breeze coming in from the river. They had a roomy dance floor too!

What a beautiful first day in Nashville!