The Musings of a Travel Bug: Honky Tonk Nashville Weekend

As I sit here at my house in my cute and cozy office (I actually call it my mini- library), the familiar sad feelings come over me, what I call my post trip sadness. This happens to me every time I come back home from a trip. I get so sad that my trip is over. Does anyone else get this feeling? I look forward to the trip so much. I go, I conquer, I have a blast, and then it's just over too quickly! Then the sadness settles in. I know it's crazy! But I feel this way every time. I'm just addicted to traveling, I guess! So, here I sit- looking forward and ready to plan my next trip. My husband and I just came back from our Christmas trip. Our tradition is to go on a trip for our Christmas present to each other. Sometimes we do just a little weekend trip somewhere close by. Other times we have went on a cruise or to the beach. This year we went to Nashville! I totally lost myself in the city. It truly is Music City! As you walk through the streets of downtown Nashville by the honky tonk bars- live music so sweet to the ear coming out of the opened doors and windows- It almost feels as if the city is breathing music! As weird as that sounds... The music is the pulse and the heart of Nashville and you can feel it when you are there in Downtown walking the strip on Broadway. We stayed at a hotel in the heart of downtown Nashville, within walking distance to Broadway. At night, we could hear the live music in our hotel room. Instead of using the motto of NYC - "the city that never sleeps, " you could say that Nashville is "the city where the music never stops!" We heard live acts from 11am until 3 am!

We had so much fun! I think one of our favorite experiences while we were there was visiting "The Johnny Cash Museum." It was so amazing just looking at Cash's costumes that he actually wore on stage. Seeing the guitars he played... Just standing there imagining him strumming that guitar. I loved being able to see the yearbook pictures of Johnny Cash. It was so touching seeing the actual handwritten poem that Johnny Cash wrote to his wife June after her death. He loved her so much. It was just an amazing experience.

We also enjoyed going to the historic Ryman Auditorium to see the Grand Ole Opry show! I've seen the Grand Ole Opry show one other time. It was in the new Opry house. The Ryman is the original Grand Ole Opry house. It was a wonderful, unforgettable experience going to the show at the Ryman. The Ryman is this beautiful old church. The auditorium seating is still the original "church pews." Just being there and knowing the amazing history of the legendary country music artists who played there... It is just a great experience. My favorite performances of the night were a canadian country artist Lindsey Ell singing "Amazing Grace," The Rocky Top Express singing "Rocky Top," Holly Williams (Hank Williams Jr.'s daughter) performance of her song "Waiting on June"- written about her maternal grandmother & grandfather, and the performances by Chris Janson. Chris Janson was so grateful for the opportunity to play at the Grand Ole Opry. He was living his dream. It was great to watch and witness! He received a standing ovation. It was a wonderful night!

Eating the delicious award- winning homemade buttermilk biscuits and preserves at the Loveless Cafe was another one of our favorite things we did! If you visit Nashville, you have to go here and experience these biscuits! There will be a wait and it is out of the way from the city, but it is totally worth it!

One last foodie recommendation, if you are visiting Nashville- you MUST visit The Pancake Pantry! It is out near Vanderbilt University. It is AMAZING! They are famous for their pancakes (hence the name Pancake Pantry). They have 23 different varieties of pancakes. They have won awards for their sweet potato pancakes. When we got to the restaurant, there was already a line forming on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant. We got our place in line and waited for about 45 minutes. Don't let this deter you from eating here! It is TRULY amazing and worth the wait. I ordered the sweet potato pancakes. They come with a delicious cinnamon cream syrup! It was one of the best things I've ever ate in my life!

Until next time! Happy Monday! Have a wonderful week!