Travel to Nashville was a rental car delivered the next morning after a bit of a delay. Maurice drove and after a slightly wrong turn getting out of Memphis we actually had not gone far wrong and the journey was straightforward after that apart from ghastly rain and huge trucks. A pit stop as taken in a run down diner half way and we made it to Nashville by around 3 without any difficulty.
That night was Opry night so we just got our bearings and had a rest before heading out around 6.30. The Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman exceeded all expectations - the acts were good, the atmosphere great and our seats - we could touch the stage! After the gig we went to bar around the corner which was pretty busy. All of town was heaving as there was also a hockey game on. We had a few beers and some bar food before heading back to the hotel.
The weather the next day was pretty grim so we decided on a bus tour at 1.00. We then had a wee walk to the town while it was relatively dry.
Breakfast in the hotel was included but Maurice needed some lunch so we grabbed McDonalds (unfortunately) and then waited for our pick up.
The tour was ok, included was a tour of Ryman and then the Country Music Hall of Fame. This is a mega museum with so much to see and do. We finished around 5 and came back to the hotel for snooze and refresh before going out again.
We tried a different bar and got talking to two very drunk Canadian hockey fans who had driven down for the game on Thursday which we were thinking of going to. After going back to the same bar as the previous night and grabbing some food we headed back to the hotel. It was perishing cold by this time.
Thursday was a beautiful day but cold. After breakfast we caught up with a few things in the room - Maurice had to do a bit of work.
We left the hotel and headed for Bridgestone to buy the hockey tickets. We opted for the $10 tickets. We then headed for the water front and walked around there for a bit before going for the trolley tour. This left around 12.25 and took us to some of the locations we had been to before. It also included a more in depth tour of the Millennium Park which was very interesting. I would recommend this tour over the Discover Nashville one we took the previous day - especially since we were located near downtown and could get to key attractions like the Country Hall of Fame ourselves.
When we finished our tour we had lunch at Demos which had been recommended to us and this was excellent and very good value for money. We went back up to the hotel where Maurice had a snooze and I went over to the Frist Gallery of the Visual Arts for a wee wander. There was an Egyptian exhibition which was interesting and some other strange exhibits. A small gallery but worth a visit.
We had a beer while getting ready to go out and then headed for the ice hockey game. This was really good value for our $10 even if I nearly had a panic attack trying to negotiate to my seat. We were very high up. Nashville Predators won 4 - 1 so when we went out afterwards there was a good vibe around! We went into a honky tonk bar with great country music being played by a good band. After a few beers there we headed up the road and visited the Flying Saucer where we had some bar food and finished off the evening.
Impressions of Nashville: I really liked Nashville. It had a good atmosphere, lots going on downtown, felt relatively safe and there was plenty for us to see and do. We didn't get to RCA Studio B or to Opryland itself so another day there would not go amiss.
Friday was our last day. We checked out and headed for the airport where we spent a bit of time before heading to Houston. Our short stay in Houston was marred by the location of our hotel and its lack of facilities, although a perfectly reasonable room complete with full fridge freezer, microwave, cooker and even a dishwasher. I visited the Galleria on the Friday afternoon and also the Saturday morning where I bought a couple of tops. Friday evening was spent trying to find suitable bars - result, nil. And somewhere to eat - result found an overpriced Indian restaurant after playing 2 invisible customers in another restaurant nearby. A costly and disappointing evening.
Headed for the airport around 12 on Saturday. This was the best part of our Houston experience. Painless check in and a good KLM lounge with good eats and drinks! Then an 8 hour flight, connection via Amsterdam and home. Back around 11.30 on Sunday.
