Last weekend, Alec and I made a quick trip to Nashville since I had to be there for work during the week. Neither of us had been before and had a lotttt of things we wanted to see and EAT. However, it was butt-freezing-cold. Especially on the Sunday that we were there. It was like 19º and we just were not prepared and YES, I DID check the weather before we left but it changed! You’ll see below that almost everywhere had crazy lines which is even more crazy because this is actually the slow season in Nashville! Regardless, we had a ton of fun, put on about 5 pounds each and made the most of our chilly little getaway!
What To Do
- Country Music Hall of Fame. I mean, duh, we had to go here plus it was litttterally across the street from the Downtown Hilton where we stayed. Full disclosure, Alec and I actually aren’t huge country people. I mean, we know the big ones and the more modern artists but all in all, we made our way through this place pretty quickly lol. It was still super cool to see things like Elvis’s Cadillac or T. Swift’s clothes and guitars. We opted to go here instead of tour the Grand Ole Opry because that one was a ways away from us and cost like $35 per person to get in and we decided that we weren’t that invested into going 🤷🏼♀️
- Nashville Predators Hockey Game. No joke, Alec bought these tickets about 30 minutes before the game started because it was freeezing and raining outside and we weren’t ready to hit up the Honky Tonks. It was SO much fun though….we love hockey games and even though they lost, I’m glad we went. It was snowing outside by the time the game was over.
- Honky Tonks. I mean, you really can’t go to Nashville without squeezing your way through a handful of these PACKED country bars. We went into whatever ones had the shortest lines to get in so we ended up getting a drink and listening to the live bands at Kid Rock’s, Jason Aldean’s, and Honky Tonk Central. Not totally our scene but it was fun!
- Parthenon. Unfortunately we wimped out on going here on that super cold Sunday, but Alec went by himself while I was working during the week. It is an exact replica of the OG Parthenon and the pictures were very impressive. I really can’t give any other commentary besides that lol.
- Go to the murals! You have to get an Uber to the classic I Believe In Nashville wall mural and right across from it is Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James store that is home to the other infamous plus striped wall mural. I couldn’t bring myself to wait in line for the giant angel wing wall in The Gulch shopping area though…
What To Eat
Oh my gosh the food. So many carbs. I was literally craving my spinach breakfast smoothie by the end of the four day trip. Here were my top four places in no particular order:
- Hattie B’s Hot Chicken. I think this is why Alec wanted to come on this trip with me. Just to go to Hattie B’s. He loves himself some hot chicken and he said it was absolutely worth the wait (about a 30 minute line in the rain). I got the mild spice and he got the hot spice but I didn’t even think his was that bad. Maybe my palette is just maturing 💁🏼 Their Mac n cheese was pretty good but I was not a fan of the greens.
- Biscuit Love. MY FAVORITE OMG OMG OMG. Now this place was truly worth the 45 minute wait outside in the freaking snow. Let that sink in. 45 minutes. outside. snow. Maybe that’s why it tasted so good…I was just so happy to be inside lol but we got the “bonuts” aka biscuit donuts filled with lemon creme and blueberry compote and they were SOOOOO good!! I alllllmost postmated some the next day. Alec got biscuits and gravy on a fresh made biscuit and I got the egg plate with cheese grits (AMAZING) with a fresh squeezed OJ mimosa. It was just, incredible.
- Merchants. We popped in to this cute little marble decorated place before the hockey game and thankfully found a place at the bar since it was a 3 hour wait for the main restaurant 🙃 We each got a drink and shared some spinach artichoke dip and deviled eggs (ok, those were just for me. Alec wouldn’t dare touch them) AND they bring you seasoned popcorn instead of bread so that’s cool.
- Martin’s BBQ. We were told by multiple sources that Martin’s was the best BBQ place so we had to try it for ourselves. It was so good that we went twice! We tried to pop in for a late night snack, but they only had a limited menu at that time of night so we went back the next day lol Alec got “the whole hog” aka a giant plate of meat and ribs and a side of wings and Mac n cheese and green beans. I got myself some Mac and pulled pork and it was yummo. Again though, I wasn’t feeling the greens. But the disgusting amount of Mac n cheese I had instead is comparable to greens right??
Heather Fern 