Nashville, Tennessee

Our very first experience in Nashville started off with some very random southern hospitality at it's finest. We planned to start at Centennial Park and the Parthenon in the west of the city and make our way downtown that evening by walking around.

What ended up happening is that we got out of the van at the park and promptly were offered beers. We had stumbled upon a tailgate party and spent a few hours drinking, eating homemade food and playing games like corn sack (bean bags or sand bags are used for this in Canada).

We left around when the game was going to start and hitchhiked downtown rather than walk the half an hour. Downtown was bustling and it was amazing to see live music at the world famous Tootsie's orchid lounge. The bar is small but the multiple stories provide multiple shows at one time and the rooftop patio has a great view of the Nashville downtown strip. Over the weekend we got to see a lot of the various bars. The music is variable but mostly country and rock.

Downtown Nashville is EXPENSIVE and I don't recommend it unless you like country music and have the money to spend. Otherwise your wonderful buzz from friendly tailgate parties will fade and you'll be sober and out of cash before midnight (but not until after checking out a few bars and riding at least one mechanical bull).


The final attraction we saw in Nashville was the Grand Ole Opry. A classic venue for country music and where the best of the best get inducted as members. The tour was very interesting for seeing the area backstage but it did feel quite rushed and they don't actually let you take pictures on the centre stage (for this you need to pay the professional photographer another $24.)