***Incomplete
As you can tell by now, none of my trips ever go as planned and this trip was no exception. The initial plan was to take a 2-3 week long road trip before heading off to Morocco for Peace Corps service. I was going to drive from Austin to El-Dorado (Arkansas) to see a friend, spend a day or two in Memphis, drive down to Nashville then continue on my road trip. However, I had the bright idea to sell my car on the first stop so I ended up taking the bus to Nashville and switching my Airbnb for a hostel downtown. I was in Nashville 08/15/19-08/18/19.
I stayed at the Nashville Downtown Hostel. It is gigantic (4 floors), very clean, safe and has individual, single gender and co-ed rooms of different capacities (4-10). There are also single toilets and showers as well as public ones so you can pick how much privacy you want. After checking in, I walked through the crowds on Broadway and 15 minutes to The Listening Room for a chill start that evening.
** Insert video
by Brian Sutherland ft some free styling on the piano by Blessing Offor… based on Brian’s neighbor - after his wife told him move out and to “go to hell” and he moved into a 5-star hotel
The Listening Room, like Blue Bird Café (heavily featured on the TV show Nashville), organizes song-writer sessions where songwriters talk about the inspiration for their songs, the struggle to be picked by a recording artist and the fears of being one-hit-wonders. It is so much easier to get into TLR because you have to pay to get in and it isn't as popular which cuts the crowd in half. $5 to get in.
The Blue Bird Café on the other hand (I went there on my last night), features more successful song writers whose songs are either currently on the radio or have been in the past. I had to wait 2 hours in line to get in but I was third in line, made some friends in line, they shared their White Claw, the music and stories were great and it made for my favorite experience in Nashville.
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*** notes about the photo at the bottom
The next morning, had a delicious Venezuelan breakfast from Caracasville Nashville Farmers' Market then explored the Market afterwards, it's worth a visit..
| Deep fried Arepa, plantains, black beans, rice, avocado, cheese and shredded chicken $10.50 |
In the afternoon, I went to see The Parthenon. It was built in 1897 and is an exact copy of the original Parthenon in Athens. It houses a 42-food tall Athena Parthenos sculpture (tallest indoor artwork of it's kind in the Western Hemisphere) and is also a full-scale replica of the original statue of Athena. $10 to get in.
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| Back of the building, photo from Nashville's website. |
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| Front of the building, bad photo by me |
Nike in her palm, Pegasus on both sides of her helmet, Sphynx in the middle, the snake represents and early king but also the people of Athens and the shield indicates Athena's role in protecting her people.  |
That night, I went for a Blue Grass Festival that someone at the hostel had told me about, Full Moon Pickin' Party. The music was great, weather perfect, cider delicious and my heart full.
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| $25 ticket included free drinks |
** insert video
I spent most of the following day casually exploring neighborhoods, including 12 South which I highly recommend. 12 South is a neighborhood along 12th Avenue that has a vintage clothing store on one end, a gourmet restaurant on the other and many unique businesses in between. In a different neighborhood, I had the local delicacy of hot chicken and I can tell you right now that I'm never doing that to myself again... but it was worth the experience. Rumor has it Hattie B's Hot Chicken is the best in Nashville but after waiting in line for over 30 minutes and getting told that it might take another 45, I googled the next best thing and went to Princes Hot Chicken
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| I think these were 4 hot tenders, less than $10 |
On my way to the airport, I stopped at Edley's Bar-B-Que for a hearty meal as a tribute to all things southern.
Burnt ends on grits casserole with sides of corn bread and coleslaw.
***For my information, you don’t have to read this lol
In the round: With the hat, Neil Medley has written for Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, Tyler Farr w/ Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Josh Abbott Band and so many others.
In the blue shirt, Ryan Beaver, an artist himself featured in Rolling Stone and a few other publications, written songs for Steve Moakler (“Breaking New Ground”), HARDY (“4X4”), and Ashley Monroe (“Mother’s Daughter”).
Tina Parole has written songs for Britney Spears, Dallas Smith, Jerrod Niemann and most recently for Celine Dion's upcoming album as well as Tenille Townes' "Jersey On The Wall.”
With the short hair, Dave Pittenger, diverse producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, has written songs for Tyler Farr, Billy Rafoul, Jessie James Decker and. landed worldwide sync placements with Pizza Hut, Cablevision, Colgate, and Biofenac.
In the round: With the hat, Neil Medley has written for Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, Tyler Farr w/ Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Josh Abbott Band and so many others.
In the blue shirt, Ryan Beaver, an artist himself featured in Rolling Stone and a few other publications, written songs for Steve Moakler (“Breaking New Ground”), HARDY (“4X4”), and Ashley Monroe (“Mother’s Daughter”).
Tina Parole has written songs for Britney Spears, Dallas Smith, Jerrod Niemann and most recently for Celine Dion's upcoming album as well as Tenille Townes' "Jersey On The Wall.”
With the short hair, Dave Pittenger, diverse producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, has written songs for Tyler Farr, Billy Rafoul, Jessie James Decker and. landed worldwide sync placements with Pizza Hut, Cablevision, Colgate, and Biofenac.