July 2021

Nashville: the capital of Country and Bluegrass music, known as “Music City” and its nickname rings true.

I took a break from driving and paid for the Old Town Trolley Tour. It’s around $60 but its worth it to sit and be taken to places instead of driving, finding parking, and fighting traffic. And downtown Nashville does have traffic! Plus you can get off and on whenever you want, and it’s a good way to see where you’d like to spend more time once you see something that interests you.

The first place it goes by is the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum in downtown:

It passes by all the downtown hangouts with its blasting music from their windowless fronts:

This mural has a story: Where Brad Paisley is (in the white cowboy hat), it used to be Taylor Swift. The locals hated that she was on the mural so much that they covered her with Paisley. They did a great job!

The tour takes you to the industrial area where the famous Marathon Automobiles is:

And you see lots of selfie taking everywhere you go:

The old music studios are still standing too:

Back to the Country Music Museum downtown where inside is thousands of memorabilia in multiple floors dedicated to the artists and their careers. If you go, make sure to visit the Nashville Hatch Show Print shop, where since 1879 they have created the posters and cards for shows; you can even buy prints and posters there, and tour the printmaking shop!

A visit to the Parthenon is a must. It’s located near the prestigious Vanderbilt University, and a replica of the original one. View the super large Athena statue inside, and don’t neglect the area surrounding it, it’s lovely! We fed ducks at the pond and played some frisbee on the vast green fields just outside of it.

At the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park near the state capitol building there’s a globe that spins on water. There’s fountains that glow at night, a farmers market across the street, and all sorts of pillars and monuments dedicating the spirit of Tennessee, the Volunteer state.

Night falls and the neon signs downtown buzz brightly on as the streets are closed off for pedestrians, boozy pedal pushers, party buses, and bar hoppers.

Try Hattie B’s, the home of the hottest Nashville chicken. You’ll only have to take one small bite, I swear!

Afterwards, the chicken was walked off with a stroll to the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, where you can view the whole city, including the Nissan Stadium where the football team the Titans play.

Next stop: the Great Smoky Mountains!