THE TO GO LIST

Hey guys! It’s been awhile – I’ve had a crazy year so far, and it’s only going to get crazier. I’m going to try to be a lot more committed to the blog, though, because I always write about my trips, I just haven’t been great at posting them. Feel free to let me know if there’s anything you want to see, here!

Over Memorial Day weekend my boyfriend and I spent an amazing few days in Nashville. I’ve been to Music City before, for short trips with my girlfriends, but Mason had never been. We both love country music, and I kept telling him how much he would love Nash, so we took the first long-weekend opportunity that we got, and made the drive.

The trip: From Indy, the drive is only about 4.5ish hours once you stop for snacks and gas. We could’ve flown, but it literally would’ve taken longer once you consider driving to the airport, getting through security, waiting on your plane and then taking the actual flight. Plus – driving means I can take as many pairs of shoes as I want 😉 We were looking for somewhere to eat on our way down, and stopped at a place in Washington, Indiana, called Mason’s Root Beer Drive-In. This place is a hidden gem, let me just tell you. If you’re ever driving through the area, look this place up! It’s super cute, and the food was SO good. We got tenderloin sandwiches because, Indiana. But the best part was the homemade root beer in frozen mugs!

The digs: We stayed at an AirBnB property called Nashvilla. The craftsman-style home was well-kept and definitely had a Southern charm about it. From the wood floors to the classic/vintage decor and modern amenities, it was perfect for the long weekend. Plus, it was in a great location. Our #Ubers to #Broadway ran about $5-10, depending on the time of day, which is so cheap! The hosts were out of town, so we got the whole house to ourselves, which is always nice, too.

The agenda: We both worked Friday, so we didn’t get into the city until about midnight. Yes, we could’ve easily hit the bars since most stay open until 3am, but we’re #old so we just went to bed so we could be refreshed for the morning.

Saturday, we explored the city, driving through downtown, Broadway, and The Gulch. It stormed for a few hours in the afternoon, so we hit up Cookout,saw the new Star Wars movie, and had a relaxing day. Thankfully the weather cleared up later on and made for a gorgeous night out on the town.

Broadway is the most popular bar scene in Nashville, and houses several celebrity-owned and famous bars, restaurants and tourist shops. We hit Nudie’s Honkey Tonk, Acme Feed & Seed (get.the.slushies.), Dierks Bentley’s bar Whiskey Row, Blake Shelton’s bar Ole Red, and several others! It was such a fun night. We haven’t gone out much in Indy recently because we’ve both been crazy busy with work and getting ready to move (we just bought a house!), so this night out — and mini-vacay in general — was well-deserved 😉

Sunday we were feeling a little rough — Nashville has given me some of the best memories, and the WORST hangovers, so I drove through Bojangles for some delicious and soak-up-all-the-alcohol breakfast. Their biscuits are e v e r y t h i n g. I lived in North Carolina for about a year and a half, so I try to get my fix of southern-style food whenever I get the chance! Once we were rejuvenated, we went to the Parthenon – yes, you read that right. Nashville has it’s own full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. If you’ve read my previous posts, you already know I’ve seen the real one! But this was pretty cool, also. It’s only $6 to get in, full of artwork, and just an overall unique site to see. The grounds around the structure would also be perfect to have a picnic or play-date for kids to run around.

It was super hot out today, so when it cooled down a little later we went back to Broadway to check out some of the souvenir shops. The stores generally carry the same stuff, but some have better selections than others. We bought some magnets and coasters for the new house, and then hit the bars again – this time, not as hard.

I think my favorite thing about Nashville is that every bar has live music – and the bars that are multiple levels have different bands on each floor! My dad was a music critic for several years, so I grew up going to concerts and have a huge spot in my heart for live music. Some of the most famous country music artists got their start performing at bars on Broadway, which I think says a lot about the culture of the city. It’s always fun when you’re in Nashville to wonder if you’re going to see the next big artist — or if you’ll see celebrities! Blake Shelton and some of the other celeb owners are known to make surprise appearances at their bars when in town. I would actually fall over if I saw Dierks Bentley walking down Broadway! 😉

Monday we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, which we really enjoyed. It was fairly inexpensive for all there was to see, and was a great way to get out of the heat/kill a few hours before we had to head back to Indy.

I’m convinced that you could spend a lifetime in Nashville and not run out of things to do. We took it pretty easy and only did a few choice activities, but for a full list of things to do (broken out by the type of trip you’re taking), the CVB has several recommendations here!

The grub: If you haven’t gathered by now with my catering background, I’m a huge foodie. My inner fat girl looks up the best places to eat on Instagram as soon as I book a trip to a new city. No shame.

Food in #Nashville might be the second most important cultural aspect after music. Hot chicken, barbecue, biscuits, doughnuts…you name it. My heart/stomach was sold. I had compiled my way-too-long-for-a-weekend list of great places to eat, and ironically we didn’t didn’t make it to any of them, because we wanted to try suggestions from our Uber drivers and other people we met, on where to go.

Jack’s BBQ: Located right on Broadway, this barbecue joint usually has a line out the door, but you don’t hear about it the way you hear about others like Martin’s (linked below). For $11-13, you get your choice of meat, 2-3 sides, and cornbread. Definitely a great deal, and well worth the wait.

Five Daughter’s Bakery: Okay…so my inner fat girl particularly *loves* doughnuts. One of our Uber drivers suggested this joint after I mentioned that I love going places that I can Instagram not just the food but the building — who doesn’t?! He definitely did not let us down. We hit this adorable bakery up on our way out of Nash, and the line was out the door. Now that i’ve had the doughnuts, I can honestly say that I would’ve waited even longer – they’re THAT good. The shop is also the cutest place i’ve ever seen. Everything is pink, sea foam and white, and of course they have light-up signage and a donut mural. #Basic

Cook Out: If you’re looking for a place to grab a bite on the go (drive-through), I’d recommend #Cookout over anything. This gem is not local to Nash, but it is only in parts of the South *link locations here* The cookout tray is the best fast food deal I’ve met yet. Where else can you get a burger with a side of a corn dog, hush puppies, or a quesadilla for under $6? Nowhere, that’s where.

There are so many other amazing places to eat in Nashville, I wish I had more time to check out more of them! Some additional recommendations from friends who’ve been there:

Loveless Cafe
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken *beware of the long lines!
Husk *amazing Bloody Marys!
Biscuit Love Martin’s BBQ
Five Points Pizza

So that was that – our weekend in #Nash! Hope you enjoyed 🙂