One Fun Filled Day in Nashville

As a "last hoorah" for 2023 Evan and I had a spontaneous day in Nashville, Tennessee. As a country music fan, Nashville has been a place on my bucket list for a long time. We only had one day to spend in the Music City and we packed a lot into that single day. We had the pleasure of being chauffered around by Evan's aunt and uncle who lived 30 minutes outside of Nashville. Shout out to them for hosting us and being our fun tour guides for the day! 

We arrived in Nashville at around 11am on a Monday. We could not believe how loud the music was in the bars and restaurants on a weekday before noon! While it was not extremely crowded, there was still quite the hustle and bustle which made us wonder what could this place possibly be like on a Friday Night or Saturday?! 

Our first stop was the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge. As a civil engineer, I get very excited over beautiful bridges and even more so when I get to walk across them. The bridge was the perfect start to our adventure because once we walked across we were on Broadway, the main strip of Nashville. 

Broadway was so fun to walk through. Passing all the restaurants with their clever names and crazy signs was entertaining. There was Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar, Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, Dierk’s Bentley's Whiskey Row, Johnny Cash’s Bar & BBQ just to name a few of the restaurants with celebrity names. 

The first shop we went to was Boot Country where they proudly advertised “Buy 1 Pair Get 2 Pair Free!” I had fun looking at their boot collection and trying on a pair of flashy boots. 

For lunch we went to Pharmacy Burger in the Assembly Food Hall. The burgers were so good and the fries were amazing. 

After our burgers, we made our way to the Music City Walk of Fame Park. I loved seeing the names of some of my favorite artists and their stars on the sidewalk. I especially loved finding my all time favoritre singer, Josh Turner’s star. 

Across the street from the Walk of Fame was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. What a spectacular building. The outside is designed like a piano. There are some other neat architectural features that you can learn about in the museum too!

The museum was amazing! We chose to do the self guided tour and spent about 2 hours there. The museum starts in the 40s and 50s and you walk through 2 floors of history until you end at the country music of today! So many instruments, costumes worn by the stars, and more. I loved seeing the exhibits of some of my favorite country music singers. We definitely could have spent more time on the tour, there was so much to see and read about and I would like to go back one day. 

The next stop on my Nashville Bucket List was the Ryman Auditorium. The Ryman served as the Grand Ole Opry for a time and is also known as the "Mother Church of Country Music." We only explored the outside as we did not have time to do the tour, but that just means we will have to make a journey back!

After all the walking we had done, we were ready for another food break. Evan's aunt wanted to check out the Legendairy Milkshake Bar she had heard about so we went to get milkshakes. There is a reason why "legendary" is in their name. This was an experience I will never forget. These were the craziest milkshakes I had ever seen. You could get an 8oz or a 16 oz. Evan and I split a 16oz Strawberry Cheescake milkshake. This shake was strawberry ice cream with vanilla icing and white chocolate chips around the rim of the glass, topped with whipped cream, chocolate and strawberry drizzle and a slice of actual cheese cake. It was so insane, but so good! We kept laughing at how ridiculous and fun it was eating such a work of art.

We were ready to work off the milkshakes and do some more walking and made our way back to the car so we could drive to Centennial Park. On the way there we stopped at the popular “What Lifts You” mural and took some glamor shots. 

At Centennial Park we marveled at the impressive Parthenon. Fun fact, it’s the world’s only exact size and detail replica of the original temple in Greece. We arrived after hours, but I would love to go back and explore the museum and take the tour inside!

Evan’s aunt knew what she was doing when she saved the best for our last stop, The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Words cannot begin to describe this place. It was like a little Disney World all in one hotel. There was a boat ride you could take throughout the hotel, shops, restaurants, so many ballrooms for the conventions, and a water park! I was in awe the whole time and I did not want to leave. You could spend a whole week here without going outside. 

My favorite sections of the hotel were the Magnolia and the Garden Conservatory. It was like walking around a little forest. There were plants that went from the first floor, passed the seventh floor, all the way to the ceiling! So many lights and water features. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing. 

After the hotel we drove by the Grand Ole Opry. It was about 8 o'clock in the evening so we did not have time to go inside, but I would love to go back and explore one day.

I loved our day in Nashville. We packed a lot into one day, but I know there is still so much we did not get to do. Until next time!

Thanks for reading and I hope you find this post fun and helpful! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments on this page or on my instagram page @mountain.dreaming.