After we arrive in Nashville and drop our luggage, Travis walks us to Assembly Food Hall where we have many options for lunch. Since we have a hot chicken dinner tonight, I selected the falafel stand which had a great baba ganoush.
Our afternoon will consist of driving to some whiskey tastings. The location is a former car factory that has been readapted with food places, a concert venue and the whiskey distilleries. Our tasting started at Corsair, where our guide does a quick discussion of the process and then gives us tastes of a couple of their whiskeys as well as 2 gins, a spiced rum and an absinthe.
Our second tasting is at Nelson's Greenbriar. This place has a great family story behind it. After viewing this distilling facility and the barrel storage area (where the scent of whiskey was strong), we sat at a long table for our tastings.
The first thing we were instructed to do was swish some whiskey in our mouth to prime it for what's to come. This made such a difference to cutting the harsh alcohol taste going down. We tasted 5 different whiskeys with different properties, all explained to us as we went. We were also instructed to blend a couple of the whiskeys to taste the difference. This was my favourite tasting experience thanks to a fun family story and true education about a spirit that I am not that familiar with.
After we return to the hotel, we have a few minutes before heading out again for a walking tour followed by the hot chicken dinner. Travis is great at telling the story of the places we go to, in this case Ryman Auditorium, Printer's Alley and the history of country music. The chicken place is Prince's in Assembly Food Hall. They have options from plain to XXL! I decided to take a risk and do light mild on chicken tenders and with fries.😁 The chicken was very good, just enough heat to give me a sense of it and the fries were delicious. Tonight is our last night together and I've come to enjoy the company of Han and Fiona and really appreciated Travis' ability to keep us on track, on time and in good spirits.
The next morning, I've got most of the day before transferring to an airport hotel (for cost). I ran into Fiona and Han at breakfast then off to Country Music Hall of Fame. Travis has suggested the audio guide which was a good idea for me. Not being a country music fan, I would've missed out on a lot of the details. The tour is very good and while it includes people I've never heard of, they also had Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and reminded me that at one time we watched Minnie Pearl on TV quite a bit! The display of gold and platinum records is impressive.
The main facade of the building has windows made to look like piano keys
After a very quick but delicious turkey melt and tater tots, plus a nice convo with a couple of ladies looking for a spot to sit, I ran around the corner to the Hatch Show Print tour, barely making it on time. The first stop on this tour is a room where the two young entertaining guides tell us about the letterpress printing process they do here. While the other guide tells us about the history of Hatch using examples tacked up on the walls around the room, each of us has the opportunity to finish a small letterpress poster! The variety of posters are amazing and beautiful. From this room, we are then walked to see the printing room where several staff are working different presses, many quite old. Seeing them all in operation is a treat. The final stop of the tour is the gallery, which was showing art by the guy who did Peewee's Playhouse.
After a brief twirl around the shop, I headed to my final destination in Nashville, Ryman Auditorium. Travis had suggested this as an alternative to going to the Grand Ole Opry, which is quite a ways from center of Nashville. The Ryman is where the Opry started and is referred to as the Mother Church of country music. The hall was being set up for a Jason Isbell concert. The tour starts with a timeline of the hall, followed by a video telling the story of how it became such an important music venue, not just for country stars.
Finally we got to go into the auditorium and get our photo taken on the stage! Extra points for having a full professional backdrop and set due to the concert! You can also record yourself singing but I did not partake to save everyone's ears.
After that, I walked back to the hotel, surrounded by the music that poured out of every window. The hotel helped me call a cab to be taken to the airport hotel.
Although inquired about other things to do close by, I decided I didn't need to spend $20 for rides to/from a fancy mall. I took it easy the rest of the morning and got to the airport early.
I thought I'd got out of Nashville without buying things but right past TSA screening was a whiskey store carrying Louisa's liqueur! Had to get a bottle of course. Then near my gate I saw Parnassus books! Had to get Ann Patchetts lastest of course. 😁
I looking forward to some Louisa's over ice cream when I get home.
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