They've gone country!

We headed to Nashville, the weekend before Thanksgiving, as part of our Christmas gift to each other and a get-away. We LOVED every bit of the weekend trip; it was jammed packed with sight-seeing and spending quality time together discovering the CAPITAL of COUNTRY. We stayed at the Opryland Resort, which is amazing in and of itself. We actually got upgraded because we arrived later in the day on Friday and our standard room was unavailable, so we got the suite...SWEET! After dropping off our bags, we headed to dinner in the resort and walked around the planatation...the place is HUGE.

Saturday was fast-paced. We started the day with breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. It came highly recommended by tourist sites and it was definitely worth the wait in line to get in. Unlike many meals, Amanda actually ate everything she ordered.

Afterwards, we headed the original Grand Ole' Opry,
the Ryman Auditorium. We toured the venue and
paid a little extra to take part in the back-stage tour where we were able to see dressing rooms and all the things that happen behind the curtains. It was awe-inspiring to know that we were standing on the same stage as greats like Reba, Johnny Cash, and even Elvis. While the venue has definitely undergone renovations through the years, the stage is still the same.




We also visited many of the honky-tonks along Broadway, where music can be heard flowing out of the doors as early as 10am. I guess when trying to break into the music industry, you'll play just about whenever you get the chance. Which doesn't seem like a bad idea since those little bars share an alley with the Ryman and it's said that many big names pop into the honky-tonks when playing at the Ryman. You just never know who you're going to see....we didn't see anyone.

The weather wasn't the greatest while we were in Nashville,
so we tried to do as much as we could within reason.
Our next stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame and
then off to Jack's BBQ, another must stop on trip. To get a good understanding of where country music came from, the CMHF is a great place to visit. You not only get a historical account of pivotal people in the industry, but you can also get interactive with certain sections of the museum. The food at Jack's is TOO DIE FOR. Joe has decided that he is giving up on trying to perfect his BBQ ribs since they will never fall off the bone like they did at Jack's. It was excellent to say the very least.

We headed back to the hotel in order to get ready for our main event for the weekend. We got tickets to Radio City's Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes at the Grand Ole' Opry. Amanda was like a little kid at the show, watching the 20+ ladies do high-kicks and pin-wheels, while Joe sipped on mixed drinks in order to stay awake. Even though the enthusiasm level wasn't shared by both, they each enjoyed going to the show. After the show, we returned the hotel and stopped by Findley's, the Irish pub. Now, if you know us, you know that Joe MUST grace any Irish pub with his presence and Amanda is along for the ride. It was a very nice establishment and the drinks were great! Not quite Kevin Barry's, but still a good place to visit.

We loved our time in Nashville and are already planning another trip after the holidays. Hopefully, the weather will be warmer and we'll have more time to see all that Nashville has to offer!