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Atlanta & Nashville

October - November 2017
A 13-day adventure by Bex's Travels Read more
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  • Bex's TravelsAtlanta & Nashville
    Day 9

    Museums & Music

    October 30, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    11.30pm
    Bit late writing today’s blog!

    We purchased the 3 day shuttle ticket from reception & caught the first bus at 9.55am into Downtown Nashville. We got off at the Wildhorse Saloon & then walked along Broadway just taking in the atmosphere. Our first stop was the Visitors Centre where we purchased City Passes. These entitle you to free admission into 4 attractions, free entry to the Parthenon, free entry to Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame & 25% off a Gray Line Tour.
    Monday appears to be a quiet day in Nashville so a few attractions are closed.

    The first place we decided to go was ‘Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum’ - it was really interesting to learn more about the musicians that have played on some of the biggest records of all time. Part of the museum is home to the ‘Grammy Museum Gallery’, this part had lots of area where you could test out being a musician & try different instruments. One thing I learnt today is that i’m a crap drummer!! There was another stage where we had a sing along as Ray Charles’ backing singers.
    Again we were lucky that museum was fairly quiet so we got to really take our time & interact with the exhibits. We must have been there for about 3hrs!!

    Leaving the museum we called back into the Ryman auditorium shop as we didn’t get chance to look around yesterday. By now we were hungry so we called into ‘Tootsies Orchid Bar’ for lunch. It is so nice to be able to relax with food & drink listening to good live music. We were probably there a good hour or more.

    Our next stop was, yes you guessed it the ‘Johnny Cash Museum’ - come on it had to be done! Actually there were several new exhibits since the last time we visited 2 years ago. We must have been there 2.5hrs! I never learn, as once again I watched the video for ‘Hurt’ knowing full well it makes me tear up every time I see it!! I love this museum, he was so talented.

    By the time we left the museum it was 6.20pm, when we checked the bus schedule we realised we had just missed a bus back to our hotel & would have 90mins to wait for the next one so we called into the Wildhorse Saloon for a drink. Only cokes mind! No cocktails or alcohol today.

    Tomorrow we plan on heading back Downtown & doing a Trolley hop on, hop off tour.

    Night y’all 😴    Read more

  • Bex's TravelsAtlanta & Nashville
    Day 10

    More Tours & Exploring

    October 31, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    10am
    As I was so slack with yesterdays blog, I thought I would get started on this one nice & early!
    We are currently on the shuttle to downtown Nashville again. Considering we were not late back yesterday it was gone midnight before I got to sleep, we were reading & chilling, we had the TV on in the background & got through Pretty Woman and Hocus Pocus.

    It looks like it is going to be a nice day, like yesterday the sun is out & we have a bright blue sky. Can still be chilly in the shade but still nicer than the weather we were having in the UK.

    2.50pm
    Sat in the sunshine waiting for the Trolley.
    After getting off the shuttle downtown we decided to do the ‘Old Town Trolley Tour’, the trolleys go around 12 miles of Nashville in a continuous loop stopping at 15 stops along the way. Our first stop was the ‘Parthenon’ as we had free admission tickets, although we stopped here 2years ago we never went in. I’m glad we went in this time. The history of the building & what it was initially there for was fascinating. Inside hosts loads of photos from this time period & how the building was constructed. There are also art collections, I wish I could paint! Up the stairs inside is the huge golden gilded figure of Athena - which wow, is impressive!

    After leaving the Parthenon we jumped back on the Trolley & our next stop was the ‘Belmont Mansion’. This was an interesting tour & much of the original decor & furnishings still exists or has been replicated to look as near as it did at the time. I suppose I hate to admit where I take after Dad as I do find it interesting looking round old houses & museums! One fascinating fact from the tour is that the carpets in the house are made by Axminster carpets! To which me & Mel pipe up ‘ooh that is just down the round from where we live’. Small world! I knew Axminster carpets had a good reputation but I didn’t realise their reputation was THAT good to furnish an historic mansion!

    Ooh trolley is here....more later!

    6.20pm
    Sat back on the shuttle to return to the hotel.
    We completed the full route of the Old Trolley Tour, with our couple hop off & ons as indicated above! Was a really nice route & the 3 drivers/guides we had over the course of the tour were really informative. After getting off at the final stop we were starving so we headed over to the ‘Sun Diner’ next to the Johnny Cash museum for food. We both have omelettes & had a bop along to the music. I thought it was a quaint typical American style diner.

    We ended up just wandering & popping in shops along Broadway killing time before the shuttle. One thing I have noticed more this time than the last time we were here is the number of homeless people & beggars. I always feel really guilty walking past them but I would hate to give to one & not another. I would rather give some money to a homelessness charity or shelter.

    10.50pm
    Ready for bed! Just watched the film ‘Over Her Dead Body’ - a Paul Rudd film I haven’t seen.
    When we got back to the hotel we finally used the swimming pool, was actually really nice & relaxing. At one point we were the only 2 in the pool, must be quiet season as hardly anyone has been using the pool. After our swim, we went to the whirlpool spa, oh my god it was lush! The worse thing was getting out & going back to the pool as that seemed freezing in comparison.

    Last full day in Nashville tomorrow 😢 better make the most of it!    Read more

  • Bex's TravelsAtlanta & Nashville
    Day 11

    Final full day in Nashville

    November 1, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    12.25pm
    Currently sat in the Wildhorse Saloon, listening to a band do their sound check.

    We went to the ‘Patsy Cline’ museum this morning. It is on the floor above Johnny Cash museum & has a similar lay out & feel to it. I came away feeling really moved & not going to lie I did tear up a couple times. I didn’t quite realise how much she achieved in her short life, I still can’t believe she was only 30 when she was killed in a plane crash. She seemed much older & wiser than her years. There was lots of memorabilia, Patsy was a keen scrapbooker so all her personal photos & memories had been scanned so you could look through them all on an iPad. You got a real feeling about the kind of person she was. Her daughter Julie was in the museum chatting to guests, so it goes to show how closely the families work with the museum & the respect held for the person & their personal artefacts.
    When we left the museum we popped into the ‘Goo Goo’ store - not that I would ever be able to eat any of their stuff as they contain nuts, mainly peanuts & we all know peanuts are evil.

    1.50pm
    Sat in the Hard Rock cafe. Ordered steaks for lunch & non alcoholic cocktails (it is still a bit early!). We ended up leaving the Wildhorse as there was nothing due to happen until around 6pm. We thought they held line dancing throughout the day & would have been nice for Mel to line dance in Nashville, I may have even gave it a try, but obviously today was not the day! So instead we went for a walk after lunch along the pedestrian bridge, the views were really nice.

    11.30pm
    Lunch in the Hard Rock cafe was nice, we had the Oreo cheesecake for desert, was yummy but I couldn’t eat it all!
    After lunch we just wandered, went in shops to get gifts & bits for home. We called into Alan Jackson’s bar - ‘AJs Good Time Bar’, there were a couple singing & it was nice to sit & chill.

    We caught the 6.15pm shuttle back to the hotel & then decided we really should start packing. At 8pm we popped to the bar for a drink & listen to the acts playing there ‘Brassfield Alley’ & ‘Brianna Alomar’. I really enjoyed both acts, easy listening & very talented, especially Brianna as she is only 16. Would be nice to see if either of them make it big in the future.

    Oh we found out why Wildhorse was so quiet & bands sound-checking. Tonight was the final of the NashNext competition to find Country’s new next star.

    Back to more packing & bed, sad that the holiday is at an end.    Read more

  • Bex's TravelsAtlanta & Nashville
    Day 13

    Leaving Nashville & Arrival at Home

    November 3, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    4.20pm - 02.11.17
    Sat in Nashville airport, think we got here a bit too early but it is always better to be safe than sorry plus you never know how long it will take to get through security (it took less than 5 mins!!).
    Our flight doesn’t leave until 5.35pm but we should be able to board in about 30mins.

    We didn’t get up until gone 9 this morning as we knew we had until 12pm to check out & we did 80% of our packing last night. We both had plenty of room in our suitcases & both were below the baggage weight limits. We checked out & left our suitcases at the hotel & went for a wander. We called in McDonalds for lunch as we wanted something quick & easy. I spoke to Dad & Nic, i’m impressed with Dad as he answered my video chat ok!

    Just been able to check in our hand luggage, as well as our main luggage - bonus! At least we won’t have it with us changing flights now.

    Red Eye Flight
    The flight from Nashville to Atlanta was straight forward & quicker than expected which gave us plenty of time to get off the plane & get to where we needed to go for our next flight in Atlanta, in fact we may have had time for a spot of duty free shopping 😉

    The flight home was fine, one thing I noted is that compared to Virgin, Delta are not as good regarding my nut allergy. All 3 Delta flights were informed & an announcement was made on only 1 of these flights. They didn’t compensate on the fact I could not eat the food either. But hey ho, never mind, thankfully all was ok.

    I think I managed about 90mins sleep coming home, Mel didn’t get any sleep - she managed to get through 2 films, unheard of for her! I managed to watch 1 film coming home which left me a distraught, blubbering wreck (just ask Mel - think she found it quite amusing!) I watched ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ - I thought Marley & Me was bad, it had nothing on this film. Oh my god the tears, think I got through a whole pack of tissues!!

    Mel also got addicted to 1 of the in flight games, was a bit like Pac-Man but with a chicken, trying to outrun sheep & she got to level 30! She now holds on the high scores records!

    At one point there appeared to be an emergency on board, as the flight attendants were all gathered searching up & down the aisles with torches. We don’t know for sure but believe someone was taken ill.

    9.30pm - 03.11.17
    We were a bit late coming into Heathrow, due to ground fog at the airport. We didn’t rush getting off the plane & timed it right as we only had to wait a couple of mins for our baggage to be at the carousel.
    Julie was also a bit delayed too due to an accident, so we could just relax at the fact we were back in UK.

    We called in for food at Pizza Hut on way home, by then I was starving!! Then both Mel & I were dozing of in the car for the rest of the journey. Julie finally got some peace & quiet!

    I haven’t done too much since getting home, mainly napping. I will unpack tomorrow!!    Read more

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