Day Nine

Exploring Nashville

Nashville is known for its music, but it also has a gorgeous countryside and plantations. We started our day at the Belle Meade Plantation.

The grounds were beautifully manicured. The plantation at its height was 5,400 acres and is 30 today. Every current day Kentucky Derby winner can trace his bloodlines to this plantation. It was a must see for us.

We toured the house, but were not allowed to take photos. Just imagine an elegantly decorated mid to late 1800’s home furnishings.

The plantation did have slave quarters; although these were not highlighted in the tour. In the olden days, kitchens in the south were separate from the houses. This is for two reasons. One, fires were common in the kitchen and it would keep the house from catching. Two, kitchens were extremely hot in the summer, so the house would stay cool. We saw the kitchens today, and I cannot imagine how hot the poor women slaves were in those kitchens with minimal windows.

The plantation tour finished with a wine tasting, and we had a delicious lunch at a restaurant on the grounds. A perfect finish to the morning.

Now onto Honkey Tonk.

This is the left side of a block when looking towards the river. We went to three honkey tonks: Silver Dollar, Tootsies, and The Stage. The best singer was at Silver Dollar. A Honkey Tonk is primarily a bar with a stage and there are live performances from 10am- 3am the next morning. It was very interesting to see all of the performers and bands, but you truly feel for them as they chase their dream.

After all that music, it was time for some ice cream! We went to Mike’s Homemade Ice Cream. I got Moose Track and Dad Strawberry. It was definitely homemade, but not as good as home. It was creamy, but not dense.  It definitely hit the spot on an 88 degree day.

One of the neatest things about Nashville, that I don’t think can be experienced in any other place, is music literally fills the air. You can walk up or down the street of the Honkey Tonks or even three blocks away and the music can still be heard daintily in the distance. It is really a beautiful experience.

Tomorrow we move to Mississippi. I will miss Nashville. The city was welcoming, and the people are truly authentic with wonderful personalities and senses of humor.

~A