Oot & Aboot: Always drink upstream from the herd

This morning I had a massive sleep in, it was great! Today I had a completely free day. Nashville is a fantastic city and I’d recommend it to someone after something a bit left field, but there isn’t a great deal to do here. After the last two days of touring, I had pretty much seen everything I wanted to. I took today as a day of taking it easy and just cruising downtown Nashville. I headed out to Broadway and 2nd Avenue where a lot of the honky tonks, restaurants and shops are. I checked out the cowboy boots stores thinking about purchasing a pair. A tied a few on and they were cool but ultimately I wouldn’t be seen in public in them (unless I was in Nashville) so I decided not to get them. Plus, they aren’t exactly light in the luggage. I did nag myself an awesome belt complete with belt buckle. One thing I found interesting in looking through the souvenir shops was the Civil War merchandise you can get. When I was in DC the merchandise was very Union army based. When you look at what’s in Nashville it’s all Confederate army based. I find it strange as one of the beliefs the Confeds had was slavery. Surely people don’t want to support an army like that now! Well clearly they do, and sides are still taken after all these years.

I moved on and saw the Hatch Show Print shop. Hatch Show Print is one of the oldest working letter press print shops in the US. They make all the fantastic posters for country years, going back as far as 1880’s. They still sell old prints today, plus you can get customized prints done for you too. I see a fantastic Johnny Cash poster from his hey day and buy that. Old Hatch Show Print’s actually sell for quite a price as they are vintage.

After having a look at the stores I find a place to get some lunch. I end up on Broadway at a burger bar that’s been there for donkies years. I grab a oiled up burger and fries. One thing is for sure, you get a lot of food and you don’t pay much. As soon as I headed south in the US everything is cheaper, you even notice it in the petrol prices.

After lunch I continue to walk around with not a real aim in mind. It’s not all that busy during the day; people seem to come out at night. I’m told that in the heat of summer people don’t tend to visit the south as much as they might earlier in the year, so there isn’t as many tourists around, which I don’t mind at all. There seems to be a recurring theme in the gift shops on 2^nd Ave. They all have merchandise that is Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Boop, or I Love Lucy. I don’t quite get the connection and they are very Hollywood. But seriously, they are like in EVERY store. Very weird.

Well it starts to rain, luckily not to hard, but given the rain I slowly head back to the hotel. I took the scenic route and went through Printers Alley. It’s where printing business’s used to belong and it is now full of bars. It’s a bit if a seedy area and I think it’s a more local’s only place.

I’m back at the hotel and I start to organize how I am going to get myself to the Grand Ole Opry. I had bought a ticket to the Grand Old Opry tonight and it’s about 25 minutes out of downtown Nashville. The Grand Ole Opry is a country music concert that is on every Friday and Saturday night and is broadcasted over the radio live during the performance. The shows are a mix of new performers, legends, and I guess anyone they can find. I figure out what bus to get and make my way to Opry Mills. Opry Mills is next door to the Grand Ole Opry and is a big shopping centre. Once I get the bus over there I head to wherever I can to get dinner as I don’t have long before the show starts. I end up at T.G.I Fridays. If you ever wondered what the ‘T.G.I’ stood for (cause I did) it stands for Thank God It’s Friday. I have some garlic laden shrimp, thinking I must get some gum before I get to the show, and then get on my way.

The show kicks off with four guys dressed in awesome country clothing including sheep skin chaps. Just crazy. I don’t know any of the artists but I still enjoy it. Most of the audience seems to know who the people are as they sing along. It’s almost a packed house and they have designed the place like the Ryman, complete with pews for seating. Because the show is broadcasted live, after every couple of songs a broadcaster comes over and does some commercials and interviews with the artists. The show is broken up into quarters and during the whole show, I saw about 8 artists or bands. Overall I really enjoyed seeing the show. It’s strange to go to a show and not know any of the songs, but a visit to Nashville wouldn’t be complete without taking in a show at the Opry. If only it was decades earlier and I had a chance to see Johnny Cash. That would have been amazing. I get the bus home and once in downtown Nashville I walk VERY fast back to my hotel There aren’t many people around in downtown Nashville so I wasn’t going to spend too long there.

What I learnt in Nashville today:

It isn’t a very stylin’ place, just check out Opry Mills!
I love how country music songs are based on the most simple of situations. One song I heard was about a guy who likes looking at a girl at work. Love it!
No more burgers…pleeease….