Meanwhile, here's what I've managed to do in the past 24-hours or so:
Walked from my hotel to the
Then walked "The District" checking out the places with live music. They're everywhere. Music is piped out onto the street, and each little honky-tonk has speakers outside their doors. Most places don't charge a cover, and there are bands playing all day. There's truly an overwhelming amount of live music.
Stopped for dinner at Jack's Barbecue.
I know you can't read the menu very well, but I didn't have my camera with me and couldn't take a shot of the food. I had the Tennessee Pork Shoulder Plate with green beans, baked beans, and bread. I tried to order cole slaw instead of green beans, but they were out of cole slaw. What kind of barbecue place runs out of cole slaw?!? No matter, the green beans were fabulous. Canned "Italian Cut," boiled with bacon within an inch of their life.
Sitting at a picnic table on Jack's back deck, I looked up and realized I was sitting no more than 20 yards (if that) from the Ryman Auditorium. After dinner I walked around the Ryman, walked around town a little more, and then went back to the hotel.
Today: First stop was back to the Ryman for a tour, which included backstage. I was hoping to catch a show there tonight, but no such luck. No show until tomorrow night.
Next stop: Hatch Show Print. Both these links tell the story of Hatch better than the official Hatch site (which is run by the Country Music Hall of Fame).
Then a long walk to the Nashville Farmer's Market:
I'm not sure I've seen so many tomatoes in one place for a long time. They all looked good, and I bought one to eat like an apple sometime in the next day or so. The farmer who sold it to me assured me that "the pointy ones are sweeter."
One section of the Farmers' Market is a "food court," albeit far better than the food court at your local mall. I ate lunch while I was there. Fried chicken, turnip greens, and fried okra. I didn't know it at the time, but at dinner tonight I was told I lunched at one of Nashville's institutions -- Swett's. It was extremely good.
After walking back to the hotel to get my car, I spent some time looking for these folks:
I had difficulty finding them, because I forgot to bring the slip of paper with their address on it. Furthermore, I'm 90% sure the address is actually a home office. I'm sure I drove by it; I remembered the street and the block correctly.
It was okay that I drove around. I got to see some of East Nashville and a very nice park (Shelby Bottoms) along the Cumberland River.
I then went to the Vanderbilt area, Centennial Park, and the Parthenon.
Got a chocolate malt at Elliston Place Soda, the oldest operating restaurant in Nashville...
..and then hit Music Row which is chock-full of recording studios, some big, some small, many you've probably heard of. Plus this little licensing outfit which directly impacts all of us:
Finally, I came back to the hotel to wash up for dinner. It deserves its own post, so I'll share that with you tomorrow. Besides, I need to take in one last bit of music this evening!
