Day Tripping

Friday night in Nashville Hubby Tony and I bar hopped and listened to music.  It was fun, but on Saturday we wanted something different.

Before we left home we had done research and figured out some things we wanted to do.  In addition, earlier in the week I'd been talking with some of the regular mall walkers at work.  When they found out my weekend plans they offered some ideas.  On their next trip past the Customer Service desk they gave me some more.  We left town with a long list of activities to choose from.

Saturday morning after breakfast we gathered our things and left the condo.  Our first stop was the five-star Hermitage Hotel, which for many years was "the" place to stay in town. It opened in 1908 and cost a million dollars to build. We walked inside and took a look at the lobby's beautiful vaulted stained glass ceiling and ornamental plaster domes.  They were setting up for an event in the lobby, so we didn't stay long.  We did talk to their Concierge, who wasn't assisting any hotel guests, and got some music suggestions for later in the day.

Next we headed a couple of blocks over towards the State Capitol. The building is easy to find; it sits at the top of a huge hill. We walked through the War Memorial Plaza, which contains an open space in front of the War Memorial Building (unfortunately closed) and monuments. We climbed a long flight of stairs to reach the Capitol. It was closed, but we walked around to the other side and took in the impressive views.  It started sprinkling, and we took shelter under the building's portico while we talked about what rain would do for our plans for the day. Thankfully it only lasted a couple of minutes and we moved on to the next activity on our list, the Farmer's Market.

On our way into the market we passed through Bicentennial Mall State Park and stopped to admire the row of 31 "Rivers of Tennessee" geyser fountains (one for each of the state's rivers). The market had two large covered sheds for produce vendors, an enclosed food court area, and a flea market section. As we wandered through the market we realized we were hungry. We noshed our way through the food court and market (soup from a Chinese stand, tamales and rice from another, and a homegrown tomato for dessert.)

When we were finished at the market we decided to take one of the free shuttles, which run every fifteen minutes, to get back to the condo . We stood at stop closest to the farmer's market for about five minutes, then decided it would be quicker to walk. On the way we ended up finding the Public Square Observation Deck, which had a nice view of the city's skyline.

By this time it was almost 2:00 and time to get back to the condo for a power nap.  There was a lot more to do! 

Five years ago today: New Thing #209--Wax On