Nashville

I went to Nashville a MONTH ago, but haven't gotten to this post yet.

Anne, my running buddy here from the Netherlands as a visiting professor and who is leaving Dec 12, invited me to do a race with her in Nashville.

We took a Mega Bus from Chicago to Nashville (10 hours) and left at midnight on a Thursday. Sleeping wasn't too terrible but we were still exhausted when we got there. Not far from where the bus dropped us off, we found a breakfast spot: the Frothy Monkey. It was tasty and afterwards we walked about a mile to pick up our bibs at a local running store.

On the walk there we saw Broadway which is supposed to be the main drag, what I imagine is displayed when tv programs are talking about Nashville. I was surprised at how small it was. After four dense blocks of bars and restaurants and hoards of people on the sidewalk, you were either at the river, or walking up a quiet hill. There are a ton of neon signs that light up at night, making it look much more happening. During the day though it's like seeing Christmas lights on a house in the morning, not as exciting. Or if I may use another, slightly cruder analogy: like seeing a girl the morning after a night out. She's still wearing the nice clothes and the make up but in the daylight she's disheveled and not looking as hot the night before.

Speaking of girls getting all dressed up for a night out: there were a great deal of bachelorette parties. Like Nashville is the Vegas of the South. I mean there were a ton of bachelorette parties and even if they weren't in a bridal partry, the girls who went out on Broadway were all done up. Which was a little uncomfortable; I never like being in atmospheres where the girls are super done up and I've showed up in regular stuff. Like you've underdressed for a big party and you're the only one who didn't get the memo.

Anyways, we got our bibs and looked around the running store hosting the race and then proceeded to Vanderbilt University. It was a nice campus, brick buildings, green spaces. Then we kept on to the Pantheon and from there took the bus down to the hostel because at that point, we were three miles away and our backpacks were getting heavy.

We settled in at the hostel where we were in a shared room with 6 other girls. Gotta Love those bunkbeds! Then went to Martin's BBQ which was delicious and I found using my Diners, Dives, and Drive-ins apps.

The next day was the race so we called it an early night. I had signed up for the 5k (to save some money) and Anne, the half marathon. I ran the best 5k of my life (20:55) and came in 3rd place. Anne did a great job as well, reaching a personal goal she had set for the race. Afterwards we went back to the hostel (everything was within walking distance) showered and went out for a big, and well deserved, breakfast. We went out and saw the end of a Veteran's Day parade on Broadway and walked around some more. There was a bar that offered free line dancing lessons so we tried that; Anne had never been line dancing before. It was fun but brief. Back at the hostel we rested a bit and then went back out for dinner and our one night on the town in Nashville. We walked up and down Broadway enjoying live music in a number of bars.

The next day we checked out of our hostel but the bus ride wasn't until 7PM so we took a local bus to the Grand OlOpry as it's called. There is a famous (though I hadn't heard of it before) music venue and also a hotel that again, I would equate with Vegas. There were four or five distinct parts of the hotel. There was a river in one where you could take a boat ride, a little avenue with shops, restaurants serving all varieties of foods, and everything was decorated for Christmas already (this was the second week of November). So we spent a few hours wandering around the hotel and the music venue and then caught the bus back downtown in time for our departure.

There is live music EVERY where. I don't just mean Broadway, which of course had live music in every bar. And I don't just mean one band or musician, I mean one band or musician on every floor or corner of the bar. There were musicians playing in the malls and musicians playing in the lobbies of hotels and traveling musicians playing in the common space of the hostel.

Anne and I had our minor language barriers at times, but most of the time understood each other with ease. It was fun learning about the Netherlands, and teaching her American ways (we say going to the "bathroom" not the "toilet"). She has invited Patrick and I to visit, so don't be surprised when I announce a trip to the Netherlands ;)