Arriving in Nashville, TN

My plan to sleep from Charlottesville to Nashville was a mixed success. The heating was working but not as well as it could have been so it was a little too cold and sleeping was difficult. However I managed to get some sleep. On my arrival in Nashville I quickly got a cab from the station to the hostel  and was too tired to even argue when the driver blatantly over charged me.  I managed to get booked in to the hostel easily enough and, as in the previous hostel, the staff were pleasant and helpful. I wasn’t quite so lucky with my room this time, my 4 bed dorm was full but everyone is friendly so I’m actually quite pleased about it.

My first order of business was to organise a trip to the Jack Daniels Distillery, unfortunately despite various websites claiming bus trips run until November there wasn;t a tour to be found. After a quick (admittedly optimistic) foray in to limo quotes I had to admit defeat and book a car for the Thursday. So Thursday is pilgrimage day for me leaving Wednesday, Friday and most of Saturday and of course my first afternoon to be filled.

Since the weather was nicely warm without being too hot I decided to try repeat my Washington success by heading out and about to get my bearing before investigating any potential tourist visits. After a 20 block walk into town though I was grateful for a seat on the tour bus and the whistle stop tour of Nashville, TN.  At first it seemed to be a paid for advert for certain bars and clubs but soon enough we headed out of the broadway and in to the surrounding area. I learnt that Vanderbilt University was funded with the promise if become an institution to rival those in the North in an effort to foster respect and strengthen the union after the civil war and I learnt that Oprah got her big break on a local tv station. OK so some facts were more important than others. I also saw the history wall and the Pantheon, an exact replica of the one in Athens as back in the 1800’s Nashville was known as the Athens of the south due to the disproportionate number of colleges per head of population.   

After all that history it was time to grab an ice cream and contemplate my next move, which turned out to be another quick walk round the city fallowed by a snack dinner at a wine bar on the way back to the hostel. Dining at a wine bar may not seem particularly Nashville but as it shared my second name I felt it was allowed. A very civilised dinner and glass of wine it was back to the hostel to discover that everyone was heading out. Tempted though I was I felt a quiet night was in order as staying awake was fast becoming a problem. And so ends my first quiet but interesting day in Nashville, TN.