retirement trip of a lifetime .........Day 1 Music Valley, Nashville

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Today's plan had been to go into Downtown Nashville to check out some music and have a bit of a sightsee.
But the jet lag was making us feel a bit lacking in energy. And oh no! it was raining and very grey. So we stayed put for the morning and then caught the hotel shuttle to the Opryland Hotel to have a look around. The hotel had been badly flooded last year and was fairly recently reopened.......it might seem a bit odd to visit a hotel, but the Opryland is more than a hotel, it's a land of gardens, waterways, shops, restaurants all under a huge roof. If you think of the dome at Centr Parc but about 100 times the size then you've got it. We walked around for nearly 2 hours and didn't see everything. It reminded me of Disney World, even smelt the same! And the prices in the shops and for food and drink, was like Disney. Pricey!!! It was a fun way to spend an hour or two, but I wouldn't want to stay there.
We didn't do much else today apart from a meal this evening at Caney Fork Restaurant - full of stuffed animals and all things huntin', shootin' and fishin'. A bit off putting having many pairs of beady eyes watching you as you ate your steak (but it was a good steak!)
Went for a stroll afterwards - there's a complex of shops and restaurants behind our hotel but it was very quiet tonight. We discovered Ernest Tubbs record shop and had a browse in there. Ernest Tubbs was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. We also found the Troubadour Theatre which is where the Cowboy Church meets every Sunday and we'd like to try it out when we come back to Nashville at the end of the trip.
Haven't seen anyone from the trip we begin in the morning, but I guess we'll all appear at 9 to set off on our big tour of Nashville.

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