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Published: October 13th 2016
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As we left Nashville today, I was contemplating the things we have learned about the this famous city:
There is live music everywhere! I knew Nashville was nicknamed “Music City”, and I have had many people tell me that there is live music all over. But I never realized quite what they meant. You can walk down one of the main streets of downtown (Broadway) and literally every second storefront is a bar or saloon that is featuring live music.
Any day of the week, all afternoon and evening, these places, most of them with doors and windows wide open, seem to compete with each other to see who can crank their speakers up the loudest. From country (of course), to rock, dance, blues, jazz and even some pop (although usually countrified), there is a genre to fit almost every taste.
From our boat, which we had docked right along the downtown strip, we could hear music long into the night; dance clashing with classical. Thrown in for good measure were trains, sirens, and of course, crowds cheering. Not necessarily the ingredients for a good night sleep, but definitely entertaining.
It is crowded. I made the comment
to one friend that it reminded me of walking the streets of Tokyo, minus the Asian faces. We arrived on a Sunday, and trying to walk down the main streets was chaotic. It certainly made for very interesting “people watching”. You see the standard country boots and hats with rhinestone studding, mixed in with business suits, work coveralls, and fancy dresses, and even a couple in ripped up shorts and flip flops (oh wait, that was us!); an eclectic visual cornucopia.
However, despite the crowds, people are super friendly. I don’t know if there is any relation here, but it seems that anywhere country music and cowboy attire is popular (Calgary, Texas, Nashville, etc.), people are generally laid back and friendly. Or maybe it’s just the drawl??
You can dance in the streets…oh wait, we do that anywhere!! But with all the music pouring out from every second doorway, there is always a song playing and people will make way for you to dance down the sidewalk. And most people don’t even look at you that oddly.
It is expensive. The first bar we stopped at charged us $27 for 3 shots!! Luckily, we found
Riverfront of Nashville
Our dock was right along this main street; easy access to everything downtown
a little bar on 4
th Avenue called Big Shotz where we could get 2 beers for $5 and enjoy some live music and dancing.
But even most of their museums and attractions are over $20 a person and up from there. However, we did end up paying the $24 each to go to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Well worth it in the end though. Nancy, James and the boys joined us, which made it that much more enjoyable (things are always more interesting with kids along!).
The first section of the museum is full of artist’s artefacts; gold and platinum records, posters, clothing and instruments from some of the most famous names in music history - ok, admit that I didn’t find that part too enthralling, I am horrible at remembering my own past never mind other’s histories. The second part of the museum though, was an interactive section where you got to play instruments and try your hand at mixing, arranging and recording music.
I realized I miss playing the piano when I noticed the boys patiently waiting for their turn as I hogged the piano. Lukus pulled out his drumming and guitar
skills to show the boys a few things. We even got on stage and sang a song (luckily there was no audience but ourselves). Lots of fun.
There is great food everywhere! On our first full day in Nashville, we hopped on their free electric bus, which runs a small circuit along the main streets of downtown, to go to the farmer’s market. Since it was a Monday, many of the stalls were not open, but there was a great food court there. They had everything from Mexican, Ethiopian, Japanese, Chinese, Lebanese, Cajun, to Indian. We enjoyed some great chicken curry and goat curry with rice and naan bread (mmm!)
The following day, I finally was able to take Lukus out for his birthday for one of our favourites….sushi and sashimi. Have not had sushi since we left Dover, so this was an exciting treat (we have thought of trying to catch our own, but I think we may wait until we are out of these brownish waters). We also enjoyed some traditional croquettes, edamame and seaweed salad…I am getting hungry just writing this.
Competing with the plethora of musical offerings up and down the main streets,
Lukus and Marcos
Lukus giving Marcos a few tips on the drums are gastronomic adventures for every palate. Unfortunately, we did not have room in our stomachs to try them all; but if you ever go to Nashville, you might want to plan ahead what you will partake in. Greek, Brazilian BBQ, Fondue, Egyptian, Creole, and of course good old Texas BBQ and street hot dogs!
There are a lot of homeless. While most cities you go to have homeless, it seemed more prominent in the area of Nashville where we had docked. Many of them did not seem to be begging but simply kept to themselves.
The first evening we were there, however, we were honoured to meet one panhandler; an elderly gentleman named Marvin. That first meeting, we had a short little chat and Lukus gave him the last of his cigarettes and some money. The following day, we met him again on the street. After a little conversation, he asked Lukus for a smoke. Lukus asked him where all his cigarettes were that he gave him yesterday, hadn’t he saved any? I think we were both really touched by Marvin’s response.
He said that he lived not worrying about tomorrow; his concern was only for today.
Center Stage
Lukus, Nancy and James take up the stage to give a lifetime performance! Rather than stash away what he was given, he shared it with others who were living on the street; his “community”. He said he has faith in the “good Lord” to provide for him as he needs, and that as long as he has what he needs today, he was content.
It reminded both Lukus and I of a verse in bible that has a lot of meaning for us: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26
That is real faith! I know not everyone feels they have the luxury of living with such pure trust, but out of Marvin’s faith, comes a generosity that is rare in our world. Whether Marvin was “pulling one over” on us, or was genuine in his explanations, doesn’t really matter in the end, both Lukus and I were touched by our time spent with him.
All in all, Nashville was a great city to visit and we had a lot of fun. However, I think we are both ready to be
Boot shopping
The boys found learning about the boot making process very interesting...and they all had fun trying on some for size! Kind of wished I had my awesome boots along...but room on the boat is limited. out on the water again to collect our thoughts and enjoy some of nature’s peace. We are headed back towards Barkley Lake now, where we will cut through a canal to get to Kentucky lake. From there, it is southbound again as it’s starting to get a little too chilly at night. Warmer weather, here we come!
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Shawn Halwas
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Brilliant!
Every time I read your blog posts, I think "what a brilliant way to experience America!" Thanks for posting Emy and keep enjoying the journey :)