Sometimes you just need to get away for awhile. I love Fort Wayne, but it’s not always enough. Kim and I took advantage of our extended Thanksgiving weekend and headed south to visit one of our good friends in Nashville. A mere 6 hour highway trip, it was a no brainer. We left around 9am and Kim slept the majority of the way down having worked all night, minus the time I had to wake her up and put her seatbelt on as I was getting pulled over for driving like a racing fan on 465 around Indy. Busted.

Not having any solid plans for our time in the Music City, we decided to wing it. We drove immediately to the first coffee shop google recommended. Thankfully, it was delicious. We grabbed some caffeine and snacks from Crema Coffee. It’s a stone’s throw from LP Stadium, home of the Titans. The muffin was perfect, Kim was stoked on the macaron, and the coffee was pretty good too. With some time to kill, we parked the car and headed down to Broadway to see Nashville in all it’s country glory. Pro tip: Park several blocks from the strip and save yourself the parking fees and walk off the beer and beef you’re about to consume.

Nashville is a haven for musicians and music lovers. It’s home to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Elvis, and pretty much any country artist on the radio today. We didn’t spring for any tours or museums, but we did weave in and out of the honky tonk bars. It’s a relatively small strip of bars and shops, but it’s clearly the go-to spot for tourists. I had a good time, despite my distaste for all things country (not you, Lonestar). This was one time that I was kind of glad we don’t have a lot of money because it saved me from having to shop for cowgirl boots.

After some walking around and perusing, we finally met up with Andy back at his place. Having traveled all day on nothing but coffee and snacks, we needed food. Andy took us out for a nice meal at Coco’s Italian Market. It’s authentic Italian, and they serve some damn good pizza. Service was fast, food was delicious, and apparently they have a big bocce ball fan base. After dinner, we swung by the store and nabbed some Yuengling and headed back to sit back and relax for the night. It was a lot like a night in Fort Wayne with familiar faces, but it was nice to know we were hundreds of miles from home.

Andy sabotaged us. We let him inflate the air mattress, and we were on the floor in under 20 minutes. We were too lazy to actually do anything about it, so we slept the night anchored to the floor. After wrangling ourselves together and brewing some really bad coffee, we took off to visit Andy at work. Luck for us, he works at Belle Meade Plantation, so we got a history lesson and some wine. I honestly think more people would enjoy history if it involved wine. That’s probably why the Drunk History videos are so entertaining. The plantation is beautiful. The weather was a nice change of pace from the arctic chill in Indiana. It would have been nice to get to the plantation earlier in the day to hop on a tour with fewer people. Nonetheless, it was an interesting and informative tour through a beautiful house. And did I mention the wine? Andy gives the wine tastings that accompany the tour. Apparently Belle Meade is the only actual winery in Nashville. Don’t quote me on that, I’m just telling you what they told me. They offer a muscadine wine, which I had never had before, that is so sweet and delicious that I will need to have again sometime in the not so distant future.

After walking around the grounds, seeing the other buildings on site, and being chased by a stray dog, we headed back downtown for some lunch. I promised Kim we could eat at a bar and listen to some country music. The first place we stopped failed to acknowledge our existence so we moved along to the Tequila Cowboy. The service was attentive, the music was good (for country) and the food was delicious. I had a big burger with onion rings, jalapeños, cheese and barbecue sauce. We washed it down with some gelato down the street at the candy shop, and followed that up with a bit coffee from Mike’s. It was a very satisfying meal experience. I then took her out to see the Opryland Hotel. I had stayed there once before while in college, but it was literally the only place we went.

It’s an amazingly gorgeous hotel. It’s like walking into a jungle village with guaranteed perfect weather. The rooms have small balconies to sit and enjoy food and drinks and admire the scenery. It was nice to see the place decorated with lights for the holidays. Sadly, I don’t think I’d ever be willing to shell out the money to stay there, but it’s fun to walk through nonetheless. We headed back to Andy’s with no plans for the evening. We ended up drinking some wine that Andy snagged for us and played some Euchre. Kim and I won… because we are champions. Andy and his friends then escorted us down the road to one of their favorite bars, Neighbors. I’m pretty sure the food was good, but It was nice to get out and be with friends. We headed home pretty much as soon as we woke up in the morning. Dressed in sweats and looking like slobs, we drove home to the sweet sound of the Colt’s beating the Redskins. I’m sure we will be visiting again in the future.