Nashvville (Day Five...)

Well, well! A couple nice responses to these "vacation posts!" Thank you Michelle... thank you, Carl!

Monday was a rainy day - which just happened to fit our itinerary perfectly! Ya see... Monday was "Museum Day."

(*WINK*)

Yep... after yet another scrumptious home-cooked-to-order breakfast here at the Timothy Demonbreun House (complete with "real" cappuccino and house-made sausage) we were off to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum!

Was the Hall of Fame/Museum all it's cracked up to be? Frankly... and I write this with mixed feelings and some regret... no.

WHY...?!?! WHAT'S THE PROBLEM...?!?! Well... in a nutshell... it's too damn big... too damn excessive... too "monument to the grandeur of the city" with more of an "institutional" feel than a laid back down home "country" feel.

(Those who have been there... you'll know what I'm talking about.)

The building... and the "presentation" of the exhibits within... simply "overwhelm" the memorabilia.

(At least that was my take...)

In short... I found the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum" to be too impersonal... too "commercial"... too... er... "marketing focused."

Am I glad we went? YES! Did they have some neat stuff - including a few "cars of the stars?" Yep! Would a smaller, less flashy, more "authentic"physical homage to American Country Music "play" better to fans such as myself... absolutely. (Hey... just one man's opinion!)

After the Hall of Fame/Museum it was off to the Patterson House for cocktails. Hard to find (but worth it!), we arrived at 4:30 p.m. - only to find that they didn't open till 5:00 p.m.

(*CHUCKLING AS I ROLL MY EYES*)

So... we decided to simply drive around and explore. We discovered "The Gulch" and "Music Row" (where the various studios/labels are headquartered) and eventually found ourselves stumbling upon the area where our Monday night restaurant is located. Anyway... rather than go back to the Patterson House (we figured we'd hit them for post-dinner cocktails) we decided to go to "our" restaurant early and have a drink at their bar prior to our 6:00 p.m. seating reservation.

Monday was "French Night." Our destination? Table 3. Folks... (what can I tell ya?)... yet another inspired choice!

YES... this place is sited at a mall. NO... the location does not distract from the food, service, and atmosphere! Dinner was excellent! The prix-fix salads were wonderful and the entrees were sublime. (Yes... "sublime"... it's one of them thar "college words.") Mary had coq au vin and I had trout almondine. (And back to the salads... their Caesar dressing... OH... MY... GOD! And my beet and goat cheese salad... YUM!)

As for dessert...the restaurant has an attached cafe/marketplace. After dinner we simply went next door and purchased a house-made lemon-ginger sorbet (which we ate sitting on a bench outside) and a slice of pineapple-coconut tart which we took with us and plan to eat today (which is Tuesday as I type) while on the road to Memphis.

Post-dinner... the Patterson House... set up like a speakeasy... VERY upscale... a true cocktail lover's cocktail bar where not only are the drinks handcrafted - but so are the ingredients... from syrups to bitters!

After a few cocktails there we were off to 3rd & Lindsley for live music... only...

(*PAUSE*)

We ended up NOT spending time there after all...

(*ANOTHER PAUSE*)

Here... allow me to backtrack. On the way to 3rd & Lindsley I was pulled over by a cop.

(*GUFFAW*)

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

It was the damn GPS's fault - I swear!

(*STILL CHUCKLING*)

Anyway... this place (3rd & Lindsley) is a bit hard to get to and the GPS directions were...

(*YET ANOTHER PAUSE*)

Let's just say "less than perfect."

Anyway... the officer was real nice. We explained why my driving might have seemed a bit... um...erratic.. and he "got" it without batting an eye - and without even asking if I'd been drinking!

(*SMILE*)

He of course ran my license, but obviously we were tourists and he himself volunteered that getting to 3rd & Lindsley is a bit tricky. After giving us proper directions he wished us a good night and we were off to continue our night.

Here's the deal though:: When we got to 3rd & Lindsley, parked, and went in... we were greeted with the words, "How do you wanna pay the cover - cash or card?" Moreover, it turned out the cover was $20 - PER PERSON!

(*SNORT*)

Sorry 3rd & Lindsley! All due respect... I'm not paying $40 to see some band I've never heard of - even IF the waitress at Marche Artisan HAD given us the head's up!

So... back to the car... Plan B - The Listening Room.

GREAT PLACE! Free parking... no cover... excellent drinks... but unfortunately we hit it just as the band was finishing up. Live music for ten minutes... a cocktail for me and a beer for the Poops... and that was that.

(*WINK*)

Since it was "only" around 10:00 p.m. and it WAS our last night in Nashville we figured we'd hit downtown one last time. Monday night... even Memorial Day Monday night... it was kinda dead. (Comparatively!) Even Acme was closing up just as we arrived! Anyway... we were both pretty sated by this point and since I wanted to get up a bit earlier than usual the next morning so as to enjoy the pool and hot-tub after breakfast we decided to call it a night.

TO BE CONTINUED...