Surprisingly hilly…
…was my initial impression of walking round the city!
We popped out after breakfast to a nearby Walgreens to stock up on bottled water and soda. Whilst the room was well stocked with snacks and minibar options these were all priced as though some Zimbabwean hyperinflation had occurred during the elevator ride to our room.
I’ve said it before – if you want to see the future, check out a hotel minibar and it will show you how much a Kit Kat will cost 50 years from now!
Having returned from our hunter gatherer mission, we sorted out our cases and optimised our wallets, bags etc for the day. The event limits bag sizes etc for security.
Nashville downtown is much like it’s airport – seemingly under construction.
Lots of roads closed. Big police presence. The crowds of people were well managed. The Riverside Stage reached capacity as we were walking to it. So we walked slowly down the adjacent street to Broadway.
We walked into the Rock Stage in time for Texas Hill’s set and joined everyone else in morning drinking! I mixed… beer and water in equal-ish measures.
We walked along Broadway. So many bars, all with live music. We then heard someone doing a cover of Pink Floyd’s Brick in the Wall. Different enough to draw us inside.
Lucky Bastard Saloon
Again, a couple of drinks and we watched Leigh Hutchins Band play a really varied set. Place only had about 30 people in it. So very relaxed vibe although getting steadily busier.
Love the way they have the air conditioning cranked up and every window open!
We left and continued up Broadway and then down to Fan Fair X. This was in the Music City Center- sort of a conference/exhibition centre. Seriously huge building. It was quiet.. may have been thousands of people in there, but such a huge hangar like room. It’s 2.1million square ft facility in the middle of downtown Nashville is bigger than the entire NEC!?!
Not sure what we were expecting really. the space was mainly retail. Various meet and greet opportunities if you were inclined to queue for ages. Live acts – especially aimed at promoting new talent. I suspect we will pop back in over the next few days, but not really our thing.
We crossed back to Broadway and checked out the Assembly Room – a large food court type place. Amazing array of food options, but crazy busy. We have realised we need to shuffle our mealtimes forward or back to dodge peak times as we haven’t booked anywhere.
We had a late lunch in the Black Tap. Glorified burger and shake joint. Food and drinks were very good. Service prompt.
Big selection of beers on tap. I had an Orange Wheat beer which was lovely and then a more average IPA.
We skipped starters and, with a little encouragement from the waitress, tried a shake each. Brooklyn Black Out for me and the Strawberry Shortcake for Jus.
Really, these are barely milkshakes! The straws serve no purpose at all!
$90 odd dollars plus tip. I didn’t think that was too bad – especially as we are unlikely to need food again today!
Back to hotel to upload these blogs and have a Power Nap before heading to the stadium this evening.