quintessential nashville {in five}

Five iconic things about Nashville revealed themselves to me during our visit.

1) Country music venues, from the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry to the Honky Tonks of Broadway.  We also visited the Listening Room Cafe and City Winery to hear live music. And then there’s the famous Bluebird Cafe, but we didn’t make it there.  There is no shortage of music in this town.

2) Country music history – Between the Ryman Auditorium, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Grand Ole Opry and the Johnny Cash Museum, you can find out all you want to know and then some about the history of country music.

3) Accoutrements of country music stars: From the fringe-trimmed and glittery clothing and the cowboy boots they wear to the guitars they carry and play to what they leave behind: gold and platinum records and album covers galore.

They leave behind a music legacy for the world to enjoy.

4) Food: from BBQ to Hot Fries to grits to chicken n’ dumplings, you’ll find any kind of southern cooking you can dream up.  Not only that, but you’ll find the food and brews at iconic places like The Loveless Cafe, Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant, and The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden, where we didn’t go.  There are plenty of great dining options in Nashville.  There’s also Pinewood Social, where you can eat, drink and bowl, and Hattie B’s Hot Chicken. We especially loved The Loveless!

5) The 12 South neighborhood: Murals of 12 South and gas stations converted to shops.  There are not as many murals here as I expected, but the ones here are fun.  Mostly, I loved the gas-stations converted to shops.  Draper James is Reese Witherspoon’s “Lifestyle Brand.”

Gas Stations converted to shops: Imogene + willie for clothing, White’s Mercantile for home furnishings and decor, and The Filling Station for quality beer.

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“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION:

The photography intention I set for myself BEFORE visiting Nashville was to find five iconic things (in my eyes!) about Music City.  I limited myself to 35 pictures of 5 iconic things. My goal was to focus on pictures, so I kept my word count to 350 words.

I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have recently visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place: photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, whatever!

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20-35 photos (fewer is better) and to write no more than 350-words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, May 2 at 1:00 p.m. EST.  When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, May 3, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation on the first and third Thursdays of every month beginning in May. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community.  I promise, you’ll be inspired!

• Meg posts in her blog, FIVEMONTHSINWARSAW, a thematic collection of Old Town doors in Warsaw.
  • Warsaw doors
• In another of her blogs, 12monthsinwarsaw, Meg posts another thematic collection of shopfronts.
  • Shopfronts

Thanks to all of you who wrote posts on the “photography” invitation. 🙂