If you had but one chance to go on a great vacation this year, the city to see, would have to be, Nashville, Tennessee. It was our first time in Tennessee. We went to Nashville for the Country Music Fan Fair and stayed at the Doubletree Downtown hotel. Without a car, staying at the Doubletree is one of the most convenient locations and the most expensive. The expensive price tag was worth it though because the room was very comfortable. We were able to get a package deal that included the hotel for six nights and the admission into all the events that took place over the four days of the Fan Fair. Included in the package was a coupon book for discounts. The majority of the discounts were for other hotels and a few of the stores in the area. We did take the discount on two of the admissions into exhibit halls. There were more than a hundred thousand people in town for the four-day event, and over two hundred musicians. Our particular package cost us $1644.00. Our hotel cost us $169.00 a night with that package and on the back of the door, they had the different prices that the hotel normally charged for the different types of room. Our room normally was $225.00 a night.

Nashville is a very old city that is moving into the present. The buildings are both old and new. Known for its country music and southern hospitality, it is a very exciting place to be. The important fact about true country music is that every song tells a story. The music is not so loud that you cannot hear the words. Nashville has both traditional country music and today’s country music that veers from the story telling to more rock and roll.

There were a lot of hills and stairs to climb, a bit challenging for a handicapped person. They do have special transportation and accommodations for handicapped people. Ask for it when making reservations. We were there for the CMA Fan Fair 2005. There were plenty of people confined to wheelchairs at the night performances in the coliseum. The locals are always quick to help.

There is a mass transit system, which takes you to quite a few places both in town and in the outskirts. The fare is $1.10 for one way but if you have a reduced fare card from your local bus company, your fare will be 55 cents. You must show your ID before putting the money in the meter box. They also have all day passes, seven-day passes, twenty ride passes, etc. Call the MTA for more information or go to www.nashvillemta.org.

Taxis are easily available. They do not use a meter if they are going from certain places to certain sections of the city. For example, we took a taxi, which was a very comfortable SUV with deep cushioned seats and a sliding rear door. From the airport, we went to “Zone B” which is the downtown district. Our fare was $10.00 each. Most times, you do not even need to call, just yell. The taxis do have meters so there are times when they will use it.

Greyline makes up both the tour buses and the long distance travel buses. There are two types of buses. One bus carries 20 people and says Greyline Tours. The other is the big buses, which take whole groups of people departing from the same location. The long distance public buses are Greyhound. Naturally, you pick them up at designated stations. The tour buses offer various tours at various prices and the driver will provide the narration. The smaller buses can provide customized tours. You can also arrange for round trip transportation from your hotel to one of the area events at pre-determined prices. To arrange for a tour or round trip transportation they ask that you call at least one day in advance. For transportation only, the driver can take your cash. For the tours, you can give them your credit card number over the phone or the driver will stop at a designated location where you will pick up your tickets and pay for them.

Limos are available. As with Greyline, call the day before and they can provide individualized tours in stretch limos or Lincoln Continentals. Prices vary. Ask your hotel desk clerk for the number.

Trains are available to certain parts of the city and they are working on a commuter train system will be completed soon.

The people are the friendliest. There is a smile on everyone’s face and a friendly "Ma-am" or "Sir" greeting from the locals. They made you feel as if you were someone special. They are very willing to help in any way they can.

There must be a very large police force in Nashville as they were on practically every street corner. I asked about six of them in patrol cars directions as to how to get somewhere. There was security at every entrance gate into the different public events and even cops on horseback. We saw and petted two police horses wearing sunglasses and another horse named Joe who with his partner sat atop the pedestrian bridge. I had my picture taken with Joe and his partner. You can read more on the pedestrian bridge under What to See. As you enter the coliseum, you are required to open all bags, including purses, before they allow you through the gates. It is the same in any public buildings or events.

The food is fantastic. You can find restaurants that are reasonable in price to sublimely expensive. We chose the less expensive restaurants.

I do not recall seeing a warning like that before on any other menu. I appreciated the proprietor’s genuine concern for his patron’s safety. Personally, raw fish is not my cup of tea.

The Hard Rock Café was serving hamburgers and sausages cooked over an outdoor grill at the entrance to an outdoor arts and crafts exhibit related to the CMA Fan Fair. There are special events all year long, which I would no doubt believe that with the exception of snowy days, the Hard Rock sells these at all the events. That was by far the best hamburger I ever ate. The flavor was indescribable. It had to have been at least a half pound so it was very filling. My husband ordered the sausage and after finishing that, he got the hamburger. The hamburger was $3.00, sausage $2.00 and the large sodas $2.00. They may have been special prices for the Fan Fair.

During the four days of the events, you are not to bring your own food or beverages into the areas where the events are taking place. They have barkers and concession stands and they know how to charge. A 20-ounce bottle of water or soda costs $3.00, a funnel cake $5.00. They were also selling beer which not being a beer drinker, I have no idea what that cost. This is even true with the Grand Ole Opry. Barkers on the street leading to the events were selling ice-cold water for $1.00 a bottle but you had to drink it before you went into the venue.

The dress code is casual. There are ticks in the summer, which can cause illness. You want to protect yourself. The way to do this is to wear light colored long pants so that you can easily see the ticks and get them off your clothing before they can burrow under your skin. If you are walking through the wooded areas, you want to watch for rattlesnakes. The best way to protect you is to wear high boots and long pants tucked into the boots. The rule of thumb of course is not to disturb a quiet snake. It is when they are disturbed that they strike. The winter temperature seldom gets much lower than 32 degrees and Nashville only gets a few inches of snow during the winter so dress accordingly judging on how badly you feel the cold.

The Opry tickets sell for $35.00 and $50.00 each, the higher priced tickets being the better seats in the house. It is a very worthwhile price. The Opry tapes five thirty minute shows on Saturday night during their 6:30 pm performance and you get to see every one of them. Three are for the radio broadcast and the other two are for television, all live broadcasts. You are there for two and a half hours.

The General Jackson is a paddlewheel boat that was custom made to cruise along the Cumberland River, a very shallow river. The afternoon cruise has an all you can eat catfish buffet and after the meal seating four musicians entertain you on stage in the dining room. Much of that is devoted to your familiar religious hymns. Three of the four entertainers in that group have worked with the bigger stars in either bands or videos. The General Jackson also has an evening cruise. You can choose just the cruise or the cruise and meal. The entertainers are in the dining room only. If you buy your ticket for the cruise only, you can buy snacks and beverages, including alcohol, on board but you must stay above deck while others eat in the dining room. You may go below deck for the entertainment after the meal is over.

There are two walls; from floor to ceiling that have solid gold and platinum records in picture frames. Some of the records are on hinged doors (the color around the frame is yellow). You can open these doors and hear the song. Elvis’ solid gold piano and Cadillac are on display there. There are displays of some of the clothing that the singers have worn when sequins were all the go.

The Ryman began as a church with the best acoustics ever. Its’ pews are in a semi-circle and there are two floors of them. What use to be the pulpit became the stage for the original location of the Grand Ole Opry.

Horse & Buggy Rides:

They also have horse and buggy rides through the city. This reminds me of New York City’s Central Park.

Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge:

This pedestrian bridge to the coliseum is a very pretty bridge. It had been built to carry vehicles and in the center of the bridge a trolley. There are all kinds of benches and places to sit for the people to enjoy the view from the bridge. Certain parts of the bridge have cutouts in metal for decorative purposes. It became a walkway to the coliseum in 1998. Those people who were not lucky enough to buy tickets for the evening performances in the coliseum could stand on the bridge and watch the whole event on a giant screen outside the coliseum and they could hear probably better than the people inside. The speakers inside the stadium were so loud that they vibrated your chest and it was hard to hear the words to the songs through the vibrations. The video to the song "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy by Big and Rich was filmed on the bridge.

The coliseum by the way is the home of the Tennessee Titans football team.

Nashville Zoo:

On our last day there, we took the bus to the Nashville Zoo. They do not have too many animals but the ones they have are very different from those in the animal parks down here. They are in the process of expanding the zoo. We had seen a television special a couple of months before our vacation and they showed the Gibbons Monkeys. There was a sign posted that starting that particular day, the Gibbons were going to be off display for an undetermined period. However, we were very fortunate to hear these primates and see them before they closed the exhibit. These monkeys have an unforgettable screech. Humans easily mimic the sound. I was having a ball screeching back at them. One of the zookeepers told us that they screech three times each day for thirty minutes at a time and for the rest of the time they are quiet. We got there just after the zoo opened so chances are that the screeching is at feeding time. That was the one thing I wanted to see at the zoo and so I definitely feel blessed to have been able to see them. They also had a red panda and cheetahs. Unfortunately, they were very difficult to spot. Soon, they will have a Laurakeet Exhibit. I love that exhibit that is here at the Butterfly World. They are the most beautiful birds imaginable.

Getting There

Getting to Nashville, you basically have two convient ways. The first being by car. If you have a car in Nashville you then must look around for an expensive parking garage or lots. There is parking on some streets if you are lucky enough to find a space. Your second option is by air. A word of advise if you are going to fly. If the airline has your cell phone number, don't make the mistake of turning your cell phone off until you arrive at the airport. I had checked the status of our departure flight early in the morning from my computer, before turning off the power supply. It was giving the on-time advisory. We had agreed to go out for breakfast with the person who had volunteered to drive us to the airport. Given that decision I told them to be at our house four hours early so a delay in the restaurant and unexpected traffic would get us to the airport. We arrived at the airport three hours ahead of time. When we checked in at curbside, we were told they wanted us to check in at the ticket counter inside. We were told we had precisely ten minutes to catch our plane. It seems the flight we were scheduled to depart on had mechanical problems and if we waited for that flight to arrive, we would have missed our connecting flight by twenty-five minutes. The airline had called my cell phone and left the message to call a special 800 number. The airline had booked us on an earlier flight at the last minute.

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