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- Nov 21, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 17, 2024
My best girls and I recently took a long weekend trip to Nashville. It was a FABULOUS time! If you’re looking to plan a girls trip, Nashville should definitely be at the top of your list of places to consider! We arrived on a Thursday evening and left late Sunday afternoon. Warning: There are so many fun experiences to choose from that it’s impossible to fit it all into just a long weekend, so you may want to plan a longer trip or a return trip soon!
The hotel we stayed at was the Hyatt Place in downtown Nashville, which was walking distance to most things we did (all expect the Grand Ole Opry, but more on that later). The manager there, Gina, was fabulous and helped us out with some questions we had, with both future hotel reservation planning and recommendations on local options that we were considering. Her customer service skills were A+ and her recommendations were spot on. So, shout out to Gina!
The first place we went to after checking in to our hotel on Thursday evening was a short walk away to Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk & Steakhouse. Turns out, it was a wonderful way to kick off our time in Nashville. The dinner, drinks and entertainment were top-notch. We spent most of our time on the 4th floor where we ordered and ate dinner. The table we were able to nab had open door windows with great views of the neon lights illuminating Broadway, making for great ambiance and atmosphere welcoming us to Nashville! My favorite cocktail there was “The Cowboy”- definitely recommend giving it a try, it was my favorite drink of the entire trip! The band playing on the 4th floor was phenomenal! They covered a little bit of everything, as we were treated to songs from a variety of genres and decades and every song they covered sounded like a version that should be cut on their own album.
Our first tour of the trip was the Sprocket Rocket Party Bike Tour, on Friday early afternoon. We were lucky enough to get booked on the tour that included driver/DJ Geoff (that’s “Jeff with a G”), and bartender Caroline. They made a fantastic duo! Such high energy and full of funny antics, they were talented performers who made the experience extra fun and memorable. We were able to request the songs we wanted to hear played as we peddled our way down Broadway and through the streets of Nashville, taking in the sights and attractions while interacting with willing pedestrians along the way. We had so much fun, we contemplated doing the tour again in the evening time, but we were unable to make the timing work with our other reservations and plans. It's something I would definitely book again on our next visit.
Check out a quick video here.
On Friday late afternoon, we attended the “Women of Country Tour” at the Grand Ole Opry. It was a very informative tour, filled with narrations of the rich history and fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of country legends past and present. It also included getting to stand in the circle on the Opry stage, getting the perspective of looking out into the audience for those that get to perform in it. One regret of the trip is that we did not make plans to attend a show at the Opry. After the tour, we were really wishing we had, and it is on our list for “must do” next time. (The Opry was the only place we were not in walking distance of and so we took an Uber to and from.)
Saturday was our busiest day, with us packing in the most experiences that included shopping in The Gulch, Underground Donut Tour, FGL House, Buddy’s Pop-Up Bar (at the Pancake Pantry) & a show at the historic Ryman Auditorium.
Located in The Gulch is The Nashville Sundae Club. One of the girls in our group has a friend that had previously visited and recommended it as a place to stop and check-out, noting their “Boozy Milkshakes” offerings along with the more traditional ice cream menu offerings. We decided to order a couple of both. Both got the thumbs up. It was a cute place with whimsical décor that also offers coffee & hot chocolate, as well as breakfast sandwiches on the weekends.
The Underground Donut Tour came with a pleasant surprise. The title itself is pretty self-explanatory, and as expected, we undertook a walking tour with four stops to sample some of the best donuts Nashville has to offer. What wasn’t expected was the terrific job our tour guide, Tracey, did in providing numerous intriguing tid-bits and details about the architecture, history and folk lore of Nashville that we were unaware of and made us feel like we left her knowing the city much more intimately and feeling more connected to it. The wealth of information she provided rivaled the deliciousness of the donuts on the tour!
Buddy’s Christmas Pop-Up Bar (located inside the Pancake Pantry) was a bonus find! It was not on our radar before arriving in Nashville, but being located diagonally across from our hotel, it was hard to miss, and we are so glad we did not miss it! There was a sandwich board outside that included the menu items and just reading the titles of the food and drinks offerings did not disappoint! Once inside, it was like being transported into a winter wonderland with all the festive decorations. If you happen to be traveling to Nashville between November 9th- January 6th, you should check it out!
All the previously mentioned things (and more) we experienced on our trip were super fun and a lot of great memories were made that we will undoubtedly treasure and reminisce about for many years to come. There is one other memory that will personally stay with me, as an unexpected, heart-warming memory. Those are the best – aren’t they? It started with a last-minute change in plans. Saturday afternoon, we decided to see if we could get some tickets to see a show at the Ryman Auditorium for that evening.
We were able to find and purchase some tickets online that put us in two different rows, but close enough to each other. When we read the names of the artists that would be performing, we did not immediately recognize them. The artists performing at the Ryman Auditorium that evening were Clint Park, Josh Meloy and Ward Davis.
From what I observed, all three had had two things in common; They were all very talented, passionate performers and the respect they held for the historic venue and the appreciation of being able to perform in it was humbling.
I walked into the Ryman Auditorium knowing very little about that evening’s slated performers. I walked out of the Ryman Auditorium wanting to know a lot more. You should too. Give them a look and a listen if you haven’t already. And if you have the chance to see any of them perform live, take it.
In closing, my advice is to plan ahead in order to maximize your time and fun, but don’t be afraid to make some changes on the fly. Sometimes it’s the unplanned things that lead to the best experiences and memories. 😊
