40 in Nashville

This year for my birthday we celebrated big and hubby and I took a trip just us.  I was turning 4 0 and knew I wanted to go someplace fun to celebrate that big number!  We decided on Nashville, TN because I love country music and neither of us had ever been.  In fact we had not traveled by airplane just the two of us since before kids so I was excited.

We grabbed lunch at the airport and some cocktails to start off our vacation.

It was almost 9 by the time we got to the hotel.  We quickly dropped off our luggage and then walked not even a block to Broadway where all the music is.   We could hear the music overflowing from the bars the moment we turned out of our hotel.  I was giddy with excitement and knew we were gonna have a great time here.

We were walking along trying to find somewhere to eat when I heard a song I really liked and next thing I knew we were at a bar with two glasses of whiskey listening to some great music.   We stayed for a few songs before we left to continue on our search for some dinner.

It was late and the restaurants had already shut down their kitchens so we were lucky to find a place that was just about to close but let us and a few other people in and then locked their doors right after.  They said only pizzas by the slice were available which we were completely fine with.   We ate and talked to the people at the table next to us before we were off again to find more good music.

Back in the hotel we got comfy and ready for bed.  I wore my special socks every night because even though I was having the best time I still missed these cute faces.

The next day was my birthday!!

My husband drew this in my card!

It took awhile for me to figure it out because it looked like it was just part of the card but the outside of the card was a picture of a cat, hence the 'go throw up in a corner' reference.  I was thinking it was weird that there was a cat on the outside and then a cowboy scene in the inside when he finally said I drew that and then it made more sense.   I sure wish I could draw half that good though!

We took our time getting ready that morning and then stopped in at the cutest spot to grab some lunch

It rained all day which I didn't mind one bit.

The manager of the restaurant had asked us why we were in Nashville and we told them for my birthday so after lunch they surprised me with a root beer sundae

and a handmade card!

Everyone we met in Nashville was so friendly and kind.

After lunch we headed over to a distillery that we had scheduled a tour at.

Our tour guide was great and we both really enjoyed learning about how they made whiskey and the history behind the this distillery

We also enjoyed a few tastings and made sure to buy a bottle of this to enjoy at home.

After we walked about a block away in the pouring rain to a beautiful old building full of cute shops.

We looked through all of them and then found another small distillery.   We decided to each order a drink and then we just hung out.  I orderd the Vespa and Chris ordered the Punky.   Mine was delicious!!!  We even played a few games of UNO.

It was getting late and we were missing the music scene so we headed back to Broadway to go listen to some music.   We ate dinner at Blake Shelton's Ole Red and listened to the live music there for a bit before we headed out trying other bars. 

The next morning after sleeping in we walked down the street to The Country Music Hall of Fame Museum.  We were there for a few hours and I really enjoyed the entire museum.

We were done around 3:30 and were starving since we had skipped breakfast.   We walked over to Acme Feed Supply and ate one of our favorite meals of the trip!

We spent the rest of the night bar hopping and listening to country music!

We slept in so late each day we were there and Chris was dying to try breakfast so he finally found a spot that served breakfast all day so on our final full day in Nashville he finally got his breakfast for lunch.

We both ordered the chicken n' waffles.   They were just okay in my opinion, nothing I would ever order again but we tried them.

After we ate we walked next door to the Johnny Cash museum.   It was just okay in my opinion.  Very pricey for such a small museum but if you're a Johnny Cash fan it's still something you've got to see.

I was exhausted at this point of the trip.  It was also the only day it was not raining but it was the coldest and I was freezing.   We decided to go back to the hotel for a bit and rest up because we had tickets to the Opry and didn't want to be too tired.  

After a few hours of doing nothing we were back on the town and checking out the rooftop bar at Jason Aldean's.

We had a few cocktails and then grabbed dinner at another spot.   We ordered way too much food for dinner and could not finish.

It was our final night in Nashville and we were at the Ryman for the Grand Ole Opry

We had a good time but it was definitely not my favorite part of the trip.

The Opry was over around 9:30 so after we visited a few more bars to get in our last bit of Country music in.   We had such a fantastic time in Nashville and it was definitely my favorite birthday of all time.   So thankful we got the chance to go and I got to spend some one on one time with my favorite guy.  We are looking forward to going back in warmer weather so we can explore more of Tennessee one day.  There was so much we didn't do due to the rain and not enough time.