While I'm on the subject of roads, whoever sets the speed limits on the interstate needs to be forced to take a ride on those same roads. The speed limits fluctuate wildly for no reason that I could see. The speed limit would drop from 70 to 55 and then up to 65 before dropping back down to 60, and finally rising again to 70. There weren't even exits or towns around which might have been using the fluctuation as a speed trap to generate revenue. And, before you ask, no, it was not in a construction zone. There was one "construction zone" in which there was not a single orange barrel, safety cone, or, indeed, any workers at all. It's as if Tennessee decided that it was enough to declare that stretch of road a construction zone and leave it at that.
When I arrived in Nashville and checked into my hotel, I was sure that things were looking up. The Embassy Suites near the airport is really nice. The rooms are large, beds comfortable, and the price was good. (Gotta love last minute deals on Expedia.com). I was even able to do a load of laundry.
Clothes cleaned, I was ready to go explore downtown Nashville. The only problem was that I was trying to get into downtown Nashville at the exact same time that University of Kentucky basketball fans were trying to get out of the area. The interstate was completely backed up, and it took me over 40 minutes to go two and a half miles. I actually found myself missing rush hour traffic on the Florida Turnpike through Miami on a Friday. From where I sat in traffic, I could see the streams of cars lined up to enter the interstate. After my earlier experience with potholes and speed limit fluctuation, let's just say that I did not enjoy driving in Tennessee.
Once I got to downtown Nashville, it was fairly easy to find my way around. Parking was an issue, and I ended up in a parking garage that wanted to charge me $21.00 for four hours of parking. I was missing Hendersonville at that point, where the same amount of parking would have been $2.00. I was irritated as I started wandering downtown Nashville, and, at that point, I was ready to write off the whole state of Tennessee as a bad idea. (I know I shouldn't judge a whole state by one day's experience, but, seriously, the roads ARE that bad.)
Downtown Nashville is pretty interesting. The skyscrapers are pretty unique, and there are hidden gems. I found a coffee shop marked only with the logo of a monkey. I think its name was The Frothy Monkey. It served beer, wine, and liquor, in addition to coffee. I had an iced fruit tea, which I was told was the shop's own brew. It was pretty good, and the barista was friendly and funny.
I found my way to Broadway Street, and this is when I actually started to enjoy myself in Nashville. For those of you who have never been to Broadway Street here in Nashville, I'm not sure words can adequately describe it (although I am obviously going to try). Hitting the corner of Broadway Street, I was assaulted by a cacophony. It was a wild riot of sight and sound. Every bar had live music pouring out of it and street performers played on every block. People walking, talking, and cheering added to the noise. Because this was soon after the University of Kentucky's basketball game, there were a lot of blue jerseys. I'd been warned earlier at my hotel that the town had turned into a suburb of Lexington, Kentucky because there were just that many UK fans in town and that whatever I did, I should not wear red. I went with blue jeans and a white shirt so that I would blend in.
The picture above is from the corner at Broadway Street. Google was kind enough to create a panoramic picture from three photos I took. I included it here because it gives you a good idea. Here are the three original shots.
I went into two bars, both of which had live music. The bands were both pretty good, but I think I preferred the one at Legends Corner the most. I tried to take a picture, but it didn't really turn out. The sun streaming into the window behind the band makes it impossible to see them.
I continued to wander.
Ultimately, I found an area called Printer's Alley.
I ended up having dinner at the Fleet Street Pub in the Printer's Alley. It had traditional British fare, offering Bangers and Mash, Shepard's Pie, Beef Stew, and Yorkshire puddings. Surprisingly, the pub was out of Guinness, and I was told that it would probably be Tuesday before they received more. It was one of those disconnect moments. I wasn't looking to have a beer, but how can it call itself a British pub if it runs out of Guinness? In the words of the infamous Chewbacca Defense, this does not make sense. Despite the lack of Guinness, my Shepard's Pie was fine.
My trip back to the hotel was much less crowded, although I did encounter even more potholes. (Seriously, Tennessee, fix the roads!). I've spent this morning trying to decide where to go next, Memphis or St. Louis.
As a somewhat amusing anecdote, while I was driving to Nashville, it was a little before 11:00 a.m. I was looking at the GPS route on my phone, and it said that I had a little over two hours of driving left, but that I would arrive in Nashville at 12:15 p.m. I stared at the numbers with incomprehension, thinking maybe there was a glitch with the phone.
It took me about a minute to realize that I would be crossing time zones on the way to Nashville, and that, once again, my phone was right.
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