Nashville for Families Uncovered

If you thought Nashville is a party place full of bars and party peeps bar hopping and listening to great music, you got it right! Hahaha but that’s not all Nashville offers, much to the opposite. It is a great family getaway for the midwesterns with kids like us.  Over fall break back in October we got to play in the Nashville scene and we loved, so much that we cancelled our saturday games and kiddos sleepovers just to stay an extra day in the music city!

First off we didn’t know much about Nashville except from a few friends (thanks Kelly &  Zoraida) who gave us the scoop. We decided to stay downtown especially since we were planning on having drinks and checking out the music scene in the bars. We didn’t want to worry about finding parking space or driving back to the hotel….well that was a bit of non-sense. Next time we’ll do the Airbnb thing, and just uber around! This time however we stayed at the Hyatt Place . It was pretty awesome, within walking distance to Broadway Street – where all the action happens.

And the view was pretty cool too…

We loved the action on Broadway St…

For starters we went to Honky Tonk, a three level bar. Little tip that is ALWAYS true, the top level is a better option for kiddos. The first one is usually crowded and super hard to find seats, and the beauty of it all is that they have live music in every level and they all have big windows open to the street…same music quality in every level.

We did a little bar hopping throughout the evening and took the kids for a swim back at the hotel. Later that night we stopped at Hard Rock Café just because it wasn’t crowded and we needed a meal before hitting bed. They had karaoke night with a live band, if you like to sing (and sing well) this is your chance to feel like a rock star!! Sophia joined mommy and daddy while the other two indulged in chocolate cake and TV back in the hotel… and yes, they serve warm chocolate cake at Hyatt.

The next day we went back to Broadway to check out the stores and the sorts like the Johnny Cash Museum which if you haven’t seen Walk the Line you must! I found a tremendous admiration and respect for this man.

We also went to the Country Music Hall of Fame , which is a must if you want to get to know a little bit about this music genre, or if you are just curious about music in general!

This car was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen….this is just a sneak peek!

We also happened to fall in love again with Taylor Swift on this trip and this was the song of our trip…even Brian was singing along to it at the end…hahaha 9yes he was teasing us!)

This is right in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame building

For lunch/dinner we tried Bakersfield Tacos, seriously the best spicy margs/fish tacos I’ve had in my little life!

These are hot pepper slices in there…and I had two!

This ceiling is at The Valentine bar, just a stylish little joint.

We also had to make a stop at the Tootsie’s Alley, where the music scene happened back in the day since the alley was the back door to the Ryman Auditorium where the Grand Ole Opry was first introduced. Brian and Sophia went on a tour of the Ryman and we went to look for a place to eat…turns out it was a great tour and I’m planning to visit it next time we find ourselves in Nashville!

The last day we went to the Farmers Market for some pumpkin decor and some Fountain of Life raw and cold pressed juices…totally needed them after all that alcohool intake…

What is so intriguing and original about these are the mix of ingredients! My favorite was the Laced Pineapple…

 

The last place we went was the Wild Horse Saloon, which is a huge venue with light effects that feels more like you are in a concert than in a restaurant. They are super kids/family friendly and have free line dance lessons every two hours or so. It is quite the place!

On one of the days we got an uber and explored the Music Row, “in this area, one will find the offices of numerous record labels, publishing houses, music licensing firms, recording studios, video production houses, along with other business who serve the music industry, as well as radio networks, and radio stations” It is also said to be the area where the musicians will hang out from time to time, a little less touristic. We also heard about Hattie B’s Hot Chicken according to our friends the best fried chicken ever, so good that it had a line outside AND it was raining, so we decided we could live without the hot fried chicken….at least until we go back there!

Also make sure to walk around the streets at night, it’s a thing! We spotted this mom and kids (at least they looked like the happy family) playing on the side of the street and boy did those kids play some music…Brian gets goosebumps just to remember how amazingly talented they were…

You honestly don’t need more than an extended weekend to do lots of things with the family. If you have been to Nashville with your family do us a favor and give us your tips! If you haven’t been yet I hope this post inspired you to do so just in time for school break, it’s sure to be a fun time!

Beijos,

Karina