Jul 19 2009
Itinerant Attendee: Nashville
The Itinerant Attendee’s Notes – Visiting Unique Nashville, Tennessee
The conference and convention was hosted at Gaylord’s Grande Ole Opry Hotel. Call me prejudiced, but I had images of an animated stuffed Mini Pearl greeting us at thd door, shrieking “How-DEEE!” Needless to say, I was completely surprised. The Grande Ole Opry Hotel is a massive structure that puts an entire city block under glass, is itself a unique place to visit. The floor level is drenched in green plants and three-story waterfalls. Massive bananas and trees stretch, reaching for the glass dome ceilings. We walked through pathways to restaurants, each with its own style and theme. In another portion of the hotel are canals (and guided boats, if you care to indulge in such things – I did!) weaving through the stores and shops found on a number of levels. Meeting hall areas are antebellum in their styling, and the staff is friendly yet professional. If one wanted to, one could remain at the Gaylord for the entire visit and be well served.
Evening Unique Nashville
Nashville may be the home of country music, but it’s also home to the Stock-Yard Restaurant, one of the top ten steakhouses in the nation. I wasn’t leaving without eating there, and it didn’t take much twisting of arms to get my friend, Amanda, to join me. We spoke of business, so it went on my expense account anyway.
Aside from those two “Business” sentences, our time at the Stock Yard was spent in culinary bliss! The place has three hundred wines on its list, and even an unopened display bottle from 1776! The meal was perfect, from appetizers to desert. My steak, an incredibly thick slab of tenderloin Angus turf, was joined by a butter-soaked tail of Maine surf. Amanda opted for the specialty of the house, a grilled prime rib steak. Neither of us spoke much during the meal, except to utter guttural tones of ecstasy.
Though they’d have picked us up, we’d already been out and about, so we just hopped a cab over there, but took advantage of their complimentary transportation onward to the Bluebird Cafe, one of the remaining pieces of old Nashville’s style.
The Bluebird is a songwriter’s haunt, and the best songwriters in the business regularly drop in. Their motto is “Shhhh!” But they do serve some food and drinks between songs in this very small cafe. We had the luck of hearing Jeffrey Steele (who penned Rascal Flats’ “These Days” and “What Hurts The Most”) sharing his magic with a few special guests. It was a great way to end out our one evening off.
We ducked out early one afternoon and visited the Musicians Hall of Fame and then headed over to the Wildhorse Saloon for dinner and music. We were lucky enough to drop in to the Wildhorse during the House Band Search Contest and caught the J. C. Andersen Band. Excellent music – this band will be a household name in the near future!
One evening a group of meeting planners enjoyed the evening cruise on the General Jackson. The authentic paddle-wheel boat glides up the Cumberland River while we enjoyed the entertainment (history of country music) and enjoyed a delicious prime rib dinner. It’s about a 4 hour excursion that had us back by 10pm.
Nashville is surrounded by the beautiful Smoky Mountains. If we’d had more time, hiking around in them might have been fun, but we were all on a tight schedule this time through. I hope to return to Nashville and explore a few more of the locals’ regular haunts. From what I’ve heard, there are many more unique places to visit in Music City.
