Csy-Lux

You guys, I am so excited to tell you guys all about our short but very FUN trip we made two weekends ago to Nashville 👢You have no idea how many years we tried to make this trip happen. It finally did! We met up with our New York besties to take over Nashville! You know me- I loooooove country music. I love fried food (I don’t eat it often, but I love it), I love live music, I love partying and I love the western dress up glam.. ❤️ If it’s on your travel bucket list, I highly recommend you make it out there and explore, dance and eat your heart away. Keep reading to see what we did each day ❤️

Our Arrival

Nashville Day 1

Frothy Monkey

For our first day there we headed out early to the cutest little neighborhood ever called 12 south. It really was as cute as I heard it would be. This little neighborhood has restaurants, coffee shops, and a couple of bars, a yoga studio, a park and shopping as well. The most adorable little shops you will ever see. It is also home to Reese Witherspoon’s famous Draper James boutique. You will also find beautiful wall murals for good pictures! That was my favorite part and we took so many pictures! Rumor has it, this little neighborhood is known for having the best food and coffee in Nashville. Our first stop in 12 South was to get coffee- of course. I HAVE to have coffee in the morning, so I was definitely excited to check it out. We made our coffee stop at this little coffee shop called Frothy Monkey. Lines for this place kept getting longer as we were heading out so I can see why it’s been named one of Nashvilles’ best coffee places multiple years in a row. I went with my usual– Iced Vanilla Latte, but one of my besties and Damian got their special of the day Golden Monkey Latte- soooo good. I was wishing I had gotten that instead.

5 Daughters Bakery

Next, we headed over a few spots down to 5 Daughters Bakery. No question- One of the best donuts I have ever had. Their donuts are GMO free, and they just MELT in your mouth. This family-owned business actually has a reasoning for the name they chose- The owner really does have 5 daughters and that’s how they became the 5 Daughters Bakery.  I got the Vanilla Cream donut as that was one of their best sellers. Add this to your list of foods to try because you’ll regret not trying them. I really like that they use the cleanest and freshest ingredients in their recipes. To me, that was a big plus, and you can taste the quality. They also have the cutest little playground attached to their outside patio and you can see families with their little ones playing on some of the play structures they have. They also have a photo stand in wall for more pix! They have something for everyone to enjoy.!

Vintage Shopping

After donuts, we walked around the local streets for a while. The weather was perfect. Can you believe when we landed that morning, they had a storm going on and even a tornado warning?  We window shopped, went into some of the stores and took a hundred pictures. We also found a cool shop that had racks outside with vintage clothing, vintage boots and collectibles. The one thing I wish I had done was purchased the cute sweaters I found but since our day was just starting, I did not want to carry anything around with me.

Beer at the Filling Station

We had to take a break- to enjoy some beer. We stopped at this little brewery a few minutes way (everything is walking distance) called The Filling Station. It was a beer lovers dream and the weather was perfect for one. We sat outside and enjoyed it in their outside patio and we even took one to go! One of our last stops in this neighborhood was to take pictures at the, I believe in Nashville Mural. The line wasn’t bad when we were there but I heard it can get long. We couldn’t leave without checking out Reese Witherspoon’s woman boutique. My friends and I described it as “Totally Reese” Southern and elegant like her. For the next few hours, Damian and I said goodbye to my friends and went our own way. Our plans were to go to Broadway, have lunch, drink a few beers, people watch and walk all of it.

An afternoon on Broadway

When I say Broadway is amazing. IT IS. Every single bar has live music blasting out. There are hundreds of people out there walking around in every cute outfit you can imagine. There are bachelorette parties, 21^st birthday celebrations, dirty 30’s. You literally feel like you are in a big outdoor concert. We ended up having lunch at Jason Aldean’s Kitchen and Rooftop bar (I am a BIG Jason fan). We checked out the rooftop and the view was so amazing. I feel like the higher you got up in the restaurant the louder it got LOL! Our server was great (Jason Momoa doppelganger), and we enjoyed an appetizer and a brisket sandwich while we listened to live music. We walked past Miranda Lamberts restaurant as well and the décor inside looked like a room straight out of a Barbie house. We also walked past kid Rocks restaurant and that one I am bummed we did not go inside but we were so full and wanted to get to the rest of the street. For the next few hours, we walked around a couple of boots stores, took pictures, stopped to listen to music and even checked out the cool bridge at the end of Broadway Street. We pretty much just drank and walked. It was the perfect afternoon with my husband, and we were able to catch our uber just in time to change and head out for line dancing.

Night 1

Line Dancing at The Nashville Palace

I have probably begged Damian and everyone I know to go line dancing with me for the past 8 years when we had a place in town called the Grad that had a country night on Thursdays. So when my friend told me she had planned that in for our trip I was so excited to try out my dancing skills. We went out to The Nashville Palace which was not too far from our hotel. This place is one of a kind and it was one of my favorite parts of our trip. Can you believe this place has been open since 1977 and has had the honor of having performers like Alan Jackson and Johnny Cash perform?! Ok -so this is like the perfect hangout spot for locals. One side of the building had live music, a bar and space for dancing while the other part of the building had the large open space for line dancing, billiard tables, booths for eating at and even a cute swing for you to take pictures at! The line dancing was really cool! It was a 7-dollar cover charge for the line dancing class and all you have to do before is wait and relax until your class time starts. You can order drinks at the bar inside the class section or outside where the live music is going on. In the line dancing area, you can join the class or be a spectator. I joined the class and although it was hard to keep up sometimes with the steps, it was so much fun!  The class is followed by open floor line dancing to popular country music. This place also had food available, so we had dinner outside their venue. Although the food and service for that wasn’t great, I still really liked this place, and I would definitely come back for more dancing. We were lucky enough to see 3 generations of cloggers performing that night (Google Cloggers- thank me later). Oh yeah, and I danced 2 country swing songs with a skilled dancer who definitely knew what he was doing LOL . My friends and husband cheered me on from the side as I had no idea what I was doing but I tried!

Night on Broadway, and Coyote Ugly

Afterwards, we headed out to Broadway for some more fun and it was BUSY. The lines for bars that night were around the corner and they did not look like they were moving at all. I recommend you bring all your energy because you will need it. We ended up walking a little further to check out a place we saw on Tik Tok called Coyote Ugly. I had been to the one in Vegas before, so I knew to expect bras on the bar top, dancing on the bar (Did we dance on the bar?! Maybe) and throw back hip hop LOL. We ended up staying there for a while and then Damian and I headed back to our hotel while making some quick stops to listen to the music at different bars. Quick bar hopping tip. Women get in free, but your man has to pay at some bars so bring cash just in case.

Day 2

Fido Coffeehouse and Ruby Sunshine

Getting up on day 2 was HARD. This is why I feel like a 3^rd day might be needed so that you can rest one morning and do it all over again. We took an uber and started off with coffee at this local coffeehouse called Fido in Hillsboro Village. I really liked their coffee too and I am picky with my coffee (I did iced latte again because the day was warming up). Fido is known to be one of the best breakfast places in Nashville and has won many awards for their plates. Also, Taylor Swift used to be a regular here before she was famous, and I read that when she is in town she still stops by to get her coffee. Ok so this next place we walked over to for brunch was in the same neighborhood as the coffee house. It is called Ruby Sunshine. It was highly recommended by our Uber driver the day before. We had some of the best Uber drivers ever! They were all very knowledgeable on the good spots in town and had tips for us plus they were so sweet! A couple of them had really cool stories to share with us. There is always a long line to get into this place and ours was about an hour because we were a larger party but it you are a smaller group you can make reservation online and just show up at your slot. If you are more than 6 persons, you have to show up to get on the waiting list. This place is POPULAR. The food was amazing at Ruby Sunshine. If you want to go to a place where they have drinks, great fried comfort food and a good vibe. It’s here. Another plus side to the location of this spot is that there is even more wall murals to take pictures at and even more small shops to shop at!

Centennial Park

We checked out Nashville Centennial Park after and it’s actually a big park. I saw that it had a lot of different walking and jogging paths. I was surprised. It even has super cute spots for picnics and a good-sized lake! It is very clean and has lots of shaded resting spots. It is perfect if you take your family or even for us adults to sit down and enjoy the view. Centennial Park has the Parthenon Museum, but because of time, we did not go into it.  I am not too sure on the full history of it but from what I do know is that it’s the world’s only exact size and detailed replica of the original temple found only in Athens, Greece. It’s pretty cool if you have more time to go inside.

Dolly Parton’s White Limozeen

OH MY GOSH- This place was a dream come true. Imagine walking into a vintage, glam, pink and glitter looking bar in the 1980s. THIS IS IT. This is what dreams are made of. This was another big highlight of my trip. As soon as you walk in you see Dolly everywhere. It screams her name. This place is actually named after one of her songs if you dind’t know. The chandeliers are glitter, the walls are pink, and the elevators are PINK and Sparkly. You can stay here overnight by booking one of her themed rooms, or you can just walk up to dine upstairs and enjoy a drink on their rooftop, which is what we did. I got a pina colada and the presentation was pretty, and the flavor was delicious. Country music is blasting out of their speakers, and you can see such a view of the city that high up. They have pink seating and pink umbrellas, and even a Dolly Parton statue outside. If you are a fan, you can’t come to Nashville and not check it out.  

Hattie B’s Hot chicken

Did you even come to Nashville if you didn’t have a hot chicken sandwich? Well when you do it has to be at Hattie B’s. The hype is REAL. It really is that good. We made our way there right after White Limozeen and there was already a long line. Also it was Sunday and they closed at 4 so we were some of the last customers in line. When I say, it is good. I mean it. I am a hot chicken sandwich longtime fanatic. I know my chicken sandwiches. It is I would consider taking a weekend flight just to come eat Hattie B’s and fly back GOOD. Don’t forget to get a beer as well to go with it.

Nashvilles Famous Bike Bar

Hands down I think all my friends can agree this was the best part of the trip! If you ever wanted to drink and pedal. This is for you LOL. Such a fun thing to do and great ending to the weekend. We booked with Nashville bar bike, and it ran for around 1 hour and a half at less than 40 per person. Make sure to reserve a few weeks before because they get booked. It is BYOB (Bring your own beer) so we headed to a liquor store first for all the goods. We had a great host (request Joe Zangerle) who kept the party vibes going the whole time. It’s a great way to be able to get a great night tour of the breathtaking city streets. You don’t really have to pedal; the bike is electric so feel free to drink and dance away. The host will keep your drinks cold in your designated cooler with ice and at every red light let him know by placing your empty drink on your head and he will get you a new one! Also, he gave us great drinking game ideas and the music playlist was so good! The people walking the streets as you bike ride are also good sports for your games. I even made friends with the ladies next to us on the bike ride LoL. We sang Shania Twains, “Man, I feel like a woman together” and come to find out they traveled all the way from Canada to visit and they are neighbors with Shania Twain. I went over after our tour to say goodbye and thanked her for joining our bike ride fun..

Martins BBQ-

I’m going to be honest. This place was highly raved about on tik tok and travel blogs as being a must visit but to be honest I thought it was just ok. We had dinner there after the bike ride and they were already out of most of their staple menu items but what we did get was just ok. The place itself has a really cool look and there is games to place and more stuff to do beside eat which I liked to see as I passed it. I think it is good but I would not consider this the best. I think there is a bbq place out there waiting to shine. They did also have live music which was really nice. The performer had a really nice voice and kept the Nashville party feeling going.   

Honky Tonk Central

One of the last bars we went to for our last drinks of our trip was the Honky Tonk Central still on Broadway. It was so much calmer that night then the night before.  No long never ending lines. No lines at the bar. It felt like a local’s night and I was there for it! What I loved about all those spots is that the live music is literally going on every night.  It is definitely a lifestyle. We probably stayed until almost 1 am if not a little later then headed back to our hotel to be up at 3 am for our flight back.

Go Visit!

I am telling you. If you ever wanted to take the trip out to Nash. Do it! There is something for everyone. The entertainment is never ending. My husband and I vacation totally different. He likes to take things easy on vacation and I like to be on the go, and we had a day for each and had the BEST time of our lives. Nash has my heart. The people, the way of life, the music, the food, the drinks, the GLAM. I loved it all and can’t wait to visit again soon. Hopefully this blog will help add to your trip if you are considering a trip to one of the coolest cities in America.

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• Csy