Nashville

My friend Whintey aka "Whitners" came to visit me in Nashville a few days before my Cali-Colorado trip. We met at college in Kentucky; she's from Louisville, but is currently living in Chicago. So, I gave her a run for her money, taking her to all my favorite places. Plus, it gave me an excuse to go to all my favorite places. Along the way, I discovered a few new things as well. So, are you ready for another super long travel blog-post? Good. Here it goes:

Place Number one: Virago

Great for: Sushi and swanky atmosphere

I loved: "the bomb" roll and a great seaweed salad

Place Number two: Bongo Java

Great for: the BEST coffee in Nashville, lattes, atmosphere and hipster-spotting

Funny quote I overheard: 

   Female Worker: "I can't find the   
   person who ordered the panini. What does  
   he/she look like?"

   Barista: "He had dark thick-rimmed glasses 

   and wore brown cowboy-boots with a  
   steel-toe"

   Female worker: "That describes every   
   customer here."

Place number three: Fat Straw

Great for: BUBBLE TEA! 

I loved: Mango, Fruit Black Tea with the tapioca bubbles

Place Number Four: The Frist Museum. 

Great For: Manageable but satisfying exhibits, a good little cafe, and a gift shop. Plus, it's in a great location.

We Saw: "The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957"

I loved: Photographs in the Vogues from this period, especially Irving Penn's

Place Number Five: The Cheekwood Gardens

Great For: The beautiful gardens, the old mansion and its Nashville history, a great touristy stop and a romantic spot at night.

I loved: This current exhibit, "Chihuly at Cheekwood." It was literally one of the best exhibits I have EVER seen. Look up Chihuly's amazing glass sculptures for more.

We look scared...oh so very scared.

Place Number Six: Sunset Grill

Great For: Late night menu, half-priced bottles of wine, great art on the walls, innovative menu

I loved/ always love: The Habanero Bread Pudding

Place Number Seven: Burger Up

Great For: Creative Burgers, Southern flair to food, cute waiters

I loved: the fried pickles, sweet potato fries, the DELCIOUS salad (see pics)

Bad for: Vegetarians 

Place Number Eight: Las Paletas (a Nashville Favorite)

Great For: Delicious, homemade, creative popsicles. Plus, it's next door to Burger Up.

Place Number Nine: Imogene & Willie

Great For: EVERYTHING IT DOES (especially, of course, The jeans); a craving to experience  Americana {the good kind, not that harped-on type that John Mellencamp uses}; a knowledgeable and passionate staff (connoisseurs of everything jean); the quest for "the perfect pair"

I bought: The Imogene.

Place Number Ten: Local Honey

Great For: Affordable, hand-picked Vintage. Awesome boots. Also, it supports local fashion designers and artists

I loved/ always love: The local fashion designers and the jewelry

Place number eleven: My house

Great For: relaxation, food, family and THE DOGS

Now...back to Imogene & Willie: I bought/ was convinced to buy a pair of jeans. I am in NO WAY, shape or form a "jeans girl." My body shape prefers skirts and dresses. In addition, I bought the jean model that has no spandex; the jean must be worn month after month to be broken in and form to your body shape. I quote from the Nashville Scene's article on the store, 

"Stiff as cardboard and just as rough, nightfall-hued and intriguingly plain, they proffer a kind of mythic status: raw, highly fetishized, 9-to-12-ounce selvedge denim, based on a postwar design and made on vintage shuttle looms in either Japan or in North Carolina...Meant to be often worn but seldom washed, the raw denim becomes a second skin, every scuff and scrape a badge of constant wear."

So, I will report back on this blog whether the myth of these expensive jeans is, in fact, truth for a gal like me. So far, I have no complaints (in just one week, they feel so much better!) Plus, they were cutely wrapped in this package:

Here they are on Day 1:

I will keep you posted on the progress of this obstinate pair.

To conclude this massive Nashville post, I will quote some apropos song lyrics, as I so often do. It's called "Tennessee" by The Silver Jews:

We're gonna live in Nashville and I'll make a career

Out of writing sad songs and getting paid by the tear

Marry me and leave Kentucky

Come to Tennessee

'Cause you're the only ten I see

You're the only ten I see

I've looked through offices and honky-tonks for men man enough to be...

Mr. and Mrs. Tennessee

Mr. and Mrs. Tennessee