It has been almost exactly one year since our Nashville, Tennessee trip, and I’m finally getting up a post! About a week after this trip is when everything shut down because of a world-wide pandemic, so it didn’t seem like a good time to share about travel. It has been really hard to not travel much this year, and we can’t wait until it’s a more regular occurrence again. Here are some of our favorite things that we did on our Nashville trip with the kids.
2-Day Itinerary for our Nashville Trip
Day 1:
We drove up to Nashville and didn’t get in until evening. Our first stop was the 5 Daughter’s Bakery where we reveled in trying their 7 layer donuts for the first time. We tried their Vanilla Cream, Maple Glaze, and Chocolate Sea Salt donuts. All of them were so good!
Not only were the donuts divine, they had a super cute, dinosaur playground area for kids. It was the perfect way for everyone to stretch their legs and play after enjoying the best donuts we’ve ever had (really).
We parked on Gilmore Avenue just off, 12th Avenue South, in the residential area. We went to the donut shop, and then walked down the street to Edley’s Bar-B-Que. It was really good. There was a long line, it was crowded, and a lot of the food options weren’t available. We didn’t get to try their banana pudding, that they’re well-known for, so maybe next time. I’ve had better BBQ in Birmingham, but it was still good.
On our walk we were able to stop at this iconic, I Believe in Nashville Mural. We also took pictures in front of the Draper James storefront, that’s pictured above. And the blue and white painted walls nearby. Walking down 12th Avenue South there are lots of great photo-op spots!
Day 2:
We started our day playing at The Adventure Science Center it was so cool and we loved it! The kids could’ve stayed there all day. We were there for several hours and it was still hard to pull them away. Kurt and I had a lot of fun there too!
Next we went to the most recommended restaurant in Nashville, Pancake Pantry. It totally lived up to the hype! We were impressed. Delicious food, and we were lucky enough to avoid lines; however, that is very rare! We hoped to stop at Fanny Mae Dees park right after, because it’s close by; it was a little too chilly though. The park features a giant mosaic sea serpent, as well as, a really fun playground area.
We ended by walking through The Gulch neighborhood and took some fun pictures at the What Lifts You Angel wings. Milk & Honey is a brunch place in the area, that I’ve heard great things about and definitely hope to try at some point. We had too many breakfast and brunch places to try on this trip.
What We Want to Do on our Next Nashville Trip
Kurt and I are going to be taking a couple’s trip to Nashville soon, and here is some of what we have planned.
Day 1: Donuts from 5 Daughters Bakery (again, because they were so amazing!)
Andrew Jackson Hermitage tour
Stop by Goo Goo Cluster to try “America’s First Combination Candy Bar”
I really want to go to ACME Feed & Seed for good food, live music, and beautiful, rooftop view of downtown. However, it looks like they’re closed from COVID still. We’ll check it out.
Dinner and live music at the Listening Room. I would love a chance to go to Bluebird Cafe for dinner and a show sometime, as well. It’s been on my bucket list for years, but they aren’t currently doing shows because of COVID.
Day 2: Breakfast at the Pancake Pantry (again too good to miss while we’re there!)
Bike around Vanderbilt campus and to Centennial Park. It has a an exact replica of the Parthenon that I’ve been so excited to see in person.
Honky Tonk Central for lunch and live music.
Dinner at Monell’s
The Cupcake Collection (ranked Top 10 Cupcake Shop in the US)
Other Nashville Recommendations
On a previous trip to Nashville, we went to the Opryland Resort and Convention Center to walk around. It was the middle of November so everything was decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful!
We stayed with some of our friends who live there, and they took us to one of their favorite food spots. It’s called The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden, and their specialty soda shop is unique. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was really fun!
One of my best friends growing up, wrote a whole blog post about their favorite things to see and do in Nashville. She and her family lived there for a while so it’s for sure an inside scoop! She also included some great food recommendations. A Whirlwind Weekend in Nashville.
Of course, on one trip we also visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was incredible, and I highly recommend. We did have kids and they enjoyed parts of it, but it could be a longer visit without kids. I love Nashville, and am so looking forward to a chance to explore it even more. We’ve had so much fun visiting every time we go, but there’s still so much that we want to see and do there.
Sincerely,
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