Virginia Belle: Anniversary Weekend in Nashville

Keeping with our anniversary tradition of weekend getaways, VABeau and I spent last weekend celebrating our 3 year anniversary in Nashville. I didn't think our last two anniversaries in Saint Michaels and Willamsburg could be beat, but I think Nashville and its charm provided some pretty strong competition.

VABeau was already in the city for a work conference so I flew out to meet him bright and early Friday morning. After I picked him up from his presentation, our first stop included lunch and country music at Rippy's. Cherish suggested that we try Rippy's fried pickles and she was spot on. Their fried pickles are the best I've ever had! While we were there I got my first taste of the Nashville live music scene and I immediately fell in love with it. It's hard to beat being treated to great country music at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon!

The best frickles I've ever had at Rippy's

After lunch we headed to the Opryland Hotel. They offer a fantastic anniversary deal that cannot be beat and made our stay there incredibly affordable. During the month of your anniversary they offer a "buy one night, get one free" deal. We had to bring a copy of our marriage licence for verification but fishing it out of storage saved us a lot of $$! I highly recommend looking into this deal for your next Nashville visit!

Our home for the weekend

After checking in, we explored part of the huge hotel before heading back downtown for dinner and drinks.

The view from our room

The Opryland Hotel in Fall

Stunning hotel lobby art

Delicious comfort food at Merchants Restaurant

Dinner was at a spot that I swear was made just for us. Merchants is right on Broadway and enticed us with its casual feel, incredible cocktail menu, skilled bartenders, and simple but delicious entrees. My bacon grilled cheese and soup were just what I needed after a long day of travel. We could have stayed there all night watching the bartenders crush their own ice and make all kinds of delicious concoctions but I wanted to experience all that Broadway had to offer so we left for the honky tonks.

The bright lights of Broadway on a Friday night

We enjoyed great live music at Tootsies and Roberts Western World before returning to Rippy's for some mean fiddle playing while we cheered on our Nats. Getting great live music without a cover was something new for me, but I could get very used to it. This country music lover was in Heaven!

Cheering on our Nats in Nashville

I could listen to this all night

Coffee with a view

Indoor waterfalls

After a music and beer filled Friday night, we spent Saturday morning exploring our hotel and its beautiful gardens. I swear I could stay there for a week and still not see everything!

Indoor river

Gorgeous orchids all over the place

Saturday afternoon we headed to the 12 South neighborhood which Southern Living named one of the South's Best Neighborhoods. I tend to trust everything Southern Living prints so I knew we had to check out this up and coming hood. We explored all of it's trendy shops and were completely inspired by a custom denim store and its incredible old fashioned work area. One store owner recommended the Frothy Monkey for a delicious sandwich so that was our next stop in the neighborhood. I had one of the best sandwiches of my life there. They make almost everything on site and it definitely shows!

12 South

Imogene&Willie

Best sandwich ever at the Frothy Monkey

Delicious Jenis Ice Cream

DC NEEDS a Jenis shop

We made a final detour for Jenis Ice Cream on our way back to the Opryland. We're huge Jenis fans and couldn't leave Nashville without hitting up one of her delicious shops. It definitely did not disappoint, best ice cream ever! The shops need to start making their way to the East Coast pronto!

Football in bed with a view

We ended the day with some UVA football on the IPad while we took in the view of the gardens from our room.

The Opryland introduced us to St. Germain Carafes!

Happy hour by a waterfall

It was happy hour yet again and we decided to enjoy it close to home Saturday night. We each had a Saint Germain/Prosecco cocktail and some oysters at The Falls Lounge before heading out for the night. On our way out of the hotel we ran into some larger than life characters and I couldn't resist snapping their picture. The hotel was hosting area kids for trick or treating and the cartoon characters passed out the candy. It had to be such a fun experience for the children because this adult was pretty thrilled with it all herself!

and Shrek at our hotel

We ran into Kung Foo Panda

Dinner ended up being in East Nashville at a Beer Garden/Burger Parlor. The night was perfect for an outdoor beer garden so we couldn't resist some huge brews and an incredible burger.

Such a fun spot in East Nashville

Hers and his beer garden choices

The best burger I've ever had. Serving it with a side of gravy doesn't hurt!

We walked off dinner with another tour of the Opryland and ended up finishing our night at the Jack Daniels Saloon where we managed to find incredibly nice bartenders, lots of Jack inspired cocktails, and even better live music.

Opryland nighttime views

Routine Opryland fountain shows

Ended the night with Jack at the Jack Daniels Saloon

Nashville may not have been the most romantic spot for an anniversary but it was perfect for two fun loving foodies. We had a blast and cannot wait to return again soon to continue the party!