Miles: 530
Route: New Orleans, LA - Nashville, TN
On Thursday morning we grabbed coffee and beignets to go and headed north toward Nashville for the wedding weekend of Nikou and Mike. We hadn't realized we would be 100% backtracking through Birmingham but I'm pretty sure Alex was happy we stopped in NOLA.
We made it to Franklin, TN just in time to workout and clean up for a southern-style BBQ at Nikou's parents' house. The food was incredible - I've never seen a smoker that could actually hold an entire animal! - and we had a great time meeting some of Mike and Nikou's family and friends.
Friday was deemed our day of grooming: after a few months on the road, Alex was in need of a beard trim and we both needed haircuts to look wedding-ready on Saturday. We woke up early to drop off our dry cleaning and killed time before our appointments by having a big breakfast in downtown Nashville.
Southern breakfast done right at Puckett's.
After some much-needed hair-styling, I searched for a place to get a manicure and Alex headed to the Honky-Tonks with our friends for an afternoon beverage.
Later that night, we met up again with some of our friends for a group dinner at Silo, where we had great food, well-concocted drinks and perfect company. Afterward, we headed to welcome drinks with the bride, groom and rest of the gang back at our hotel.
Not the best quality photo but the best quality people.
Lots of love for the bride from these girls.
We had the best time catching up with everyone on Friday night and headed to bed by midnight so we would be well-rested for the wedding festivities.
Saturday morning it was time for the best food Nashville has to offer: hot chicken. We walked around the city for a bit and then grabbed B-cycle bikes to head to the famous Hattie B's. We had to wait in line - as expected - but it was completely worth it. We would definitely recommend a meal here to anyone stopping in Nashville.
A trip to Nashville isn't complete until you go to Hattie B's for their delicious hot chicken.
After lunch we had just enough time to get cleaned up before the shuttles came to take us to the wedding ceremony. The service was in a beautiful church and it was our first Greek Orthodox wedding. Having been to a number of weddings in the past year, we have really enjoyed seeing the different traditions that all of our friends choose to incorporate.
Mike and Nikou are married!
After the ceremony it was off to Mint Springs Farm for the reception. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was amazing - I was so happy everything worked out so perfectly for the bride and groom! Sadly, we didn't make it to the Honky-tonks for the late-night festivities (I was falling asleep on the shuttle back!), but we had a fantastic evening celebrating with friends. Congratulations Mike and Nikou!
Just posing for the cover of a Brooks Brothers catalogue.
Trying another pose.
On Sunday morning we drove to the farewell brunch to say goodbye to everyone and then headed back into the city to meet my dad and stepmom, who had driven down for the day from Cincinnati.
We had lunch downtown and then walked around exploring for a bit before heading to Opryland to check out the famous hotel. We learned there are two parking options: 0-20 minutes is free and anything more than 20 minutes is $21. We opted for the free option and zoomed through the hotel grounds to peek around. The hotel is massive and beautiful and I'd definitely come back to Nashville to check out a show and stay there.
Afterward, we headed to dinner at Whiskey Kitchen and then on to the Honky-tonks on Broadway.
Honky-Tonks on Lower Broadway.
Fireball shots per Judy's request.
Cutest older couple dancing it up at the bar.
As my dad kept saying, "we hit the jackpot" at the bar we selected for the evening, Roberts Western World. We had front row seats, the band was amazing and the people sitting next to us were very friendly. On top of that, we got to watch some pretty incredible dancing action by the local crowd. After a late night of music and drinking, we headed back to get some sleep before saying goodbye to my parents.
Tomorrow we are off to Charlotte, NC and from there we make our way to Washington, DC before heading back to NYC!