After our chilled-out day yesterday, today was a much busier day. I don’t know much about Country Music, but I did know we couldn’t visit Nashville and not see a show at the Grand Opry.
Morning
Standard morning – Breakfast, pool, and editing some videos from the previous day.
Afternoon
Our plans for this evening were to watch a show at the Grand Opry. However, every Uber driver we have had told us to go over early and enjoy walking around the hotel and the mall, so that’s what we did.
We hopped in our Uber and made our way over to the hotel. Again, the Uber driver said to make sure we had a look around the hotel. So, we knew we were doing the right thing.
Gaylord Opryland Hotel is something else.
The first area we walked through was the indoor gardens. Felt like we were transported to the Amazon walking past the giant palms and waterfalls.
Next up, Nicola and Megan took a ride on the Delta Riverboat. I didn’t get on to save a few $ and just walked around listening to the guide and posing for random photos.
The guide explained the hotel’s history and pointed out the different fish in the river. Very interesting as we would have walked past a lot of things unnoticed.
Also, inside the hotel is a huge indoor waterpark. Sadly, this was for guests only. However, we found a viewing room to look at the SoundWaves complex. We soon realized this was tormenting Megan, so we moved on.
We knew there was a mall just across from the hotel, so we walked over to it in what was now the roaring sun.
The first place we spotted was a huge Dave and Busters, which Megan and I spent a few hours playing games.
We also had a meal there, I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a large portion and tasted good.
Megan was still on the hunt for Air Jordans, so we spent some time walking around the mall looking.
Sadly, they only had these. Megan wants some high tops, where is she getting her fashion sense from?
The mall had tons of the usual shops, a German beerhall, Madame Tussauds, a merry-go-round, and an aquarium. Shopping centres in the USA are on a completely different level compared to the UK.
Evening
The day had flown by, and before we knew it, it was time to head for our entertainment for the night in the Grand Opry. As we waited for the doors to open, we saw how much of a big deal it is for people. Coach load after coach load pulled up on what felt like a Country Music pilgrimage for many.
Once inside, we made our way to our church pew-style seats. We were on the upper deck to the right of the stage. Our seats gave a great view of the stage and were cheap compared to the rest.
The show started bang on time and we enjoyed watching the next big thing for the next few hours. There was a comedian as well, don’t think he sat well with the audience a lot around me either left or pretended to sleep during his section.
A great experience, and so glad we went. Who knows, we may have seen stars of the future.
After the show getting away was remarkably easy. Most people were on coach tours, so our Uber driver told us a pickup point, meaning we were gone in minutes.
We arrived back at the hotel, grabbed some Wendy’s from next door, walked through a crime scene outside our hotel, and went to bed.
Brilliant day had by all. Tomorrow, we fly to Vegas on an early afternoon flight.
Thanks for taking the time to read our ‘Day 11 – Travelling across the USA.’ If you have any questions, please ask.
The Lewis Family.
