A couple of weeks ago I had a long weekend trip to Nashville with a friend. If you missed that post you can check it out here We made the most of our time in Nashville and decided to visit some historical places. The first place we visited was the Parthenon.
The Parthenon in Athens Greece is a former temple that was dedicated to the Goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of classical greek art. But what is this Parthenon in Nashville you might ask.
The Parthenon in Centennial Park Nashville, is a full scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens Greece. It was originally built for Tennessee’s 1897 Centennial Exposition. When Tennessee celebrated its 100th year of statehood, Nashville took advantage of the nickname “Athens of the South’ and built this famous replica.
Within the Parthenon, and something I found so amazing, is a 42-foot-tall gold-coated sculpture of Athena. The original Parthenon was built as a temple dedicated to the Goddess Athena in Athens.
So here we were on our first day of the Nashville trip. We went to the Parthenon. It was about 9:30 in the morning. Tickets are about $10.00 per person and no charge for parking. Also there was lots of available parking. The hotel where we stayed actually gave us free tickets for entry.
Let me tell you a little about Centennial Park that circles the Parthenon. It is a beautiful park with lots of things going on. The park is located about two miles west of Downtown Nashville. While we were there, we saw soccer games, picnics, family get togethers, people walking their dogs and just enjoying the sunshine. The park itself is beautiful. And of course the 132 acre park features the Parthenon.
Getting into the Parthenon was a bit tricky because some construction work was going on near the entrance. We finally found our way in and started enjoying the photos lining the halls. Most of the beginning photos were of the history of the Parthenon being built.
We took a set of stairs leading to the second level and this is what we saw:
The Statue of Athena:
The re-creation of the 42-foot statue Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals.
I think she’s beautiful.
The Parthenon was actually decades old before Athena was added. The statue was created by Alan LaQuire, A Nashville native and Vanderbilt University graduate. It took LaQuire 8 years to complete the figure of Athena.
For 12 years, Athena was a plain, white statue. Then in 2002, Athena was gilded in gold to more closely resemble the original.
A close-up here of the shield.
Throughout the Parthenon artwork is on display in several sections. It has been a place to showcase artists from a lot of different areas.
I enjoyed our time at the Parthenon and Centennial Park. I would highly recommend going if you are in the Nashville area.
I said my goodbyes to March. As usual March went swooshing by in maybe five minutes. Here we are in the beautiful month of April, my birth month and so it goes.
March came in like the roaring lion it can be and went out as gentle as a sweet lamb. Gone for another year. Although no March will be quite like the one we just had. It couldn’t be. You wouldn’t want it to be for one reason or another. But isn’t that true of every month, year and even every day? Ok I might be getting off track. Back to brand new April and the Dogwoods.
The temps here yesterday were mid 80’s F and then today they plummeted to the mid 50’sF. What?? First of all let me explain. We are more than likely experiencing Dogwood Winter. Yes I know it is a little early in the month for Dogwood Winter but who am I to say it is not. Dogwood Winter is the second of many teasing winters that keep popping up in our area until full spring or summer arrives. This is what a lot of the early settlers believe and some still do. I follow these winters very closely. My husband poo poos me and calls me crazy. The weather is just what it is here he says. He says the temps will drop because a cold front is coming through. Yes it is I say, it is called Dogwood Winter!!!!
What is this Dogwood Winter? Well my dear friend it is when the beautiful dogwood trees start to flower, it follows Red Bud Winter. It is often hard to know exactly when Dogwood Winter will hit because the Dogwood trees may bloom at different times from region to region. I think it is no coincidence that the Dogwoods are flowering and a cold snap is coming. Just look at the temps for this week.
Usually Dogwood Winter falls later in April and who knows, we may have cooler temps again as we get into the middle of April and more dogwoods start flowering. I will tell you I am worried about the new blossoms that are blooming and these cold temps we will have in the next few days. It could really hurt some of the newly budding trees.
If you want to know when the last frost of the year will be and when it is safe to plant your gardens, then all you have to do is look at your Farmer’s Almanac. Or research some data online for the average frost dates. Our ancestors didn’t have the Farmer’s Almanac or Google to help determine when they should plant their crops. They had to rely on the changes that the seasons brought about. Because the Dogwood trees usually bloom out around mid April or even to early May, and this just happened to be the same time that the last frost would take place, they knew it wasn’t safe to plant their crops until the Dogwoods finished blooming Most old timers will tell you this is too early to be Dogwood Winter but all I know is, they’re blooming and it is suddenly winter again.
I leave you with some of my favorite Dogwood photos that I have taken throughout the years and a poem by an unknown author. The Legend Of The Dogwood. I will take more pictures this year and I will share those as well.
The Legend Of The Dogwood:
There is a legend that at the time of the crucifixion the dogwood had been the size of the oak and other forest trees. So firm and strong was the tree that it was chosen as the timber for the cross. To be used for such a cruel purpose greatly dis- tressed the tree, and our Lord, nailed upon it, sensed this, and in his gentle pity for all sorrow and suffering said to it: “Because of your regret and pity for my suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted, and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross, two long and two short petals. And in the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red, and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see it will remember.”
Hello and happy Sunday. Come in and have a nice cup of coffee or tea or some hot chocolate with me. Let’s catch up. What have I been up to you might ask? Well let me tell you about my weekend in Nashville last weekend. I had a short mini vacation with a friend from Pennsylvania.This is how it went:
Last weekend I spent a few days in Nashville with a friend from Pennsylvania. We met several years ago at a cave convention. Yes there really is such a thing. We just became friends really fast. We have been talking about this Nashville trip for years. Every time we planned it something came up and we weren’t able to do it. But it finally worked out.
My friend Ann flew into Nashville Friday afternoon. I am about 4 hours from Nashville. I picked her up at the airport and we started our adventure.
We stayed at the Hotel Vanderbilt which is very close to downtown without the horrendous downtown prices. Also a perk with this hotel is that we had shuttle service to and from a certain mile radius. This covered downtown. Another perk was the Commodore Grille within the hotel that offered amazing food and local song writers and singers every night.
Our first night in town we decided to go to the strip in Downtown Nashville on Broadway. I parked my car at the hotel and we checked in. Our room wasn’t ready but the hotel stored our bags and off we went via a short shuttle ride to downtown. It was so much fun and so loud. It is not for the faint of heart. Weekends in Nashville are a bit crazy. A singer from near Ann’s hometown in Pennsylvania, Josh Gallagher, would be singing in a couple of different bars during the weekend so we wanted to see him and his band perform. Josh was a top 4 finalist on The Voice in 2016. We caught the last few minutes of his performance on Friday night but he was also playing on Saturday at a different bar. One thing I love about Nashville is all of the wonderful music. So many country music legends have been discovered in small bars in Nashville. You never know, you might be watching the next Alan Jackson or Morgan Wallen.
As you can see it was fairly crowded. It was Friday night after all.
Josh Gallagher
It started to rain before dark, so we went to a couple of bars to hear music inside, and then decided to head back to the hotel for dinner, and listen to the singers and song writers in the Commodore Grille. The food there is amazing!!!
The rain started and the crowds dwindled somewhat
Rainy night in Nashville
Look at this salad topped with salmon!!!! So good.
We went into this candy store that smelled so wonderful you could smell it from the street. We only looked and didn’t purchase anything.
The first morning we were in Nashville there was a fire alarm at the hotel. Everyone was ushered outside where it was a balmy 32 degrees with a wind chill of a lot less than that. Fortunately we didn’t have to stay long. Apparently someone had pulled the fire alarm on one of the floors and broken it so it continued to sound for a long time. The fire department came and checked everything out.
For our first adventure of the day we decided to take the shuttle over to the Parthenon. I had never been. The Nashville Parthenon is the World’s only exact-size replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It is in the center of Centennial Park which is a large public park just west of Nashville. The park itself is just beautiful. A lot of activities were going on at the park on Saturday. Soccer games, picnics and lots of people out enjoying the beautiful sunshine. I will have a full post on the Parthenon later this week.
If I lived close to this park I would walk the trails here all the time. It is so beautiful.
Someone was getting ready to have a picnic
The Parthenon
Next, we got the car and drove down the road to Belle Meade Plantation. The history behind this mansion is so great. Mostly known for the thoroughbred stud business Belle Meade produced more than two thirds of all the Kentucky Derby winners including 11 Triple Crown Winners. A lot more of this history in a future post. There is just so much information here that I would like to share with you. It will be better done in a separate post.
Belle Meade Plantation
After our house tour we did a short wine tasting, there is a winery on site. We enjoyed a light lunch outside in the sunshine. It was so nice and relaxing. Ann and I both agreed it had been awhile since we had just chilled out and taken time to enjoy what was around us. A lesson to be learned here for sure. I will have a full post on Belle Meade later in the week as well. To give you a little information Belle Meade is actually a city with a population of less than 3,000 people. A beautiful place.
Before we left Belle Meade we visited the gift shop. It was so nice. There was something for everyone in the shop. I loved the handmade pottery by local artist Roy Overcast. He has done some amazing pieces.
So many to pick from.
I just had to bring a piece home. I love this color.
On Saturday night we returned to the downtown strip and it was so packed. I knew it would be on a Saturday night. We wanted to see Josh and his band again and catch the full show. They were playing at the Tin Roof. We got there about 30 minutes before his group came on. Lots of people were there for him. He has quite a following. Josh is from Pennsylvania but now lives in Nashville. He came over and talked after the show and we got a few pictures.
What a cutie he is, and just as nice.
My friend Ann with me
The strip on Broadway was getting crazy
We decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.
A yummy cosmo
We shared these chicken tenders. They were yummy and I like the way they were presented.
On our last day in Nashville we visited The Hermitage, Home of Andrew Jackson. I had been here a few times but Ann had not. It was a bit chilly. The house tour was very short only about 30 minutes. The grounds were beautiful with a lot of the gardens starting to bloom out. Check out this cookbook I found in the gift shop. Southern Cakes. I have decided to make each of the cakes from this book. There are 60 cake recipes. I plan to share each one on my blog. I can’t wait to get started.
We couldn’t let Ann leave Nashville without visiting The Opry Mills Mall. We spent some time there and headed back to the hotel to visit The Commodore Club for the last night. We had an early night because Ann’s flight left out at 6:00 AM. I had to have her at the airport by 4:30 AM. Luckily the airport was only about 15 minutes from the hotel.
I think our mini vacation was well rounded. We had history, honky tonk, shopping and lots of great food. All things southern that makes Nashville such a great place to visit.
After I dropped Ann off I left for home. I had a 4 hour drive ahead of me.
It was very nice getting back home to hubs and the babies. I got everything unpacked and took a short nap. What a fun weekend we had hit it is always nice to get home.
I hope you enjoyed our time together. Our coffee share was quite a lot today. So now what have you been up to?
Always remember
Love your day your way!!!!
I am linking up with Natalie The Explorer over at Weekend Coffee Share. Check out her latest post and lots of others here #Weekend Coffee Share
A couple of weeks ago when I was in Chattanooga our group visited Ruby Falls. Ruby Falls is a 145 foot waterfall inside Lookout Mountain. It is the tallest and deepest underground waterfall open to the public. You can read more about it on the Ruby Falls Website here. If you missed my post about Chattanooga and the few days I was there check it out here. Chattanooga Visit
Something very unique and innovative that Ruby Falls has added to their wonderful experience is the opportunity to stay in one of their new Treehouses. This is not a totally new concept in our area. It is one of the first times I was able to actually view them and go inside. They’re adorable!!!
Each of the treehouses are modernly furnished. The ones at Ruby Falls were decorated like you wouldn’t believe. Each one had some type of record player, yes I said record player with records and one of them even had a very old phonograph player with very old records.
Look at this hammock on the deck. It looked so peaceful it just made me want to take a nap under the trees.
I can just imagine sitting on this little porch and having coffee while I look out over the city of Chattanooga.
Some of the houses had a bedroom downstairs and the living area with a couch and desk upstairs. And some were just the opposite with the bedroom upstairs.
The treehouses are filled with windows offering you a view in every direction. The trees around are beautiful but can you imagine snow or rain gently falling while you are nestled in the treehouse, reading a good book. I can.
The stairs leading to the second level of the treehouse are a little steep but definitely doable.
Each treehouse had an outdoor sitting area, a fire pit and at least one hammock. The leaves on the trees were gently blowing and it was just like paradise.
This one had an outside tub with a privacy curtain and also an outdoor shower.
So peaceful!!
Once you get to the parking area for the treehouses you can look down on the tower at Ruby Falls and Chattanooga. Isn’t this a beautiful view?
This is the pathway leading to the cabins. It is lit so if you are out at night you would have no problem finding the path.
You can actually drive to an upper parking area and load your things in one of these little wagons to take to the treehouse.
The treehouse experience is not a cheap one. It is different. It is definitely an experience that you will never forget. A boutique treehouse retreat is what will be waiting for you. Check out the Ruby Falls website and then click Treehouses for lots of photos and availability.
Southern Patches 