I’ve never been much of a traditionalist so when the opportunity to go on our honeymoon (before saying I do) came along we decided what the heck and went for it. I obnoxiously called it the Honey Bunny Moon instead. MDP and I wanted to go to an NHL city that we had never been to before…we chose Nashville (because it’s way cheap in the winter…and so is their hockey team).
To say I love Nashville is putting it mildly, though the south is definitely different. Within an hour of being there I had heard “y’all” about 30 times, watched people pray in the restaurant (so much so I grabbed MDP’s hand and bowed my head real quick so as not to stick out), and of course there really is country western music everywhere…heck even when the Nashville Predators score Tim McGraw comes onto the screen and the whole stadium sings “I like it, I love it, I want some more of it” along with him. It’s kind of cool.
Things I learned while in Nashville (or at least my interpretations of):
I don’t wear enough make up to live in Nashville. All women of every size, shape, age, and color wore make up…most of them wearing what I all evening make up during the day. I’m sure they kept thinking to themselves this woman is screaming make over.
While WA tends to be beer and wine drinkers…cocktails are where it is at in Nashville. I had wanted to try moonshine when we went to Loveless Café. But it was early in the day and the family next to us was praying hard and I thought hmmm. ..better not. But in what became the quote of our trip, I learned from the woman I struck up conversation with, I commented that I didn’t have the moonshine due to all the families praying around us…her response: “We sure do love us some Jesus…but Jesus loves us drinking”. So whenever I thought maybe I shouldn’t be drinking I remembered that Jesus would want me to. 😛 Oh and I did end up having moonshine later on that weekend.
Hardly anyone wears cowboy hats and boots…but the women all seem to have rhinestones or studs on their jeans. When I asked about this I was told “when you have a nice ass, you like to let it sparkle”. Another quality quote from the week.
Everyone is super nice. Like I want to tell them to have some distrust in people kind of nice. MDP and I kept thinking how many times they get taken advantage of for being so nice. In a way it was a tad like Canada with everyone saying sorry, please and thank you.
Large droves of women go to brunch (like groups of 10-15). All dressed up. When I asked if this was the norm to the waiter he smiled and said yes. I’m told most of the men our out hunting. Again, highly different than here.
Lots of things are fried. I support that. Lots of food had bacon. I fully support that.
While we had lots of suggestions on where to eat, MDP and I wanted to focus on Southern cooking only. We went for a variety of foods from truly traditional southern cuisine to reinterpreted southern cuisine. Oh and one little stop at Jeni’s Ice Cream!!!! While not southern at all when I found out there was a Jeni’s Ice Cream shop (actually 2) in Nashville I HAD to go there.
The month of March is dedicated to my “honeymoon” and I will be doing giveaways and recipes all based on my trip. So follow along!
Peabody
Merry120 says
As a Southern Girl (Alabama) transplanted in Calgary, I can fully support your ode to southern food. I miss fried food and barbecue terribly! Nashville is one of our favourite places to visit. So glad you had a great time!
Sarah @ Sarah Cooks the Books says
Tennessee is the nicest state ever — everyone there is friendly in a way I’m not fully familiar with.
As a native North Carolinian who recently relocated to Southern California, I’m SUPER EXCITED about Southern food. I learned to cook on Southern food, and in California, people just don’t understand it.
laurie says
Im glad you got to visit the south, although, I would argue that’s really not truly the south. This is a common argument ‘in the south.’ 🙂
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
Sounds like you had an amazing trip! My husband is from a place right outside of Nashville and even thought I’m from the south (Atlanta, GA), Nashville is a different kind of the south. I’m so excited for you! Yay all things southern. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
stephanie says
Great pic of you guys! So happy for you!
Ally says
I am glad you got to see Nashville! But even happier you got to go to Jeni’s Ice Cream!
We have had them in Columbus for years- we can even get it in our local grocery stores.
We literally live 10 minuets away from 3 Jeni’s stores and it is fantastic.
Glad you had a good trip! Sounds fun:)
Ally
Liz S. says
Happy Honeymoon Month to you! Love your Nashville recap – I haven’t been there (yet).
Laurie A. says
My sister-in-law lives outside of Nashville and when we visited her, my daughter decided that was where she was going to go to college. She’s a freshman there at a small university in Nashville. She LOVES it! We are from California (Los Angeles area) so it is really different there for us! The first time we went to visit, my ma-in-law (who lives 5 minutes from me) made us visit every Wal-Mart and Super Wal-Mart and Super Target in the 30-minute radius of my sister-in-law’s house (a grand total of 6!). I saw nothing but the Wal-marts. The one thing I still can’t get used to is the liquor law there. You get carded, no matter how old you are. And you can only buy alcohol in a liquor store. Some grocery stories will carry beer but usually all wines and liquor are in the liquor stores and you get carded. My ma in law got carded and she was 62 at the time! They give you your purchases in brown paper bags. I always feel like a degenerate when I have to buy the liquor for my cooking/baking for my sister in law (she doesn’t cook at all, so we stock her refrigerator and freezer with baked goodies). Nashville is such a fun place to go. I can’t wait to go back soon. I was there in September, which was a nice change from the usual winter time when I do go there. =) So glad you got to see it. Hope you get to go again soon!
Erika says
Haha- funny to hear about the South from a Non-Southerner’s perspective. I live in northern Alabama, but went to school in Nashville and lived there for a few years after college. It is a great town!
You are so right about the makeup! I wear my “full face” every day 😉
KB says
Welcome to the south! 😀 So glad you got a chance to go on a honeymoon together. It sounds like you got a good taste of Nashville and the general southern U.S., and I loved the quotes!
Denise says
I agree with Laurie. Nashville is definitely not “in the south”. It’s so funny to hear it referred to that way. Of course, I’m from Texas so a LOT of the US is “north”…
Susannah says
First and foremost? Brunch is not a meal. It’s a lifestyle… and it is glorious. Although for us it has always been a couples thing but I do know that isn’t the norm.
I find it absolutely hilarious the way different states view each other as far as what is south, north, west, etc. As a born and raised East Tennessee girl, I’ve always considered it to be the south but I guess that isn’t the case. I briefly lived in Augusta, GA and can’t tell you how many times I was told “welcome to the south” and I had to reply “thanks… lived in it my whole life.” But to me, Texas has always been southwest, not the south. And then the SEC went and decided that Missouri was part of the SEC East. It’s a world gone mad, I tell you.
Also not part of the south despite geographic location? Florida.
Glad you enjoyed Nashville! It’s an absolutely wonderful city!!
becca - cookie jar treats says
The people of Nashville seem really fun 🙂 I want to go there some time!
Melanie @ Bon Appét'Eat says
Congrats on the honeymoon 🙂 ! Enjoy Nashville, I heard a lot of good reviews!!
Renee @ Awesome on $20 says
I lived in Nashville for three years, and I love that city. It’s full of great boho coffee shops and beautiful trees. You really have to visit in the fall. It’s breathtaking.