BACK ... from Nasville, TN. As a whole, Nashville is a pretty nice place. The people are friendly, the atmosphere is fairly casual and of course, the food is good. Now, I am not exactly what one would call a "country music fan" however, there is all the toe-tapping one can stand right downtown.
For the hockey fans there is the Gaylord Entertainment Center home of the Nashville Predators. I attended a game and found the experience very enjoyable. Every seat in the house has a good view of the ice surface. My seat was three rows up from the glass next to the Preds bench and I could still see the entire sheet. The seats in the upper bowl had a good view as well. If you have a chance to see the Preds play anytime in the near future I suggest going. The GEC is an excellent new rink and the Preds are a fast and young team that is fun to watch.
So what hotel was I in? I stayed in the downtown Hilton. It was about $169 a night plus parking. Parking was either valet ($16 a night) or garage ($10 a night). This time I chose garage ... next time I will certainly choose valet. Everytime I wanted to take my car out of the garage it was another $10. That is not exactly great insentive to leave the hotel and go check out the sites in and around Nashville.
More on Nashville to come!