Long weekend of Music - history, elegance and locations - Tennesse, USA

Among friends and family wispy debates of where I should spend my vacation when in the United States were conducted with enthusiasm. It soon became a parley with each narrating experiences of the ‘Big Apple', Hollywood, L.A, etc. Decision made and a few days later, I disclosed my travel plans to visit the charming Old South with some time in the state of Tennessee, and the response was a tart silence, pregnant with envy.

When citing some of the landmarks that were to be a part of this program – Chattanooga, Jack Daniels Distillery, Nashville and Graceland – conversation resumed. Suddenly, someone had a sister at Vanderbilt University, one had thought of visiting the place and the other never thought of Jack Daniels Distillery as a visit. For me this was a visit that was going to be talked a lot, when I got back. After all Tennessee is Tennessee - known for its strong musical heritage. Many famous musicians, such as Johnny Cash and of course Elvis Presley, started their careers and I had to be there…

And so I went. This program was part of a 14-day Coach trip through the Southeast. We were a group of twenty-seven – most of who were from the United Kingdom, some from New Zealand and the United States. Tennessee was the first weekend of the tour and by then we had formed our own friends' circle. Ours was a trio - Irene Grubliauskas from Boston, Solange Lee from New York and myself. We moved around in the tour coach with Daniel, an efficient and courteous driver, under the guidance of Clinton Dunn, our ever-smiling guide, who told me at the end of the trip that he intended visiting India.

The historic route through the Old South was a five-state visit with two days in Tennessee. As we drove in, past the Blue Ridge Mountains and the tree-lined roads from Atlanta, I could almost feel John Denver and ‘Country Roads' come to life. It felt like a picture postcard, as the route continued north through the Chattahoochee National Forest. Clinton's narratives complemented and made the picture even more awesome.

First stop was the Choo Choo Station, built in the early 1900s', home of the famous monumental Chatanooga Choo Choo train. We were told, ‘It's a train, it's a song and it's a hotel!' The restored structure is today run by Holiday Inn with all the facilities and scenic landscapes. This stop doubled up as a sightseeing stop, as well as for restrooms and souvenir shopping.

We moved on to Jack Daniels Distillery - next in the itinerary, with a stop at Lynchberg for Jack Daniels souveniers. Lynchberg is a tourist destination, especially for those visiting the Distillery. Shops are amazingly cluttered and discovering stuff is a ‘find' is well worth; the displays are warm, easy and flow inside outside. People are also warm and hospitable, that is catching, indeed. Some of us spent time over coffee with the locals to hear fascinating tidbits of the little town with about 380 people!

The distillery visit, included a tour of the whisky making process that lasted for over a couple of hours with an old seasoned local, for whom Jack Daniels was the ‘only-one-and-there-is-no-other..'. He narrated with pride over and over at every stop in southern accent, ‘Jack Daniel's is the oldest registered distillery in the United States…'. It almost felt like we were in a ‘whisky nirvana' at the end of the visit with all those whiffs, history and stories. Certainly the place is very beautiful on a bright afternoon, against a backdrop of nature and clear blue sky. The Visitor Centre, at the entrance where tour-batches are formed before, displays and traces the history of Jack Daniel and the whiskey.

We arrived about late afternoon into Nashville, in the heart of Tennessee and checked into the Sheraton that was our retreat for the next two days. Between the voraciously adventurous threesome, our midnight destination was the Wild Horse Saloon – the much recommended ‘ The Biggest and the Best Club'. It's a large place compact with horse models, music and two young instructors who teach line dancing and spin laughter and fun.

All kinds of people come here – families; grandpas and grandmas; singles; doubles; children with parents of all ages and tourists, like us. Laughter is so contagious, especially when we got to the floor to ‘…take two steps to your right and shake your booties…'- move and got them all in wrong moves. This seemed more like a stress-buster! We were there till the crowd thinned and walked back to the hotel through the well-lit streets, passing by a fan-crowd waiting for the emergence of a ‘pop star' after a program and an alert policeman and woman on horse-backs.

Day two began with a planned sightseeing tour of Nashville's famous landmarks and the recording studios of Music Row. Unlike what many thought, Nashville ‘s biggest business is publishing. It has about 700 churches and is the home of the Gideon's bibles that are placed in every hotel through out the United States. For both the tourists and the visitors, the city tour itinerary revolves around the War Memorial next to the Sheraton; Legislature Plaza (a lot of skating and Nashville nightlife takes place here); State Capitol; Bell South building (locally called, the Batman building); Hermitage Hotel (a landmark since 1950); Wild Horse Saloon; St. Mary's church (the oldest in Nashville); Stadium by the river; Broadway street; The Centennial Park and the Music Row.

The Centennial Park is rated as one of the country's top parks and Nashville's premium park. As centerpiece, stands proudly, The Parthenon – world's only full-scale reproduction of the famous Greek temple, just as it was. It features both the city's art museum and 42-foot statue of Athena Parthenos, the tallest indoor sculpture in the western world and is a spectacular site to behold. This grey-eyed goddess is gilded is 23.75-karat Italian gold leaf. All ablaze in glory, Athena's floor-length robe, helmet, shield, spear and the statue Nike that is perched in her hand are dressed with gold touches.

Music Row, seemed to us like a ‘music village' so to speak, with little homes converted to music studios and bigger places taken over by Music Cos. ‘Everything about music is seen here', went on our local guide as we passed by Music publishing homes, PR offices and all sizes of recording studios. Apparently, people come from around the world to make it big here even to stay. Some of the landmarks, we passed were Kenny Rogers and Kris Kristoferson's old homes and the RCA Victor Company that made many well-known artists.

On our way, we toured another of one of the city's many parks. In here, there is an interesting stone globe that weighs tons and balances on a fountain. We got off the coach to check this piece of interest. Everyone wanted to have a feel and check their part of the world – I had to give it a good turn, while the rest moved fingers up north or sideways. One side of this well-maintained park is designed to depict the 96 counties that Tennessee has, on a walkway with 3 different divisions Middle, East and West. Interestingly, here trees of each state are planted along the sides. There are capsules on this pavement; beneath which there is something from each county buried. 100 years later, it will be unearthed with celebration and fanfare.

Optional tour for today that we took was the visit to the Hermitage, the plantation home of the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. This illustrious 1837 mansion was toured with guides in period costumes. While the rest of the tour spent more time in the mansion, Solange and I took off to see the tomb – a Greek inspirational monument Andrew Jackson had built for his beloved wife, Rachel; the garden created in 1819; and walked the archeological tour. The tour included the first Hermitage (simple quarters where the Jacksons first lived), Archeological trail, Springhouse (besides sheltering the freshwater supply, it provided refrigeration for dairy products) and the Smokehouse. It was a periodic feel, as headed back to the hotel. Solange, being a retired librarian made a good ‘historian guide'. I soon became acquainted with the master-slave history of the place.

On our way back, we stopped by the Hermitage Hotel next to the Sheraton and spent a few hours poking around the hotel, looking at the finely carved doorways and beautiful décor. They have friendly staff in attendance who took us around the place. The rooms are comfortable and grand!!!! This is a hotel with much history, opened since 1910 - an old place that was talk of the town. For the sheer scale and richness of the interiors, not to mention its grandeur in the artworks and historic architectural features – it did take a while to sink in - even as we left the place.

Whenever you are staying in Nashville around the Sheraton, St. Mary's will soon become a familiar presence. Irene and myself attended the Sunday mass before meeting with the group for the special treat of the evening – reserved seats at the Grand Ole Opry – live radio show! The Opry offers a blend of entertainment, pageantry, vaudeville and music that has become an American tradition. A must see and experience when in Nashville. We watched and cheered the famous Martina Mc Brian perform along with many others. Time just flies here and you see miles and miles of smiles. Opry, I learnt is after the word Opera! There was Square dancing, music and more music even outside… country music and people spilled everywhere. Clinton gathered us rather unwillingly to the coach.

Next day's drive was south into Memphis, the ‘Home of the Blues', a city with a distinct southern flavour. Stopped at the old station in Jackson for restrooms at the Casey Jones Village. A good thing about the tour program is their timely stops at Restrooms with eating facilities. Well-planned and convenient. Memphis is named after the city in Greece and the Egyptian pyramids

This afternoon's visit included Elvis Presley's fabulous estate, the Graceland. The tour included Elvis' trophy building which houses his enormous collection of gold record and awards. Tours in the mansion are made in batches among the first of many lectures: No flash, no food, etc. In the mansion is an extensive display of personal mementoes, stage costumes, jewelry and photographs – each room is thematic and personalized. It concluded with a quiet visit to the Meditation Garden where Elvis is laid to rest next to his parents. Lunch was at Rockabilly's Diner. Took pictures and pictures till there was no more to take!

On our way back, we passed the National City Museum and the place where Martin Luther King was shot. A wreath is placed above this spot. Infact, we were told that there is a lady who still protests… Across the road a window from the building where the gunman took aim, is still open.

We moved on. Then, there was this light-hearted moment in the detour visit made to the Duck Condo at the Peabody Hotel at 5:30 pm. There is a story here.. Once upon a time there were ducks living on the top the hotel. They would come down, to where the lobby is today and spend the day in the fountain and return by upstairs by the fall of day. The duck tradition is preserved here to date and observed in all regality. Like the changing of the guard at palaces in the UK, there is a whole event to it. The ducks are brought down and taken in the lift by a uniformed personnel with a gold-gilded baton. There is music and a red carpet laid out for them. The paparazzi it attracts is simply amazing! This has become another tourist attraction in the city. Laughter and ‘so cute' expressions are so infectious here.

By the time we'd nearly finished the day and got back to the hotel, Irene and I realized that self-toured walk on famous Beale Street was clearly in order. Dinner was at the landmark, Big City Blues – known for Catfish. We walked, pub-hopped, listening to blues that was happening everywhere, in every corner of every restaurant – inside, outside, everywhere. The evening finale was at the legendary B B Kings Blues Club to experience the live jazz band sing blues, sipping margaritas! To fill you in, Beale St. became the Blues place in the 1890s'. It is a generally cheerful place, entirely characteristic.

As we drove out the next day, we passed by the Pyramid, apparently, an important building for cotton businesses and slave trade. Will I return to Nashville, someday, I asked myself. Yep! There is plenty to yet do and see in here. If you are there for sometime – Dollywood in Knoxville, Great Smoky Mountains National park in Gatlinburg and so many more. You could pick from a variety of travel itineraries – Music and African-American. ‘Just git ‘em' pamphlets off the racks….

Getting to visit Tennessee is no big deal. There are ways that you could choose from, beginning with agencies. Personally, I suggest you first surf around and make a list of what you wish to see. If you have your dates and Credit Card facilities in place, you may wish to do your own itinerary. Some hotel bookings come with package tours depending on the seasons. Or simply do it the good old-fashioned way, through the Travel agents. A word of advice here, get all the bookings and facts sorted out before the travel with the Agent. You do not want to be in a spot, like I was – no hotel confirmation with rude and expensive shocks and come back to a shuttle between, ‘it's him, not me..' winds! Visit www.tennessee.worldweb.com for information and/or new developments in the city www.nashvillecvb.com .

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