Day 36 Tuesday 23th September, Nashville, Tennessee

Deliberately slow start this morning, after a leisurely cup of tea (no breakfast - so Dale was quite happy) we visited the tourist info centre at reception.  We are staying at the Wyndham Resort - a time share facility although I booked it through Expedia from one of the time share owners.  Naturally they are "keen to talk to us" and will give us $ USD 150 if we agree to come to breakfast and watch a video.  I said sure with no intention of buying - if they want to fling money about then we are happy to catch it.  That's tomorrow morning - should be interesting!

We decided to take the shuttle bus, ($10/ each round trip) into downtown. Parking is expensive in Nashville and traffic is terrible according to two locals we have come across.  Something that becomes quickly apparent is that people here are noticeably less friendly than those in the south.

We had lunch on a balcony in a bar called “Rippys Ribs” overlooking Broadway Street (the main drag in downtown Nashville).  The onion rings were both superb and enormous - they are up there with Charlie's Diner.  Three country and western musicians were playing and they were excellent - there is a lot of talent in this town.

Part of Broadway from the balcony of Rippy's Ribs

After brunch we walked the length of Broadway down to the river before returning and doing a tour of the Ryman Auditorium.

The Ryman was originally The Union Gospel Tabernacle. It was financed and built by Thomas Ryman, a riverboat pilot. He went to see evangelist Samuel P Junes speak and intended to heckle but was so impressed he built him a hall to preach in. On Ryman’s death it was suggested the hall be re-named in his honour which was immediately.

Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman is best known for being the home of the Grand Olde Opry for about 50 years but also hosted many greats as diverse as Charlie Chaplin, Pavarotti,Caruso and Louis Armstrong.

When recording his TV Show Johnny Cash told the ABC he would only do it if it happened at the Ryman. They, at first, refused saying it wasn’t set up for modern recording and was too hot. He replied saying that he was sure they could deal with the technical issues and he could stand the heat if they could. The shows were very successful and he played to packed houses. The acoustics are said to be better than Carnegie hall.

Looking at the stage from the balcony of the Ryman theatre

The Grand Old Opry eventually grew too big and moved to more modern facilities and the Ryman stood empty. Eventually it was decided to restore it and it once again holds regular concerts with the likes of Keith Urban, Pink Floyd and Bruce Springsteen all having played there.

One of Marty Robins jackets.  He wore this when performing on the "Grand Olde Opry". Marty sang at the Opry from 1953 till 1982 and liked to play last so he could drive at the Stock Car Races then rush to the Opry to perform. It also meant he could keep playing until late depending on the audience.

From today Harley now has a friend called Hank.