Saturday was a beautiful 62 degrees (F). (Last week we had an ice storm!) It was the perfect day to go downtown and play tourist. My friend, Sue and I walked around and mingled with the tourists, seeing Nashville from their eyes. When you live in a popular tourist attraction you forget why people come until you step into their shoes and pick up the holiday spirit. The tall glass buildings on the hill overshadow the famous Ryman Auditorium and the Honky Tonks of Lower Broadway. From the Hard Rock Cafe we watched the horse drawn carriages, the bicycle taxis and the Pedal Bar go by. We could see people crossing the Cumberland River on the foot bridge and the crowd on the rooftop of the RockBottom Brewery. From Lower Broad, we walked up the hill checking out the reflections in the glass of the AT&T building affectionately known in Nashville as the “Bat Building,” for it’s resemblance to the Caped Crusader. We looked at churches beneath tall bank buildings. We went up to the old Arcade, almost deserted on a Saturday, where art galleries line the upstairs balcony overlooking the little cafes and shops that serve the downtown office crowd. Finally, we inspected the scrollwork on a few old buildings tucked away amidst the newer glass ones. All in all, it was a day to remind me of why, after years of traveling far and wide, I finally came home to Nashville. It was a good day.
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