It's been a good week so far. It feels amazing to actually be staying in one place for a month. We were able to unpack everything and get settled in, and after all negative COVID tests, Hannah and Mike came to spend the week with us!
The House
The house we are in is in the East Nashville neighborhood which has more of a low-key vibe with some really cool restaurants and shops. We are close to everything. At least at this point, I don't think we could have chosen a better neighborhood. The house is huge, with an amazing kitchen, balconies, and a nice backyard for the pups. It's also an Instagrammers paradise with different photo ops in each room. Even Cody got in on the action, requesting a photoshoot in each room. One of his famous shots below. For the rest, you'll have to check out his Instagram.
I'm happy to say there is no rooster living around our house this time. There is a train and the freeway is very close to our house but neither of those has bothered us thus far.
The girls have also been fighting over who gets "their chair". Despite being bigger, Emma often backs down. She's been holding her ground with this one; much to Jazzy's dismay!
Last Week
Broadway
So, we tried. The main street in downtown Nashville with a ton of restaurants, bars, and live music is Broadway. We took a drive down it to see what it was all about and there were a lot of people out, a real lot. For non-COVID times, it looked incredible. Multiple floors in each bar with different bands on each floor. It was hard to tell how many people were actually in the bars, but there were enough people outside that we decided not to get out of the car. It was late evening on a weekend night so we plan to try to go earlier one day before we leave to see if that makes a difference in how many people are around.
Distillery
Tennessee is known for its whiskey. Eric loves whiskey. Pretty much a perfect match. We are here for a month and are going to try to hit up as many distilleries on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail as we can, safely. From both a drinking and COVID perspective. There are 25, think we can do it?!
We started with Corsair Distillery. Per their website, they were awarded over 450 medals for their spirits and are celebrated for their innovative whiskeys, gins, and unusual spirits.
The distillery is located in the Marathon Motor Works building which you can find more information about here. Today it houses the distillery, a winery, some retail shops, a recording studio, and some other fun things. It seems like a bunch of buildings have been repurposed around here which I love.
We went not expecting to be able to do a tasting but they did such an incredible job of spacing and blocking everything off. There were not only thick clear dividers between each group and the bartender, but tons of space as well. We ended up tasting their vanilla vodka, dark rye, triple smoke whiskey, spiced rum, gin, and barrel-aged gin. This is the first time I have done a non-wine tasting. It was different. I think if I had some mixers for the non-whiskey spirits I would have liked those ones better. The barrel-aged gin was for sure my favorite, it tasted more like rum or whiskey to me, and I really enjoyed it.
They also had their pre-prohibition pot still which was pretty cool to see.
The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club
I'm sensing an alcohol-related theme here. We decided to do a private cocktail class at The Fox. I thought it would be fun but didn't have super high expectations. Man, were we ever blown away. Walking into the bar, it felt like you were walking into a private club.
We got demonstrations on making a bunch of different drinks including an old-fashioned, daiquiri, margarita, and a gin martini. My favorite? The Daiquiri. I would have never guessed that in a million years, but it was incredible. We also learned a ton of great tips that we can use for our at-home zoom cocktail nights we do with Mike and Hannah. Time to step up our game! At the end of the class, you picked your own drink off of their incredible menu. I chose the concord grape margarita (pictured on the left above), Mike and Eric chose the 19th Century Manhattan (pictured on the right above) and Hannah chose the Hillbilly Deluxe (not pictured). I was worried about the margarita being sweet but the bartender said it was more sour than sweet and he was right, it was 10/10. Would for sure drink again! Hannah's was also incredible, even though it had some beer in it you would never be able to tell.
You can make reservations which are highly encouraged due to the COVID restrictions. I highly recommend it. We will for sure be going back multiple times!
Alabama
Alabama is a short drive away so we hit it up to get in another state! Did you know there is one street where half of it is in Tennessee and half of it is in Alabama?! We chose Hunstville as our destination; the home of NASA's Space and Rocket Center. Mike had been there before and was a great tour guide. We got in some breweries where Cody enjoyed a flight or two. We also walked around a really cool waterway in the downtown area where Jazzy saw some fish that she wanted to snack on. Overall, really enjoyed the day trip.
Next Week
No idea what is in store for this week but excited about it! Most likely we will try to knock more distilleries off the list, hit up some hot chicken for Eric and maybe a tour of the Grand Ole Opry. So far all of the places we have gone have taken socially distancing and face mask-wearing really seriously so that has been great.
Tips needed - it is so dry in our house! It's pretty cold here and we aren't used to having the heaters on. We bought travel humidifiers but that doesn't seem to be enough. Besides drinking a ton of water, what else can we do to help our skin and noses through this dryness?!
Until next week!
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