Capital Culture: Washington DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Nashville (Part 2of 2)
Our next day was packed with much of what Philadelphia has to offer, starting with breakfast at High Street on Market followed by a walking tour of historic Philadelphia including the Liberty Bell, Carpenters’ Hall and Independence Hall. After our walk we joined an open-top bus tour which took us to Eastern State Penitentiary and then the famous Art Museum Steps (better known as the ‘Rocky Steps’). Our lunch was at Reading Terminal Market which is home to 80 renowned merchants and where I had a super Philly Cheese Steak. To walk off those calories our afternoon walking tour allowed us to explore the world’s largest art gallery, the Philadelphia Murals. To continue the art theme, we then visited The Barnes Foundation which houses one of the finest private collections of French-Modern and Postimpressionist paintings in the world. Our very busy day in Philadelphia was rounded off with a super dining cruise on the Spirit of Philadelphia.
I really enjoyed my short visit to Philadelphia and would recommend it as an alternative to New York for a short break or from where to start a USA touring holiday. After a quick visit to Macy’s early the next morning we were off to our final destination of this trip and another highlight – Nashville.
On arrival at Nashville we were taken to our hotels for the next two nights and I was staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Vanderbilt which was within easy reach of the city centre. That first night in Nashville, all the groups who had been exploring other parts of the USA met for the first time at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum where there was a chance to listen to live music, have some dinner and see all the amazing memorabilia. After dinner we had our first opportunity to visit some of the Honky Tonk bars on Broadway which was a great experience with live music in them all. The next day we started with a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum which tells the story of Country Music and has some amazing exhibits. We were then treated to a music master-class by Carter and Barny Robertson who were in Waylon Jennings band. We also visited Historic RCA Studio B famed for many Elvis recordings – and now one of mine. As a group we recorded a track, although I don’t see a future as a recording artist for me! Lunch was at Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint (yummy) and we also visited the Johnny Cash Museum and Ryman Auditorium. Our day finished with a songwriters evening at Ole Red where they also have a wonderful roof-top bar.
Our last day was spent visiting the Gaylord Opryland Hotel – this super resort is right next to The Grand Old Opry where we had a Backstage Tour and the Opry Mills Mall which was our last stop before catching the inaugural British Airways flight from Nashville to Heathrow. There was great deal of interest in this new flight and I was even interviewed for TV by WKRN Nashville – blink and you will miss it. Nashville really is 'Music City' and somewhere I will have to visit again, great people, amazing nightlife and real Southern hospitality.
Overall, I had a wonderful trip to parts of the USA that I had never visited before and would recommend a similar trip (albeit with a bit more time to really enjoy these destinations) to friends, family and clients. Why not give me a call to help you plan your next USA trip?