My destination after Mammoth Cave was Nashville. I had hoped that, like my journey from Charleston to Mammoth, I would be discovering interesting distractions along the way, detouring to investigate until I eventually reached Nashville. Maybe it was my mind set, already having enjoyed such a beautiful morning in Mammoth, or maybe it was excitement to finally see Nashville…either way, I reached Nashville without further ado.
I was staying with a friend, but wouldn’t be meeting up with her until the evening. She had recommended I visit Centennial Park and the Panthenon. I spent most of my afternoon there, people watching, walking and photographing. The people watching there is stellar and were I more of a people photographer, the afternoon could have been very productive. As it were, it was an entertaining visit and would have been for the Panthenon alone, which was built in 1937 and is a full size replica of the original Panthenon in Athens.
At one point I had driven round to find an iced coffee. As I was returning to my vehicle I heard someone call after me. I looked and there were two ladies that I’d toured the cave with earlier in the day at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. We’d spoken then and had revealed that we were both heading for Nashville, but hadn’t expected to meet up. When they had spotted the Maryland plates on my car, they had decided to see if it was me. Happy coincidence! It was nice to say hello to a (newly) familiar face in the (big) city.
When I met up with my friend later in the day, she took me to The Wild Cow, one of seven vegetarian restaurants in Nashville. While my friend had never been, I have to assume she chose the best vegetarian restaurant in the area, because the food was outstanding. I chose a simple sounding dish- Beans & Greens, described as garlicky kale, pinto beans and garlic aoli (plus I chose to have mine over quinoa). It was incredibly rich and savory. It wasn’t a massive amount of food, but I savored each bite, continuously mentioning how flavorful and wonderful it was. Completely satisfying and very affordable (only $7.75!). The food alone would have been enough to recommend the place, but the atmosphere was happening and the staff was amazing. I loved the place so much that I bought the tshirt. No, seriously…I did.
To summarize, if you’re ever in Nashville- Centennial Park and The Wild Cow are must visits.