5 Days in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee
In our last post we talked about how uncomfortable some of our recent hotel stays were. When the idea is just to stay for one night, it’s somewhat tolerable. But the straw the finally broke the camel’s back was that we saw a cockroach scurrying across our room as we were checking out of our Dallas hotel room. Super gross and the staff did not seem to care, nor did they seem surprised. We got out of there FAST. We’d later spend a day cancelling and rebooking whatever future stays we could.
Day 1: Drive to Memphis
The drive from Dallas to Memphis is about 7 hours, so it took up most of our day. We arrived mid-afternoon and checked into our Airbnb in Uptown, which we later learned was such a good location for staying in Memphis. We recharged for a little bit before going to the Hattie B’s around the corner. It was both of our first time going and we enjoyed the food! I obviously had to get the spiciest flavor. It was pretty spicy and I’d probably take it down a notch the next time. But still delicious.
We went straight from Hattie B’s to Whiskey Jill’s for some line dancing and it was a blast. They played a lot of songs that we knew and it was a solid crowd. Would definitely go back.
Day 2: Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid
Today was pretty low key. We did a morning workout and drove by Graceland. We thought we’d be able to see something from the road, but found out that you have to pay to enter the grounds. It wasn’t a high priority for us so we just drove on by and skipped it.
It started pouring rain while we were driving and it was so hard to see that people turned on their hazard lights for better visibility. I don’t think we’ve driven in that hard of rain before. You certainly do not get that in California.
We checked out the Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid—by far their biggest store location. The inside looked like something you’d see in Vegas, or at a midway in between attached hotels in Reno. It seemed like more of a tourist destination than an actual practical store. But what do I know… I don’t fish. We didn’t buy anything but had fun walking around the store.
Also, fun fact: Memphis, Tennessee was named after Memphis, Egypt and this pyramid building honors its namesake.
We went back to our Airbnb, cooked dinner, and watched the Flamin’ Hot movie on Hulu.
Day 3: Beale Street
After that cockroach incident, we decided we’d rather prioritize comfort and peace of mind over saving some money, so we spent some time looking at our upcoming bookings and cancelled ones that no longer seemed promising. We were able to cancel and rebook most hotels, but there were a few that were nonrefundable so we kept those. Fortunately they are each one-night stays so hopefully they end up being tolerable (spoiler alert: they weren’t, but future posts will cover that).
Tonight was our night out. We grabbed dinner at Central BBQ and went to Beale St. to walk around and catch some live music. Beale St. is small, maybe only 3 or so blocks. But it’s packed with live music venues and gift shops. We ended up in BB King’s Blues Club and it was a good time.
Day 4: Drive to Nashville
We’re now headed to Nashville but had to stop at The Bar-B-Q shop to try the BBQ spaghetti, a popular side dish in Memphis. It tasted as it sounds—spaghetti with BBQ sauce—and while we’re glad we tried it, it wasn’t our favorite.
It was just under 4 hours to Nashville and we went grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s as soon as we got there. We dropped our groceries off at our rental apartment and went to a workout class at a nearby gym. It’s been nice making time to work out while we’re on the road. Between sitting for long hours in the car and sleeping on beds that aren’t always the most comfortable, my body has definitely been hurting and working out helps me feel better (or at least hurt but in a good way).
We cooked some dinner when we got back and headed out to another line dancing bar called Nashville Palace. They didn’t play as many dances we knew compared to the bar in Memphis, but it was still fun.
A little bit about our stay at Sonder. When we were booking our apartment, the 4 bedroom apartment was cheaper than the 1 bedroom apartment… so we booked the 4 bedroom. We definitely didn’t need that much space, but honestly it was kind of nice! We had enough space to lounge in one bedroom and fold laundry in another. Oh yeah, we also had laundry which was so nice and we washed our clothes almost every day. The Sonder app is a great user experience and the stay was so great. We had mostly everything we needed in our apartment. We contemplated booking Sonder properties in other cities too but they didn’t have parking, which is a requirement for us. Otherwise it’s the way to go!
Day 5: Explore Nashville
Another day, another workout class followed by lunch! We chilled for most of the day and saved the venturing for the evening. On recommendation from someone we met at the gym the day before, we explored the Five Points and East Nashville neighborhoods, which is supposedly where the locals like to hang out. We were staying in Five Points so that worked out great and East Nashville wasn’t too far of a walk either.
We grabbed a drink at Urban Cowboy, which I’d 100% come back to. There is inside and outside space, both with great vibes. They also serve pizzas, but we were craving Asian food so we didn’t have any. Instead, we went to Hawker Asian Street Food. It was the first time we’d had any Asian food in a few weeks so it really hit the spot.
Finally, we went over to Broadway St to end the night. It’s exactly what I expected it to be: honky tonks at every other door, specialty and gift shops, tourists galore, and live music everywhere. Like many popular streets, it’s fun but chaotic. We ended up at Wildhorse Saloon where we caught one line dance lesson. We thought there would be some open dancing afterwards but there wasn’t so we headed back to get some rest.