The Athens of the South

The motto for the company that built our motor coach is "roughing it smoothly." I guess when you have a washer/dryer, convection/microwave and TV, it's not exactly camping. But it's as close as I want to get.

We have figured out that we are doing what people on vacation do - seeing the sights, trying to find shows, going to museums - but at a much slower pace. That works for us, especially since we have to stay in Nashville at least two weeks to get the car taken care of.

Yesterday we visited The Hermitage, Pres. Andrew Jackson's home. It has been restored after years of neglect, and most of the furnishings (including some wallpaper) is original (with some reproductions). That they managed to pull together so much of the Jacksons' original furniture and decorations is amazing! The grounds are very large and beautiful. The original garden area has also been restored with many historical roses along with iris, peonies, even columbines! And one stretch of herbs for cooking and medicine: basil, thyme, feverfew, yarrow, etc.

The displays in the museum covered Andrew Jackson's life and accomplishments. He was apparently a very good general, a forward-thinking president, and absolutely brutal to local Native Americans. He's the reason for the Trail of Tears. I feel so sad when I think that certain groups have always been persecuted and denied their rights, and that it continues today. I keep hoping we are making progress. We've a long way to go.

Today we took a "hop on, hop off" tour. We love these because you get to see all kinds of places, and can get on and off all day if you want to spend more time at any of them. We rode most of the way through the tour and got off at Nashville's Centennial Park, created for (guess what?) the State Centennial in 1896. At that time there was a huge exhibition and a replica of the Green Parthenon in Athens. Well, not a replica but an attempt to recreate the way the Parthenon looked at its finest. Huge columns, big honking statue of Athena (gilded yet!), and the pediments with the statues now known as the Elgin Marbles (in England, I believe). Hence Nashville's nickname, the Athens of the South. Lots of people there, like a group playing some simple rhythm instruments while a couple danced / fought. I couldn't decide if they were practicing mixed martial arts or doing athletic dancing. It looked like the musicians had several extra instruments which they handed to passers-by. Why didn't I offer to play my tambourine!?