Michelle Smiles

Teaching my children to question authority, except mine.

Nothing says Christmas like traffic

December19

I’m still not feeling 100% but I’m feeling some better and I’m sick of sitting on the couch.  We had a Christmas filled day.  We ran a few Christmas errands and then went to the Opryland Hotel to check out the decorations.  I’ve never been to the hotel and have been wanting to check it out since we moved to Nashville.

After fighting traffic in 2 separate parts of the city, we made our way to Opry Mills.  We parked at the mall and walked to the hotel to avoid the $20 valet fee.  Yes, we chose the coldest day of the year to be frugal (although we don’t have the foot or 2 of snow that many of you do…just rain, wind and 40 degrees).   The walk was cold but the hotel was rather balmy.  We admired the lights, decorations, and sheer size of the hotel and garden conservatory then enjoyed a yummy lunch (seriously – mango pineapple vinaigrette – YUM).

The Christmas tree was ginormous! (There are 2 people standing by the banister on the right – that is how huge the tree is.)

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Isn’t this a lovely angle?  Perhaps Steve was hoping to check out how my sinus infection is doing?

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The hotel minus decoration is cool.

The ceiling in the lobby.

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Several waterfalls inside the hotel.

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Easy to forget how cold it is outside with all of the tropical flowers.

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Lots of Christmas flowers too.

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All of the Christmas decorations were fun to see.  Put us in the spirit.

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We are in Tennessee – what is Christmas without a little Jack Daniels?

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I suspect many of the decorations will serve double duty and stay up for Mardi Gras since the colors are right.

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Sabrina’s favorite part?  The build your own cupcake bar at lunch.  Red velvet cupcake, chocolate frosting, and M&Ms.

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And wouldn’t this be the most gorgeous venue for a wedding?  We missed the wedding but the wedding party was taking photos in the gardens while we walked around.  The bride was in gorgeous red (!) dress and looked to be 17 (hopefully she was older).  I couldn’t get over what a special place this would be for a wedding.

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Hope you enjoyed touring the Opryland Hotel with us today!

posted under nashville
7 Comments to

“Nothing says Christmas like traffic”

  1. On December 19th, 2009 at 9:59 pm Rusty Gerber Says:

    beautiful pictures!!!!

  2. On December 20th, 2009 at 7:45 am Merlot Says:

    What a nifty place! Like having a slice of Las Vegas in TN (with the cool hotel and all). In Philly we mostly have historic stuff nothing that funky :-).

  3. On December 20th, 2009 at 1:45 pm Cathy Says:

    the decorations are beautiful! and a cupcake bar? oh yeah, i like that. 🙂

  4. On December 20th, 2009 at 5:44 pm Jessica Says:

    Love love Opryland Hotel… way back before the kid we used to get a balcony room at christmas… those were the days… sigh!! Now we usually come shopping and park at the Mall walk over to see the decorations… we didn’t even do that this year…

  5. On December 21st, 2009 at 7:08 am Ruthie Says:

    Speaking of Jack Daniels…I have a FABULOUS recipe for chocolate bourbon pecan pie if you ever need it! Pecan pie drizzled with Jack Daniels then topped with chocolate gnache! Talk about Southern delicacy!!

  6. On December 21st, 2009 at 2:59 pm Alleen Says:

    I love that hotel! I used to go to my best friend Sarah’s every Thanksgiving and we always went shopping and to see the hotel. A couple of years we saw the Radio City Music Spectacular.

  7. On December 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am Bobbi Says:

    Gorgeous!!!! Sounds like a very fun day!!

    Oh, and so glad we got to check out your sinuses!! That made me laugh right out loud!

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