June 20, 2022
Before we left home we put together a list of places to visit and things to do while we’re in Nashville. Yesterday, we checked off the Marathon Motor Works. Today we toured two
Southern Plantations.
I used to think if I could live in a different time I always wanted to be a 19th century Southern Belle. Maybe I saw Gone with the Wind too many times, but I liked the idea of being rich, being taken care of and wearing beautiful dresses! With this said, this is why I love going to Plantations.
The Belle Meade Plantation met all my expectations. Our guide was a young enthusiastic girl who made the tour interesting. We learned Belle Meade is a French word meaning “beautiful meadow”. She was also very knowledgeable in the history of the house and about the people that lived there. Belle Meade was founded in 1807 as a log cabin with 250 acres and grew into a beautiful Greek Revival Mansion with one of the largest thoroughbred horse farms in the South.
The most interesting fact of our tour was that in 1871 a thoroughbred named Bonnie Scotland was purchased by the family. The sire line of Bonnie Scotland is one of the most prominent in American thoroughbred history. His line has been traced to thousands of champion racehorses, that include Seabiscuit, Secretariat, and even the newest winner of the Kentucky Derby, Rich Strike.
After touring the house we saw the other buildings on the estate that were used in their daily living. A new addition was the restaurant and winery. Steve and I relaxed in the screened in porch as we ate a delicious southern lunch of fried catfish, okra, black eyed peas and cornbread. We both thoroughly enjoyed Belle Mead.
On the way to Andrew Jackson’s plantation we tried to stop at the Bluebird Café for a photo op, but traffic was heavy and we missed it. The Bluebird Café became popular after the TV series Nashville appeared in 2012. Now it’s a tourist attraction and nearly impossible to get in unless you have a reservation and those are hard to get. So it’s another spot we checked off our list. The home of Andrew Jackson, our 7th president, is named the Hermitage, which is another French word meaning “belonging”. His home wasn’t as nice as Belle Meade nor were their guides as interesting. We weren’t allowed in the rooms of this plantation and heaven forbid if you wandered off the gray carpet! This tour was quick and afterwards we went to the family mausoleum and graveyard and then to the museum. The museum was interesting and I realized I didn’t know much about our 7th president. His home is the 4th President’s home we’ve toured in our travels and probably the most humble.
As many of you know I collect dolls, but I also collect souvenir thimbles. So far I’m adding 3 new ones to my collection. It may be more before we leave Nashville!
Tomorrow we’re planning on seeing the Johnny Cash and Ryman museums during the day. Tomorrow night is the reason we came to Nashville and that’s to go to the Grand Ole Opry.
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