I just had a memorable spring in the south! I have been down to Nashville a few times in my lifetime. We all know that Nashville is THE Music City, and if you want to hear some great country, rock or bluegrass, you can find it in Nashville.
I recently visited Nashville as part of a conference, and even though I had been before, I decided to try something different. If you have never been, visiting the Grand Old Opry, listening to live country music and enjoying some southern cooking is a must.
On my third time down, I decided to go for the historical perspective on Nashville and was lucky enough to do a few tours of a couple of southern mansions. One I stumbled on as I drove on a quick errand and came across The Hermitage and home of former President Andrew Jackson.
The other I found online using the Viator app (a tour company I had used when I was in Europe). The second one, Belle Meade, a mansion and thoroughbred farm, was also dripping in southern hospitality.
Both homes are grand in scale and oozing history. In my previous blog on touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I mentioned my love of museums. You can get lost in all that history, and museums always give you a new perspective on life. They teach you what life was like back when but also teach you what we have learned and what yet we have to learn.
Two Southern Mansion Tours
The two tours – The Hermitage and Belle Meade – were stunning. They were stunning both in terms of the dwellings and surrounding lands and rich in history and stories of southern life – good and bad.
Both featured families who owned the land centuries ago and, in their way, made a rich and luxurious living in Nashville. But you also learn about the darker side of the era where both farms saw civil wars and had a history with slavery.
As I said earlier my earlier post, it’s essential to learn about our history, good and bad. But, it’s also important to remember that museums tell you “a” story, and it is also essential to keep learning even after you leave the museum.
Tour #2: Belle Meade
About
Belle Meade is another southern mansion infamous worldwide as a thoroughbred farm. This farm is the place that sired horses like Iriquois, Seabiscuit and Secretariat. It was “born” in 1807, and the last family lived in this mansion in the early 1900s; in the 1950s, it became a historical location.
Belle Meade, otherwise known as “beautiful meadow,” is a former 1200-acre farm located within Nashville in the southwestern part. Today, Belle Meade is a historical museum with tours of the mansion and winery, including wine tastings, gift shops, and food and wine pairings.
The Tour
Like the Hermitage, Belle Meade is a grand and beautiful place. Not only can you visit inside the mansion and see what life was like in the 1800s, but you can spend time wandering the beautiful grounds and see how a farm from that era lived and operated.
My tour started in the mansion. Again, and like the Hermitage, the main hall is grand with 14-foot high ceilings. To the left is a beautifully laid-out dining table full of trimmings. A small family room is equally decadent and detailed, with a southern flair to the right.
Upstairs you find the bedrooms and a whole other living area, including a sitting room, a small kitchen, and a summer veranda. Again, I marvel at the decor and the attention to detail that has taken place to re-enact the living quarters of this civil war-era home. You can almost see the families travelling from room to room.
Lace, pastel colours, brass, dark walnut wood, and deep rich colours are everywhere. Beds are equally decadent with mile-high beds – which was a thing in that era. Elaborately decorated fireplaces are everywhere (the primary heating for the room).
Again, the mansion’s history also includes stories of the enslaved people who were this beautiful museum’s backbone. Two individuals who became emancipated were why this farm was so successful – Bob Green and Susannah Carter.
- Bob Green was a world-renowned horse trainer that was an expert in his field. As head groom, he trained famous horses like Iroquois, Bramble, Enquirer and Luke Blackburn. Future descendants would be Seabiscuit and Secretariat.
- Susannah Carter was the entrusted house servant and essentially ran the house. The Harding family, owners of Belle Meade, relied on Susannah to run the entire home, and she ensured the condition of the home was worthy of all its esteemed guests.
After touring the mansion, I wandered out with the group and sampled some wine from the local winery. I may have even taken a bottle home.
Afterwards, I spent time slowly wandering the grounds, including visiting the cabin of the enslaved people on this farm, the ice house, the smokehouse, and the stable house.The 30-acre grounds in the spring include grand southern trees and a sprinkling of vibrant spring colour and lush green grass.
My tour lasted 2 hours and was a blend between guided and self-guided. And as you can tell, I quite enjoy the self-guided.
Recipe
I was lucky enough to pick up a book with some authentic recipes from the era. Perfect Southern hospitality recipes that all sound delicious while not low in fat. I just purchased the book and have tried one recipe that had become a favourite and reminded me of the Affogato coffee recipe that I loved when I visited Australia a few years ago.
Coffee Punch
2 quarts of strong brewed coffee (8 cups)
1 pint of cold milk (2 cups)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 quarts vanilla ice cream
1/2 pint heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon ground nutmeg
Assemble all ingredients and utensils. In a deep bowl, combine coffee, milk, vanilla and sugar. Chill. Break ice cream into chunks in punch bowl just before serving; pour chilled coffee mixture over ice cream. Whip cream and spoon into mounds on top of the punch. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
Recipe From: Meet Me at Belle Meade: Timeless Images and Flavourful Southern Recipes from a Sanctuary of Southern Hospitality by Andrew B. Miller, Mary Lawson and Daisy King (2014). Southwestern Publishing House: Nashville, TN.
Bliss Reflection
I love to wander. I am not 100% sure why, but I love to wander and learn about the life, people, traditions, and history.
Travelling, for me, is the school of life. It’s a history, geography, social studies and science lesson wrapped into one. Sure I heard about the civil war, southern plantations, and enslaved people in history books.
But until you are there, you don’t appreciate the stories, struggles and successes in the same way. There is so much more meaning to those stories when you see the place where it happened.
I consider myself blessed for being able to travel as I do. That came to a complete stop during Covid. And Nashville was the first trip in a post- Covid environment – ok, maybe a quieter period during Covid.
Being there just for four days gave me life. It once again fed my curiosity. I always leave with lots of questions and a renewed appreciation for the talent in a non-digital and non-tech world.
The artistry in the buildings, wood, food, and agriculture is impressive. But, seeing it in person allows everything you studied in school to leap off the page. And if you are like me, these travels inspire you to want to read and understand more.
So, it’s important to allow yourself to wander. Take the time to breathe and play.
Bliss Hints and Tips
