Spring Vacation Day Five, Part Two - Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee

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Hello!  I'm back with part two of our day spent in Nashville, Tennessee on our Spring Vacation.  After spending the morning at The Hermitage, we had lunch and then drove to Centennial Park primarily to see The Parthenon.  When I was first started researching the Nashville area to plan our vacation and I came across The Parthenon, I thought it was pretty silly.  But then I thought it might be worthwhile to check it out because even though Greece is on my bucket list, I will most likely never get there, so I might as well see a replica.

When we first saw The Parthenon, it was an amazing sight !  I've seen images of this famous building my entire life, and to see a full size replica in person was a thrill. The scale of the building just blew me away.   I let my imagination travel back in time and pictured ancient Greeks walking around the temple going about their daily life.  

That's my husband standing by our car outside the Parthenon.  Notice how the building dwarfs not just our car, but all the other cars pictured in the scene too?

Pictured below is my husband standing at the base of one of the columns.  The steps on the side are quite steep and you really have to climb up, and not walk up, to get onto the building.  The steps on the front of the building, are more user friendly,  but some elderly visitors might still have difficulty.

 The replica was built to celebrate Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition.  It also houses the city's art museum and has a replica of the goddess Athena inside.  It costs $6.00 to get inside but we didn't go inside because my husband is really not that interested in art.

 That's me standing right in the corner of the building:  it really gives you an idea of the scale of this place!

 After we were done touring The Parthenon,  we then drove around other areas of the park.  We found this old train that my husband climbed up on BEFORE we saw the sign 'Keep off the train!'.

 Centennial Park has 132 acres and one of my favorite features was the sunken gardens where we saw lots of lovely spring blooming trees and bulbs.   They also have a lovely lake and walking trail, but the lake was under some type of renovation and was drained, so we didn't see that.  It seems every place we went on this vacation, something was closed due to renovation.  I guess that what happens when you take vacations in the spring instead of the normal tourist season.  But we like to vacation in the spring because Wisconsin is still quite cold then so we get away from it and enjoy warmer temperatures elsewhere;  plus, the cost is a little less and there are less tourists.

 While touring the gardens, we saw a young couple dressed in 'country western garb' taking pictures and/or video.  At first we thought they were engagement pictures, but then realizing where we were, we figured they might have been promo shots for a country western album or gig.  Who knows?  Like I said in a previous post, I know nothing about country music and a famous country singer could walk right past me and I wouldn't even recognize them.

The park was filled with people enjoying a beautiful spring day when we visited.  In many respects, it reminded me of Central Park in New York City.  It is located in the heart of the city, and it seems to be well used not only by the tourists, but also locals who want to enjoy lunch outside in the middle of a work day.  There is a band shell and we heard music playing while we there too.  Everyone seemed very happy and blissful just to be outside and enjoying life!

Have a great day!  Amy