Sat 28th: Downtown Nashville is a slalom course this morning, and even Rudy our tour guide and driver is flumoxed. There's a woman's half marathon, there's the festival, there's a small protest and there's building work going on, all of which shut of many roads, and making our route rather tortuous.

We're on a morning tour, and Rudy our driver is one of the funniest we've ever had. He's looks completely strait-laced but he's droll, and he has a real southern drawl, and they go together very well, he soon has the bus in stitches with his humour. He introduces the Nashville Titans football team and the Knoxville Possums, apparently they're great at home but they get killed on the road!! The two stops are great, the world famous Ryman Auditorium, which used to be the original Grand Old Opry, until it was moved 25 years ago, and then the Country Music Hall of Fame which was amazing, the most complete collection of memorabilia anywhere, three floors in total. The exhibits included Elvis's solid gold Cadillac, and many of the musical instruments played by the legends of country music, names I remember from my youth, including of course Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. There's also an archive there that seems enormous, but closed to the public. As with all American displays, museums etc it is very well done in a beautiful building.

We relax in the afternoon with some sun-bathing around the hotel pool and a bit of reading before heading back into town and a couple of bars on Broadway. It's Saturday night and even more busy than the previous day. We're remembered by the lady bar tender in Legends and we enjoy Buck McCoy, remember that name, because I don't think he's going to be a legend, but he's entertaining nonetheless. Then a more country group with an excellent lady singer before heading for Demos, the restaurant that's had a couple of recommendations already today. We need to be swift as time is moving on, but there's an hours lines there and we head for The Hard Rock instead. We team up with Fritz and Karen to make a table of four and spend an enjoyable hour over dinner with them. He's a retired eco-architect and lecturer, and she a professional photographer. She's Dutch, and he's an eclectic mix of American, Irish, English and Cherokee Indian, but I think he's really David Soul, incognito.

They're off to the Ryman Auditorium for a concert, and we leave for the gigantic Bridgestone Arena. We're in by 7.40pm, and there's a good warm up act, male singer/guitarist. He departs just before 8pm and then we have to wait listening to a medley of Stevie Wonder hits before Lionel appears to deafening whooping and hollering, nobody does whooping and hollering like Americans, that is of course if they have finished their two gallon bucket of popcorn. Given just how far we are from the stage, my X30 lens only just makes out Lionel, but the sound quality, albeit loud, if clear and you can hear the lyrics and all the instruments. The arena seats 18,000, but it's not quite full tonight, but a good turnout nonetheless.

Lorna and I exchange glances and conclude the idea of seeing Lionel Ritchie in Nashville was a little better than the reality, and reckon that Ian Dow was correct when he said we should have seen something at the Ryman, much more atmosphere. To get the 10.30 shuttle back to the hotel we have to take our leave before the end, but by that time it was getting a bit samey. The shuttle journey is great at we all sing along to some country favourites, nearly as good as the concert!!

Well we've done Nashville now and it's off to Memphis tomorrow, hoping for some more bluesy music perhaps.

Spend today: City tour (card, but check yesterday, no receipt received); dinner at Hard Rock (card)