For the 2nd time in about 6 weeks, I had a chance to spend the weekend in Nashville!

Having lived there for so long and having so many great friends there, I always love to get home to visit when I can.  This trip was pre-planned as part of the 10-day, 3-city adventure and included about 36 hours in Music City.

I got in super-late on Friday night and spent the night with my friend Angela and her husband Jamie.  I already shared that Angela and I made some ridiculously delicious chicken pho during my visit…

Click here for this amazing recipe!

I should also mention that we went to my all-time favorite restaurant while in Nashville.  Rumba has been our go-to spot for YEARS… and just recently announced that it will be closing its doors forever after serving the Nashville community for the past 10 years.  We decided to make reservations on Saturday night to enjoy it one last time.

Jaede, Angela, and I had tickets to see Kelly Clarkson and the Fray on Saturday night, so pre-concert dinner and cocktails at my favorite place seemed to make sense.  I wanted to make sure that new momma Jenny joined us too as she shares a fondness for Rumba’s hummus dishes… We had the most amazing dinner, including the following:

The VERY best Mojitos on EARTH. Namely, the Madras mojito. I die!

How about Manchego Churros with Romesco Sauce?

The Barros Luco – I have never had a sandwich this good. Will be working to recreate a healthier version of it in upcoming months. Seriously.

Our waitress was amazing at Rumba.  She jumped in on taking pictures of us… and even suggested that she could take our picture out by the sign!  Ok!!!!  She’s the best!  Nashville peeps… she’s moving to Jackson’s with some of the crew (as are the mojitos and possibly the Barros Luco!)  Her name’s Kelly… go say hello!

The server seriously stood on a table to take this one. Thanks?

By the sign… as discussed

Love this shot of the four of us, and love these ladies!

After dinner, it was time to head to Bridgestone Arena (home of the Nashville Predators), where the show was set to take place.  When we got to the arena, the opening act was up and we didn’t miss a minute of the headliners!

In the car on the way to the show. Yes, we take pics in the car… we’re dorks.

The Fray (a Colorado band!) opened the show… and while I knew a lot of their songs, I felt like their set was (well) long.  A huge Kelly fan, I expected them to play a few songs and get out of the way… they played for an hour and a half.

Yawn… Sorry, Fray… It’s not you, it’s me.

After all of the (LONG) Fray songs, we eagerly waited for Kelly to take the stage… and let me assure you, she did not disappoint!  She looked amazing, and sounded even better.  There are a lot of artists out there that only sound okay live.  And many who sound the same as they do on their albums.  Kelly SOUNDS BETTER live.  If you think back to her idol days, she was live every time… and her talent soars.  We share a name, but we certainly don’t share this talent!

Patiently waiting for the headliner (not patiently at all)

She sang all of her greatest hits… and many from her new album.  She also tossed in three covers that were ridiculously good, including a touching rendition of “Go Rest High on That Mountain” by Vince Gill in honor of a band mate that had recently lost his father.  Here’s a clip of that part of the show… gave me chills, seriously.

Post-concert, it was almost midnight, which didn’t leave much time for us to do much considering my early flight to DC and our late night the night before.  We quickly popped into a bar downtown to say hello to a few friends before making our way back to Angela’s place.

Hi Alex and Marissa!

I had SUCH a great time with the ladies this weekend… I honestly wish I had them on the travel books again in six weeks, but unfortunately, it will likely be 2013 before I make it back to Nashville.  SNIFF!

There’s No Place Like Home…

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