Tennessee

I have a travel goal of exploring more of the US of A. Luckily for me I have a good friend that lives in Kentucky. I went to visit her and have now successfully visited my 17^th and 18^th state. They’re on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee.

Hopskinville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee house an American Army base. Clarksville is home of “Air Assault.” (I’m still not exactly what that means and did not do a great job pronouncing it in my video. I’ll look it up later.) Anyway you will see plenty of soldiers and their families. The base is enormous.

We decided to go to Nashville for dinner and a show. Her husband took care of the kiddies. I was so excited to see what the city  had to offer. We had dinner at BB Kings. The live music was great! Everyone was dancing, relaxing and having a good time. The atmosphere was amazing. I could have stayed in there all night. Alas, we needed to wander the streets since my time in the city was limited. We headed to the famous (or infamous) Broadway.  It’s a strip choc full of neon lights, gift shops, watering holes, bars, clubs, restaurants, shops that sell boots, and great music.

Broadway on any given Saturday night is loud, crowded, bright, drunken, and a good time for a few minutes. After walking up and down Broadway a couple of times that night, I had seen enough. It was a little hectic. I was really enthralled by the music in the city though. It seemed every bar and restaurant we walked passed had great live music coming from it and I wanted to stop in. All in all, I definitely need more time in Nashville. I would like to visit during the day also. Though Broadway is really crowded and crazy, I would go back because the music is too good to stay away.

My list for the next trip is already ready:

1. Eat good BBQ
2. Buy a pair of cowboy boots
3. Visit the Country Music Hall of Fame

What am I leaving out?

The Holy Ghost Rap

Video

This video is of my Mom. She wrote this rap in the 1990’s. I thought it was great and had to share it! Hope you enjoy it 🙂

Check out more of my videos under “Travelingmadeline” on YouTube.

For the Love of LENNY

Lenny Kravitz LIVE!!

The finale of Lenny Kravitz’s Black and White European tour 2011 was held on November 29, 2011 in Paris at Bercy. I knew this information well in advance. Knowing I’d be in Paris at the time (and being one of the biggest Lenny Kravitz fans ever), I purchased my ticket in JUNE! Arriving on time of course, my adrenaline was pumping as we walked through the crowds of people to get to the entrance way.

Once inside I knew I needed Lenny merchandise. The question was just how much should I buy. I wanted one of everything! I ultimately settled on a black Lenny t-shirt with a photo of Lenny on the front and the European tour dates on the back. (Love the shirt!)  The purchase also came with a giant program.

Lenny sang all of his great hits as well of a few rising singles from the new album, Black and White America. The concert appeared to have ended when Lenny reappeared with Craig and an acoustic guitar. They played a few slow tunes. As the crowd continued to roar, Lenny began taking his jewelry off and spoke to the fans standing in the front. He said, “Don’t worry I’m coming down there.” Lenny went into the crowd! He made his way through thousands of people to emerge on an elevated island. The standing crowd was going crazy! He then pointed into the seated crowds and said he was coming up there too! Could it be? … Is Lenny Kravitz coming to my section?!? Lenny made his way around the entire stadium walking the crowds (heavily guarded by security) giving people high-fives and allowing fans to touch him as he passed by.

Though some may have thought Lenny was dangerous and crazy for doing that, it made the fans feel appreciated. Lenny put his heart and soul into a great performance and then showed even more love to the crowd. This is a much different approach than some so-called artists that lip-sync or ask the crowds to do more singing than them. Lenny is a veteran musician and still knows how to WOW the crowd. Thank you Mr. Kravitz for the best concert of the entire 2011.

My finger touched Lenny Kravitz!!! ahhhhhh