I wake up today still a little dazed and head out for an early morning stroll. The streets are being hosed down after a colour run and the pavement is covered in streams of yellows and oranges. It’s barely even 10, but already I hear live country music coming out of the venues on Broadway.I pop into Boot Country shoe store where their gimmick is ‘buy one, get two pairs free!!’. I love the smell of the leather and the shelves are stacked ceiling high with all manner and variety of country attire. I manage to resist temptation and leave empty handed (much to the sadness of the cowboy server-Stetson and all).

Slightly wishing I’d bought some boots, but knowing there’s no way in hell I’d get three pairs in my already overladen luggage, I head back to grab my things from the hostel.

I’ve made the decision I need a little R&R here in Nashville, as the debauchery of New Orleans has caught up with me hard. My body is crying out for unbroken sleep and so I check myself into a hotel in The Gulch, leaving the loud halls of tween travellers in the hostel to party without me (there’s only so many times I need to see an underage Swedish boy passed out in the corridor with his pants down and his nose bleeding, ok??).

Once I’m checked in, I head out to the quaint boutiques on 12th Avenue, this area is an up and coming former industrial district and boasts local breweries and pleasant restaurants which remind me a little of Brooklyn.

There’s a nifty hand hewn cowboy store where the boots retail at a sweet 3000 dollars, but dang they look cute…it’s certainly not 1 for 3 here though, so I leave as an elderly gent is trying on a flashy pair with his golfing shorts.

It’s past lunch time so I source out food-hungrily devouring a sweet and sour burger, and washing it down with OJ and coffee. I’m a little sad as its bottomless mimosas for only ten dollars, but my liver is literally about to crawl out of me in protest, so I think better of it.

I spend some time figuring out an itinerary for the next few days-there’s lots I want to do here and I want to make sure I get a chance-since Monday is Memorial Day in the U.S. meaning some places are closing shop.

That done, and slightly revived from a hot wash in my huge walk in shower, and I call it an early night-dragging myself into my blissfully comfy king size.

I chastise myself a little for being boring and wasting a day, but my student days are far behind me and a little over 3 weeks of solid travel, drinking and flights has finally left its mark on my battered self. Hoping that come tomorrow, and a following a good nights rest, I’ll be ready to tear it up once more- I fall into a deep slumber fantasising about boots.

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