Here’s one I’ve never had before at the hotel. Today, I met a man and his wife who came all the way from Ghana in West Africa. I thought he said Guyana, which created a lot of confusion at first.

It’s amazing to me. I told him it really is a small world that people from Africa should come all the way to my home town in Nashville. And he said that it is getting smaller every day, which seems so true these days.

The man’s name is Kofi, which he explained means he was born on Friday. All kids get a name based on the day of the week they are born. I asked if that isn’t confusing when his mom would call you in for dinner. Doesn’t every other Kofi turn his head? He said it’s probably their dinnertime, too.

Dane

I got to say usually nothing really good comes from going to the dentist. (I’m not a big fan.) But after I came out yesterday from an appointment Dora and I were walking back to the car and found this store called Produce Place. It was just one of those nice surprises. It’s great that after living here all these years that still happens.

It’s over on the west side at Sylvan Park and is what I’d call a sort of mini farmer’s market. The woman said they actually started as a fruit stand 20 years ago. Now they carry local produce, natural and organic grocery products, plants and herbs, you name it.

We went home with some fresh fruits and veggies, some delicious cheeses, fresh Provence bread and just sort of snacked for dinner. If you go, just take your time. There are a lot of nooks and crannies.

Dane

I’m not a shopper. No matter what people say.  But if I did like to shop? I would have to say that one of the best places for that kind of thing is the Mall at Green Hills.  Actually, the Green Hills neighborhood itself has great shops and boutiques.

But the mall has just about anything you could ever need, and a bunch of other stuff that you don’t but is still nice anyway.  We have Dillard’s and Macy’s, Tiffany’s, Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Kiehl’s, Pottery Barn, Sigrid Olson and a bunch more.

So if you’re looking for, well, just about anything while you’re in Nashville, you’ll find it over at Green Hills. Or you can just jump on the Internet in your room. Ha!

Happy shopping!

See ya,
Sabrina

Hi everyone! I’m adding another restaurant to my favorite restaurant list. Last night a group of friends headed over to Monell’s for dinner. It’s really well known and a pretty famous place in Nashville.

Around here we have what we call meat-and-three restaurants, which I think is pretty self explanatory, right? But the great thing about Monell’s is that all the food is served family-style at tables of 10 or 12 people.

So you share the table with other people, unless you bring your own big group. Don’t let that worry you because it’s really fun. Trust me. We had a couple from Washington D.C. and a family from Shreveport at our table and they were all really great.

Monell’s serves authentic southern food. Try the bottomless bowls of fried chicken. And the squash casserole!

See ya,
Sabrina

Hey everybody, Sabrina here! Have you all seen the movie “Once”? About the Irish singer and the woman from Czechoslovakia? (That’s where’s she from right?) It’s a wonderful movie! You have to see it. It’s on DVD.

Go rent it today. Seriously, you’ll love it. Then after you’ve seen in it I can tell you that the two people in it actually fell in love outside the movie and they actually have an real band together. They were adorable on the Academy Awards too.

Well, their band, which is called The Swell Season, is coming to our Nashville and playing at the Ryman on Sept. 24! I have to say I wish I’d never seen the movie so I could watch it now and then go see the show! See how lucky you are if you haven’t seen it?

See ya,
Sabrina

OK, people, football post number two coming at ya. Now that your Saturday is taken care of with the Vols, I’ve got to help you find something to do on Sunday. I’m talking Titans.

Their next home game is Sept. 21 at LP Field. As far as I know there are still tickets available so that would be my first advice. But second to that option I’d say go out and see the game with authentic Nashvillians in their natural habitat. Which on Sundays is any of the sports bars around town.

At least I’d say order up lunch from the Café Isabella and watch the game from the total comfort of your own pajamas and your own bed in your own room here at Hotel P.

Coming up: the Houston Texans on the 21st and the Minnesota Vikings on the 28th.

Dane

Every year you think, “This is going to be our year.” We love our Vols around here. So in my house we’re not letting ourselves get too upset about their first-game loss against UCLA. I think a lot of it is playing in the Rose Bowl. That’s a hard place to go. Tough.

I know Coach Fulmer put them through their paces and they’ve gone over and over the films. We got time. And we’re on board no matter what happens. That’s part of being a real fan. Plus, I don’t exactly know what we’d do with our Saturdays otherwise. It’s one of those things where I know that all of Nashville is doing the same thing at the same time.

My advice is if you’re in town, and you can’t get seats to the game, find a place to watch at a bar somewhere. And wear your orange and white.

Dane

Just saw the movie “Dead Poets Society” last night. Robin Williams. You’ve probably all seen it already but I never did. What a really well done movie I thought. Robin Williams was great.

I Googled it later and learned something I didn’t know. The movie was written by a Nashvillian named Tom Schulman who graduated from Vanderbilt! And supposedly he wrote it about a Vandy professor named John Lachs.

So I Googled some more and found out that that’s a myth and that he apparently based it on his experiences at the Montgomery Bell Academy, a prep school in Nashville. The real teacher is named Sam Pickering who now teaches in the University of Connecticut.

Just in case you see the movie again…

Dane

We haven’t been to the state fair in awhile either. That actually sounds pretty fun. Even before you mentioned the alligator wrestling. I don’t remember that from when we used to go. And diving pirates? What in the world? I’ll have to check the website.

Hey, speaking of diving, we had a great time this past weekend at Dora’s company picnic over at Percy Priest Lake. One of the guys brought his boat and took people out to ski.

But the best part was we just stayed afterwards and camped, which was Dora’s great idea. It was our first camping of the whole summer, which is actually amazing. We usually go a lot.

It’s a great spot if you want to get out of the city. We just played cards, went fishing, cooled off in the water. Can’t beat it.

Dane

Where can you see racing pigs, diving pirates and flying motorcycles, and go on rides and eat great food and do it with the whole family? The Tennessee State Fair of course! I haven’t been able to go the last couple of years but we’re going next week because my cousins have their cows there this year. And I’m really looking forward to it!

It is one of the main big events of the summer and it’s just so much fun! I love the smell of the hay and the animals and the hotdogs and the snowcones. Everything! And I absolutely love the rides!

If you want to go, it runs from Sept. 5-14 at the fairgrounds, which are close to downtown. Apparently this year there’s even a guy that wrestles crocodiles! That’s a ride I think I can probably skip.

Have fun!
Sabrina