Tennessee: A pit stop in the land of sweet iced tea

Hi y'all! I thought it was high time I did an update on my comings and goings so far.

The discerning amongst you will have realised that my family and I have traversed over the pond and plonked ourselves in East Tennessee for my cousin's wedding and a couple of weeks of sight seeing.

My cousin David marrying the beautiful Kate at the chapel on the hill, Oak Ridge

On the way there!

Outside the chapel

Well, what a marvellous place to visit. Very friendly people who 'just love the Irish accent' (oh yes, someone genuinely asked dad whereabouts in Ireland he was from!) And the food:WOAH! It's a really good job that I'm cycling across Canada this summer, my rapidly expanding waistline requires it as a matter of urgency!

Oh my god the milkshakes here soooo good! This was in Puckett's, Nashville

Everything is super sweet, even salads are covered in cheese and sweet dressings, and as for vegetables...I think they still exist? I glimpsed some once, across a crowded restaurant, but they were heavily disguised with so much sauce that I couldn't be sure.

Mum enjoying a light salad whilst I dived straight into local cuisine

Now, I did have slight concerns about visiting such a coffee-dominated country; they seem to drink a strange sweet iced tea here...I did try it. Hmmm.....let's move on shall we?

An example of the iced tea available...

As for hot tea? Well I've been armed with the tardis and a supply of tea which has been a source of hilarity for fellow guests at various breakfast sessions in motels. As for cafes that have tea? They are few and far between. I managed to scout out a lovely one in Nashville, which actually had a selection of leaf teas. I sat in a very comfy chair, satisfied with my brew and cake, opposite a group of knitters who were putting the world of corporation tax to rights.

We've been very lucky to catch a lot of live music while we've been here, the Rhythm and Blooms Festival in Knoxville, plenty of bands and acoustic performers in Nashville, including a storming rendition of Devil Goes Down To Georgia in the Tin Roof live music joint.

Enjoying some ice cream sandwiches (I know, amazing! I had cookie dough ice cream with cookies for the 'bread') at the Rhythm and Blooms Festival

Of course, its important to sample the slightly more eccentric music that was also on offer. I mean, who wouldn't want to miss the Tuvan throat singing performance at the Festival of Nations in Dollywood; initially hilarious, strangely hypnotic as time went on... And who would want to forget that time spent in a karaoke bar on Broadway in downtown Nashville: Bill, you're grasp of English may be nonexistent, but that didn't stop you performing above and beyond the regular drunk attempting to impersonate their favourite country singers.

Overall, it has been a memorable experience here in Tennessee. We've stopped off briefly over the state border in Asheville, North Carolina, before we wend our way back to Atlanta for flights home, or, in my case, onwards to Canada.

I was going to leave it there with this post, but I can't miss out Asheville now I've seen it, even in this, quite frankly, grim rainy weather!

I did some research on local bicycle shops in order to find a bike box for my onward journey...there's one shop that has flicked the v's at housing a cafe: this one has a fully stocked bar, including real ale on draught. Beer City Bicycles, you are amazing!

And as for the rest of the town, it's a place I'm already desperate to come back to; two days is not long enough! I really enjoyed how liberal the town felt, and it was very much in touch with its cultural side - plenty of art shops and galleries, along side alot of live music which had much more of a jazz feel. To top it off, there was a cafe that served tea in an actual teapot!!!  

Right. I think I am actually done now! Next time you'll hear from me, I'll be in Vancouver!! America, you've been brilliant. Let's see what Canada has in store for me. Y'all have a great day now!