USA 2025 : AMTRAK EMPIRE BUILDER

Tuesday 18th to Thursday 20th March

Chicago Union Station is a beautiful Art Deco building.

We love train trips. The Empire Builder travels daily between Chicago and Portland or Seattle. It's a 46hr journey.

We are booked into the largest cabin type and the only en-suite option; called a Bedroom. Large picture window and enough space to stretch out during the day.  

At night the cabin attendant folds down and makes the bed. It's barely a double bed size but we squeeze up okay and sleep quite well. The train makes lots of stops all through the night which are disturbing though.

Meals are included in the Bedroom ticket and served in the dining car. It's a wobbly walk through a few carriages to get there. Dining staff sit different passengers together at each meal which makes for meeting some interesting people.

At Spokane at 3am the train splits for Seattle and Portland. We arrived on time in Portland at 11.30am Thursday.

We spent a great afternoon at McMenamins catching up with Lisa and David.

USA 2025 : CHICAGO

Saturday 15 to Monday 17 March

We had thought we might drive all the way from Nashville to Chicago in a day but a severe storm system came through. Driving in very heavy rain is no fun so we stopped at a Hampton Inn outside Louisville, Kentucky for the night.

Much less rain on Sunday and then it started snowing.

Only a dusting of snow remained on the ground in Chicago as we arrived.

We stayed at The Emily Hotel in the Fulton Market area, a cool, gentrified neighborhood just South of downtown. 

The weather was freezing so we didn't get to explore around at all.

We ubered to House of Blues for dinner and good live music.

The city was very quiet with no St. Patrick's Day revellers around; very strange for Chicago, I thought. Cold, dreary weather is awful. Monday was brighter but still no reason to venture out before noon. Uber to a local Taco joint for lunch.

Uber to the Art Institiute of Chicago. One of the world's best art museums, especially their collections of Modern and Impressionist art.

We braved a walk past Anish Kapoor's famous donut sculpture.

Every St. Patrick's Day they colour the river in downtown Chicago green. 

We had dinner and music at another Chicago classic venue; Andy's Jazz Bar.

When last have you seen a full 20 piece big jazz band. What a treat!

USA 2025 : NASHVILLE

Wednesday 12 to Friday 14 March

Music Capital of the World : Be prepared to party...

We are staying at The Placemakr apartments; a very convenient location for walking to Broadway and beyond.

What do you do on arrival in Nashville? Head straight out to a bar of course. And then try another one. Every place has non-stop live music from about 11am onwards and it's not just country. Bootleggers, the Stage, Whisky Bent, Show Pony, Redneck Riviera and Layla's, Luke's or Jimmy's.

These are just the ones we made it to, ending each night at the crazy Kid Rock's Honky Tonk.

And when Broadway gets too much, try a bar in Printers' Alley.

We also saw a great Keb Mo concert at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

These days if we stay up until the early hours, we need our morning lie in, so we left the touristy things and discovering the neighbourhoods beyond Broadway to Fred and Terri. 

We met up with Sam and Ruan for a fun Friday night. Jazz,cocktails,steak,wine and blues.

After shots and a karaoke bar at 1am we had to bail...we are driving to Chicago on Saturday!