After the tree lighting ceremony, Karsten and I meandered around “the District” for a while, idly looking for a place to eat. It was a chilly evening, but not too cold for walking, so we took our time walking up Second Avenue and back, passing all kinds of tourists and touristy places. I love walking around the District. I always hated the tourist areas in Chicago, for some reason, and hated being surrounded by tourists. But here I enjoy it (on occasion). I think it’s fun in the same way it’s fun when someone compliments your boyfriend or girlfriend: it’s rewarding and validating when other people have a chance to recognize what you love about someone or something. Not that the District is what I love about Nashville, but the emphasis there is definitely on music, and that is one of the main characteristics I love about Nashville: it’s unabashedly a music-lover’s town.
We finally gave up on finding reasonable veg*n food in the District and hopped in the car, headed west. On West End, we spotted Chili’s, and agreed that splitting a fajita meal sounded like a good idea. It was pretty tasty! Not bad at all, for a big chain restaurant.
Then we drove over to the Demonbreun strip, where Karsten and I treated ourselves to juice and cocoa, respectively, at Caffeine.
It’s funny: it was only supposed to be the tree-lighting thing, but the mood was just right for keeping the evening going. I love having spontaneous dates. 🙂