Well, here we go: take 2.

After yesterday’s failed attempt, today I succeeded in my mondo Tour de Nashville on foot. I kept my eyes open for anything that might catch my attention; here are some of the many.

Immediately, I was reminded that spring is almost here.

Did you know that there is a full-scale, exact replica of the Parthenon in Nashville? I KNOW. Can you say ran-dom? It’s kind of cool, though. I wish I had a toga or some olives or something.

I found a little pond to walk around. It’s not exactly Green Lake (which I miss like the bullseye on a dartboard – i.e. “often”), but it has a slightly similar feel.

Every time I see a little duck pair, I think of them as Opal and Willard. Don’t they look like an Opal and Willard – an old married couple that’s just living their every-day life? As comfortable with each other as they are with themselves?

Another sign of life.

I walked past a Methodist church with it’s doors wide open and it’s sanctuary empty. It had been a long time since I had seen stained glass and grandeur in a sanctuary, and I liked to think that the silence was pregnant with the prayers of those who had worshiped there this morning.

I-40 East / I-65 South. Glamorous.

Empty railroad tracks close to downtown.

I cannot tell you how happy I was to see these flowers blooming in Nashville; it reminded me of Seattle. Can you tell I’m missing Seattle these days?

Here are some of the honky tonks on Broadway downtown. To witness them in their full glory, you kind of have to see them on a weekend night: neon lights flashing, and twangy bands in the windows, and cheap beer flowing like milk and honey. They are magnificently tacky.

Speaking of tacky…

This is the AT&T Building downtown. It’s the most prominent building on the Nashville skyline, as it bears a striking resemblance to Batman.

What century am I in?

I wanted to get another Americano at Crema, but it was closed.

This cracked me up.

Downtown Nashville is full of murals, and while a lot of them are cheesy and gaudy, this one struck me as harsh and solemn.

I logged 8.11 miles (check out MapMyRun.com – it’s a great resource), and then came home to eat a ham sandwich. You can bet that I’ll do this again – but maybe next time, I’ll go somewhere dangerous or dilapidated. I’m thinking Nolensville Pike. It will be The Walk: Rated R.

You can take the girl out of Seattle, but…

It started as such a good idea. On New Years’ Day, Greta had done a mega-Seattle walk, 10+ miles with her digital camera, taking pictures of noteworthy things. So, I decided that today, I would follow suit and take several hours to explore Nashville on foot, using my new camera to document the things that caught my attention.

Above is the only picture that I took.

The first hour of the walk, I talked on the phone and ignored my surroundings. I wound up at Crema, a new-ish coffee shop with the best Americano I have had in Nashville to date. At this point, the sky was getting darker and heavier, and my Seattle instincts told me that rain was on the way.

As I weighed my options – brave the rain or stay at Crema forever – I perused the art on the walls at the coffee shop. They are currently featuring works by Aaron Grayum – delightful, whimsical paintings based on his childhood. Particularly, this one stood out:

It was a sign, right? I should brave the storm, right?

I did.

There comes a point in every girl’s life when it is simply impossible to be any more wet. And at that point, you boldly stand on street corners, embracing the fact that the passing cars will send tidal waves your way. You do not avoid, but rather, walk straight through puddles, allowing water to slosh into your sneakers. You smile at your fellow man caught in the same storm, bound together by your drenched circumstances.

And when you get home, you peel the 10 lbs. worth of wet cotton off of your body and take the most luxuriously hot shower known to man. And you know that that? What you just did? When you let your mascara run and didn’t care that your hair got ruined and accepted the fact that I am powerless over this situation so I might as well enjoy it? Is liberation.

In the midst of the insanity that is my existence, I took a walk this afternoon. And as the sun shone down and I thought my many complicated and stressful thoughts, one thing kept popping into my head. Gratitude.

Over and over, there are things to be grateful for.

Despite uncertainty, despite my lack of health insurance, despite phone bills $100 more than they should have been, my life is pretty amazing. Things have a way of working themselves out. And joy has a way of finding its way back into my heart.

The trees are brittle and bare. There is a sharp edge to the wind, and the green grass is nowhere to be seen. It’s cold. It’s silent. But on some days, like today, there is sunshine. I am grateful for this season – this season of absence and anticipation. It means that the budding time is next.

This afternoon, I walked from Beacon Hill to the Back Bay, and then over to Cambridge to explore Harvard, and finally, back to Beacon Hill. It was about an 8-mile walk, and it felt good to stretch my legs after, you know, quitting exercise this fall. Boston is beautiful, and if I wasn’t so set on Nashville, I would seriously consider moving here.

Sadly, I did not spot any “Harvard Hotties” in Cambridge. In fact, I realized that a significant part of the Harvard population is made up of college freshman – and I just can’t “go young.” I walked around the campus for awhile, but eventually was intimidated by the electricity of brain waves in the air, so I bought myself a coffee and left.

Christina took me to Pizzeria Regina in the North End for dinner, which is billed as being the “World’s! Best! Pizza!” We were not disappointed. They even gave us our Sangiovese in big tumblers.

We ended our night by watching “The Departed,” with a Boston mob history lesson from Dan, Christina’s husband. It was the best kind of day: walking for miles and miles, only to eat well in the evening, and watch some serious Scorsese carnage.

Boston, my booty – and my belly – thank you.