So, apparently, if you have never been to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, you have never really experienced Nashville. At least, this is what I overheard someone say while I was visiting Opryland for the first time with my boyfriend, Dan, on Thursday. I don't know how I managed to live here for an entire year without ever experiencing one of Nashville's most unique (and certainly largest) attractions...but I am so glad that I finally went!

Dan realized how important it was for me to be introduced to Opryland - especially during Christmastime - so he surprised me by planning a wonderful evening for us there. We started off the evening right by eating dinner at RuSan's, one of my absolute favorite sushi restaurants.When ordering sushi, Dan and I typically stick to the basic California roll, but we were feeling a bit adventurous and decided to try something different. Our waiter recommended two different rolls. The first was similar to a California roll, but it was topped with a piece of salmon and baked ever-so slightly. We also ordered shrimp tempura (you really can't go wrong with fried shrimp). Between the crunchiness of the shrimp and the creaminess of the salmon...we were in heaven! Best part: the entire meal was only $15. I love RuSan's!

After dinner, we headed to Opryland. I should preface this part of the story by saying that I am a huge fan of all things Christmas. It is, by far, my favorite holiday and I love to celebrate it as far in advance as possible. So when we arrived at the Opryland Hotel one of the first things that caught my attention were the trees leading up to the entrance.Every single branch was wrapped in Christmas lights - it was breathtaking. Even more impressive was the inside of the hotel. First of all, it is huge! If Dan hadn't known where to go, I would have had us lost within minutes. There are three giant indoor gardens, each filled with various (living) plants, rivers, waterfalls, jumping fountains, walking paths, and, of course, plenty of places to eat and shop, as well. It was a little overwhelming at first to take everything in! I tried my best not to gape, but it was so hard not to!

After wandering around for a while, and playing Christmas music on a few of Opryland's Yamaha pianos, Dan told me that he had planned for us to go on a private horse-drawn carriage ride. Being a huge fan of Disney movies, and very impressed with Dan's thoughtful planning, I thought this sounded like an excellent idea!It was a bit cold, but we wrapped up in blankets and quickly forgot about the fact that our ears were freezing. We took tons of pictures (I had to limit myself to only posting four of them...) and neither of us wanted to get off after we had returned. After the carriage ride, we decided to walk around outside for just a bit longer. Then - as if the night couldn't get any more perfect - it began to snow. It was really more like snow flurries, but that didn't make it any less magical.

We eventually went back inside to warm up by one of the many opulent fireplaces. I didn't want to leave Opryland...but knew that it was inevitable, so we took a few final pictures and headed out. Of course, the perfect ending to any evening is going to get dessert. A slice of chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory sounded pretty good to both of us, so we split it.After my date with Dan, I met my friends at the movie theater for the midnight "Twilight" premiere. I loved the books, but I must admit that I thought the movie was a bit of a letdown. I still had a great time (actually, my friends and I had plenty of fun just laughing at how awkward the movie was!) and it was my first midnight movie premiere ever, so that was exciting. Thursday was just full of new experiences! It was a busy day and I was exhausted after we got back at 3 am...but it was completely worth the exhaustion.