It’s May, that means it’s time for the Renaissance Faire in Middle Tennessee. The Faire takes place in Arrington, TN on the grounds with an actual castle. It takes place each weekend in May. My friends, S and P, introduced me to this awesome event!

Arrington is located between Franklin and Murfreesboro, TN. It’s a 3 hour drive for us, so we spend the night in Murfreesboro, so we are nice and rested for the Faire.

The Green Dragon Pub and Brewery

We drove to Murfreesboro on Friday afternoon. We stopped at the Green Dragon for pints and snacks. The Green Dragon Pub and Brewery is an homage to Tolkien’s works. The owners are true Tolkien fans and it feels exactly like I image a pub in Bywater would be. We love it! They always have great beers and the food is perfect. It’s not bar food. It’s real food.

Ale menu.

The Green Dragon has every kind of brew you can imagine. They also have some great mead.

These stuffed mushrooms aren’t your average bar mushrooms.

Found in the privy at the Green Dragon

Our Airbnb

After drinks and snacks we went to our Airbnb called Childress House: The Gardner.  This was my first Airbnb and I’m pretty sure it was a perfect way to start a new trend for me. Our host was Sandi, a sweet lady who lives in the downstairs of the historic house. In addition to our full apartment, we were given access to the Parlor, a lovely outdoor garden area, and the large porches. Sandi also provided cream twists for snacking. Oh, and there was a Keurig in the apartment with coffee.

Our little kitchen reminded me of an apartment I had in college.

The living room wasn’t big, but the sofa folded out and was fairly comfortable to sleep on.

Our sweet host provided us with fresh flowers throughout the apartment as well.

The full bath was clean and the water pressure in the shower was perfect with plenty of hot water.

This retro bathroom is located in the downstairs of the house. Pink everywhere.

Around Town

The Gardner was located within walking distance of downtown, so off we went. Murfreesboro has a thriving downtown with bars, restaurants, shops, barbers, salons, and some friendly people. We had a pint at Liquid Smoke, located on the main square. The smoke was too much for me, so we sat outside and did some people watching.  Some great signs from downtown.

I love this Puckett’s sign. A guitar at the top and a fork at the bottom. Food and music, the best combination.

A simple sign in downtown Murfreesboro, TN. But eye catching with the dark blue against the light metal. A very vintage feel.

We had a reservation for dinner at Five Senses. It was too far to walk, so we got a Lyft to the restaurant. Where we ate some of the best mushroom soup I have ever eaten. There may have also been a stop for a pint at a nearby bar. We Lyfted back to the Gardner where we had those cream twists awaiting us.

Perfectly cooked and soft as butter.

This mushroom soup was so simple but fantastic!

Down to the garden we went for dessert. We were greeted by dear pup Abby and a couple other dogs which were a bit too timid to visit with us.  We also enjoyed our morning coffee in this quiet back yard.

Abby kept us company in the garden.

Our host provided us with cream twists and fresh strawberries, an excellent late night snack.

An inviting garden patio for guests of the Childress.

After our first rounds of coffee and Abby pets, we were off! Renaissance Faire details in the next installment.  I’ll give you a hint, there might be some drinking and eating.