What to do in Nashville-Summer 2019

     This summer, my family traveled to Nashville both for a trip and visit to extended family. Ever since I got the travel bug in high school, I’ve always wanted to go to Nashville, and it did not disappoint. We did so many fun things while we were there. We did lots of activities around the city, took pictures with some fabulous murals, and ate some of the BEST southern food.

The first full day that we were there, we went to Belle Meade Plantation. As I am a history nerd, I thought this place was fascinating. Belle Meade offers a tour of the mansion and a tour called Journey to Jubilee, which tells the story of the African Americans that lived on the plantation. We did the mansion tour on this trip, but next time I’m in Nashville I plan on doing the Journey to Jubilee tour. Belle Meade was the only thing we did because afterwards, we spent time with our family at their house.

The next day, we headed to the Nashville Zoo. As my family is members of our local zoo, we got a discount on admission. Compared to our zoo back home, this place is HUGE! They had so many different animals compared to what I had seen at zoos before. They even have an area where you can pet kangaroos!!! That was one of the best parts. I think kangaroos have the softest fur of any animals I’ve ever petted. Make sure to leave plenty of time to look at all the animals. We spent practically the whole day here. The Nashville Zoo also has more than just animals. There’s different rides (mostly for smaller kids) and a historic home. After the zoo, we decided to go to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe because Sister #3 and Brother had never been there. As always, it was super fun. The restaurant is located in an outlet mall so we did a little shopping afterwards. This mall has a Vera Bradley outlet, so I stocked up on my notebooks I use for school while they were on sale.

Petting the kangaroo! (Nothing's wrong with it. It's just chilling in the middle of the sidewalk.)

Our third day, we started the morning by taking pictures at the famous wings mural. Then, we headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame. While this museum was fun and the exhibits were interesting, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I knew more about country music. Throughout the museum are interactive stations that have different information about people and things in the museum. One had historical pictures of country artists, including a picture that is thought the be the last picture taken of Patsy Cline before she died. Another fun interactive part was the Taylor Swift recording booths. Sisters #1, #2, and I sang Mean (by Taylor Swift), but we didn’t get to listen to our recording because Sister #3 accidentally clicked off of it before it was emailed to us. Outside the recording booth, you could edit your song or create one. For lunch after the Country Music Hall of Fame, we went to the Loveless Cafe. We did have to wait a bit after we got there, but it was totally worth it. All of the food I tried was delicious. I got a chicken sandwich, the sandwich had 2 giant fried chicken tenders on it. I ate one, and took the other back to the hotel to eat later. I tried some of the rest of my family’s food which was just as good as mine. Loveless Cafe is definitely a do again for me. On our way back to the hotel after lunch we drove by the cutest sunflower patch outside of a neighborhood. We decided to turn around and take some pictures, and they turned out great! My picture on the homepage of my blog is one we took here.

This mural is located at
302 11th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203

On our fourth and final day before we drove home, we took pictures again at some murals before it got hot. There were three next to each other that we wanted pictures in front of. On the side of Reese Witherspoon’s store, Draper James, is a blue and white stripe mural and right across the street is one of the “I Believe in Nashville” murals. A few stores over is one of my favorite murals on the side of Madewell. It’s a sun that says “Looking Pretty Music City.” For lunch, we went to the best burger place I’ve ever been to. The restaurant is super tiny, but the food is so good. It’s called Gabby’s Burgers and Fries. I got a grilled cheese and fries. After lunch, we went to the Adventure Science Center. We also got in here at a discount because of our membership at our local children’s science museum. I’m obviously a bit old for the Adventure Science Center, but I got to run around with Sister #3 and Brother. My favorite part with the giant playset in the middle of the building. When you get to the top, there’s a fantastic view of Downtown Nashville.

The Draper James mural

The Madewell mural

  The next morning we got up early to make the drive back to Texas. One thing we did to pass the time driving there and home was the license plate game. Over the course of the whole trip, we saw 36 different states and 3 Canadian provinces. While we were in Nashville, the weather was so much better than the weather in Texas. It significantly less humid, and that made a huge difference. Even though it was August when we were there, I was only a little sweaty most days. This trip was so much fun, and I can’t wait to go back!! 

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