Wednesday, December 19, 2018

NashBash



A little preview of our hike... 

 Nashville, Nashville, Nashville. I feel like it's somewhere most everyone's been. People rave about the food and the downtown scene. Hell, there's more bachelorette partys per capita than just about any other city. So, sadly I must admit that up until August of this year I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing Nashville. Another admission, while we're at it... You may have noticed it's been a while since my last post. Things have unexpectedly turned chaotic in my life and my creative juices have been somewhat lacking. As things get somewhat back to normal, I'm feeling the need to catch y'all up on my latest voyages!  I say "my" rather than "our" because I've been doing some girls weekends and even a day of solo travel to Washington DC.


Ok, ok back to Nashville. One of my sweetest friends relocated to Nashville almost two years ago and I've been promising to visit ever since. And finally, in August... it happened. I flew up Thursday and we went straight to Little Donkey for some margs and Mexican! (Sadly this restaurant is no longer open) Let me tell you.. we tried the Prosecco Marg and I wish I could have had two. So. Effin. Good. We kept it calm that night because we both had to work in the morning.
View from LA Jackson
After a productive day, it felt good to finally shut down that evening and make our way over to Cilantros happy hour for more margs and salsa.  Once we'd had our fill, we headed to the Gulch to the rooftop bar LA Jackson on top of the Thompson Hotel.  We enjoyed a beautiful view of the city whilst we sipped our "Frozes." And before long, it was time to meet up with Alix's bf, Chris, at Americanos for dinner. We stuffed ourselves full of tapas and more frozen beverages before going to our fourth stop - Old Glory.  This is Alix's fave spot and I get it. It's got a great vibe, amazing drinks, and a photo-booth to top it off!
Loved these wings, beautiful!

Me and Alix!

Great street art


It was a bit warm out..

Close up
We wanted to keep going but we had an early session booked at Barry's Bootcamp, so we wanted to make sure to get a good night's sleep! Another amazing place, btw. I had never been to Barry's or participated in anything remotely like the sessions but I fell in love! I wish we lived closer to the one in ATL because I'd be going ALL the time.

We felt pretty good about life after finishing the bootcamp, so we decided to walk the riverwalk for a bit before grabbing a shower and make our way towards the Loveless Cafe. This is a bit outside of the city but totally worth it. A word of warning, go early! The place get packed! The good news is, even if it's crazy... there's shops and a general store, outdoor games, etc. to keep you busy. We ended up waiting for 45 minutes but the biscuits and homemade jam made it totally worth the wait.
Our meals were admittantly a bit glutonous, however we didn't feel too guilty about it because we also had a hike planned for that afternoon at Harpeth Scenic River State Park. Another win. Just check out these views!



Great signage.
You could see for miles

Alix sitting on top of the world



For someone who is afraid of heights, this was a bit scary.. 


As we left the park, we were on a sort of high. It'd been a great day full of exercise and nature... that meant only one thing could round out to fully complete the day... an ice cold beer. Luckily for us, Alix happens to live across the street from an amazing craft beer brewhouse - Craft Brewed, to be exact. The selection is great, the patio is huge, and there's a shop next door with more alcohol so the fun can continue at home! 


Despite the heat we sat out on the patio and ended up having the most lovely conversation with some locals. Before we knew it, it was time to head home where Alix was going to prepare a lovely dinner for us before meeting up with her beau and his buds downtown for a quick drink. Before long, my time in Nashville was coming to an end. I felt like I was able to experience so many different sides to Nashville and I hope to go back soon to see more!

Be on the lookout for one more post before Christmas and then... AFRICA!!!!! That post should be out early 2019, so ta ta for now!

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Omaha - Why you should visit this culture filled Midwestern city

Our good buddy, Ricky, has been in Omaha for a few years now. Hubs has been out a couple of times to see him but this time I was lucky enough to snag an invite as well. After doing a little digging, it turns out there's tons to do in Omaha, especially if it's nice out. There's a ton of parks and a lot of cute neighborhoods to explore.

Since we only stayed for one night, we wanted to do at least one decent meal and Nicola's Italian Wine & Fare certainly did the trick.  It was fun to see the Old Market District too. From there, we drove over to the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge which goes over the river into Iowa. What a great spot! There was live music and families having picnics, plus tons of rental bikes for those wanting to bike along the riverside. I got some great night photos, too!
Getting started on the bridge


Beautiful sunset over the river




Sometimes you're just in different states... 

Crazy clouds that night

One of my first attempts at night photography. I was happy with the result

Sky on Fire

A look back at Omaha from Iowa

I fell in love with this building








Once we finished on the bridge, we decided to head over to Benson and find some microbrews. Infusion Brewing Company was our first stop. If you go, you have to try the Vanilla Bean Blonde Ale, it's like desert!  Barchen Beer Garden is definitely somewhere you should go if you're in the area. There's a great patio in the back and the beers are great. Unfortunately, it started raining so we decided to find somewhere else to dry off... and we ended up at Burke's Pub.  Burke's is a good time. We played darts, got some popcorn and tried the Orange Cream shot before deciding to call it a night.
Some great street art
The next morning, brunch was calling our name so we made our way to Saddle Creek Breakfast Club. OMG. Best brunch I've had in a while. If you go, get there early... the wait can be insane. While we brunched, we came up with a plan for the day and somehow I got roped into going to casinos in Iowa. I'm not really sure how it happened, we're brunching and there's talk of getting champagne and next thing I know we're heading to Iowa to get a game of Craps in. I'm not much of a gambler, but I'll admit it was pretty fun. The dealers were all really nice and were teaching us some strategy (which I'll be taking to Vegas when we go next month).

After cashing out at the casino, we decided it was time for lunch at Noli's Pizzeria in the Blackstone neighborhood. Another great stop, especially if you have a slight hangover and are in need of some za...

With only a few hours remaining, we figured we'd pick up some champagne and head to Ricky's pool until we had to leave for the flight. The weather was perfect and this Georgia girl was enjoying the low humidity. Soon enough, we had to head back up to Ricky's and pack. Luckily, we had time for one more adventure before the flight... Homy Inn! The guys know how much I love champagne and this place has it on tap! Woot! It's definitely a hole in the wall kind of place but fun to check out for sure.

Well, that's all for this adventure stay tuned for some great stuff coming soon. Ta ta for now!
More great street art from Blackstone

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Charming Charleston


If you've never been to Charleston, South Carolina, figure out a way to get there stat. When Hubs told me we had been invited to his friend Niles wedding in Charleston, I was overjoyed. It's just such a cute place with tons of charm and history...

We managed to snag an invite to the rehearsal dinner, so we decided to catch that first flight out on Friday morning so we could work remotely from our hotel. Since the wedding reception was in the Historic District ,  we snagged a room at the Days Inn about a block away. I highly recommend staying here if you want to be in the Historic District - it's extremely affordable, our room was great, it has a pool and is in walking distance from most anything (other than the beach).

Honestly, due to all the wedding festivities, there's not a ton to write about our stay but we did manage to find some time to do some sightseeing around the Historic District on both Friday and Saturday afternoons. We also made it out to the Folly Beach Saturday morning - however, if you're going you should probably try to get there early! (Also, if you're a beach lover - Folly Beach is a great time. We actually did my Bachelorette party there - it's got tons of shops & restaurants plus it's only about a 30 minute drive into Charleston.) Our last stop before the wedding on Saturday was the rooftop bar at the Grand Bohemian.We were in desperate need of some AC after walking around in the summer heat and I had seen the rooftop bar on our drive out to Folly Beach so we stopped in to cool off and have a beverage or two before getting ready. It was a blast!

Charleston has always been a favorite of mine and this trip definitely secured that spot even more! Be sure to add this to your list of destinations. As for the blog, I'll have tons of travel in August and some in September so stay tuned! October and November will likely be quieter as we prepare for our upcoming voyage to South Africa & Mauritius at the end of the year! Ta ta for now!
I love Monet and the way this light fixture framed this painting, I knew I had to snap a pic!

Oh, are we back in ATL?!?

Tower of the Circular Church

Saint Phillips Church - stunning!

Beautiful views at Waterfront Park


Pineapple Fountain - the pineapple is a symbol of hospitality. 

Us at the park

Close up of the fountain. It was so fun to see all the families playing in it



French Huguenot Church - all the architecture of these churches made me think of Europe!

Circular Congregational Church


Fish House on the harbor - the Rehearsal Dinner site... it was a ton of fun!

Diggin' that windblown look 

The views of the harbor were stunning.

A glorious sunset



A summer storm that I was able to capture

More lightning

We made it to the beach!


Another shot of the Circular Church

Hibernian Hall - this was the reception hall


Brown Dog Deli - we ate there for lunch, yum! 

Rainbow Row

Hubs lost his ring to the Atlantic... better than the time he forgot it on our honeymoon!

Traditional Army send off after the wedding



NashBash

A little preview of our hike...   Nashville, Nashville, Nashville. I feel like it's somewhere most everyone's been. Peo...