Nashville, Tennessee

Over Easter break I went to Nashville, TN in large part to visit and tour Vanderbilt University, where I’ll be attending grad school this fall. My mama came with me, and we had a wonderful long weekend! We stayed at an Airbnb (my favorite way to travel!), and rented a car– both of these choices made us feel less like tourists, which was nice.

Me and my mama in the Minneapolis airport between flights

Here are some of my favorite parts of the trip:

Vanderbilt University: beautiful, full of history and prestige, and I was able to meet a current student and speak with my advisor.
Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour: this is one of my favorite ways to see a new city– Judy and I did these on most of our first days in our various European cities. Bus tours are very tourist-y, but they really help me get oriented to a city.
East Nashville: we really only visited East Nashville for the world-famous Mas Tacos restaurant, and it was well-worth it! The setup is a tiny and cute little shop with a small, but delicious menu. You order and pay at the window, and hang out until your name is called for your order. They have fun indoor seating, and lovely covered patio seating.
12 South: a fun morning taking cool mural pictures and hanging at a local favorite coffee shop (The Frothy Monkey)
Hillsboro Village: close to Vanderbilt’s campus, and a haven for awesome shops and restaurants. I had a DELISH gluten free french toast dish at Fido while my mom and a former student chatted it up. Jeni’s ice cream shop was also a fun stop here!
Easter brunch at Kitchen Notes in the Omni Hotel: a great upscale souvenir shop followed by some of the best food I’ve ever eaten (and I’m kind of a foodie)
Opry Mills Outlet: we really went here to walk off our sumptuous breakfast, but there are a good variety of mid to high range stores, all with outlet prices