travel

NashvilleSmashville

Posted on by StephFiguresItOut

This weekend my good friend from nursing school and I visited Nashville.  Neither one of us has been before and about a month ago decided we should meet up in a new city and explore. So that’s exactly what we did. The city was filled with bachelor/bachelorette parties, southern food, Predator fans, and craft beer. Crisp 55 degree weather made it a great escape from the very warm Miami “winter.” Here are some of my favorite parts:

1.Wall art: It’s everywhere. Obviously we took pictures with every one we ran into.

2. Craft beer: I recently, over the past few years, have really started to enjoy beer.  We went on a tour of brewstillery and sampled some whiskey (still hate it). The next day we went to two breweries and took a tour of one. Both Yazoo and Jackalope breweries were fun and serve delicious beer. The local bars tend to have great selections as well.

3. Live music: Before I left my cousin told me “You’re going to think the bar you’re in has the best live music and not want to leave, but every bar has the best live music so keeping going!” She was right. Great live music (mostly country as expected) is heard at every bar and restaurant in Lower Broadway and many places around the city. Even the airport bar!

17021601_1497793723564722_6457355605532711009_n

Make sure if you visit to enjoy lots of Southern food! Great biscuits, burgers, and hot chicken are all over the city. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry show were other favorite activities of the trip that didn’t involve food or beer.

What I am figuring out:

  • It’s always worth it to take a weekend to catch up with friends. Adding exploring a new city to the mix makes it even better. We all need a break from the real world. And friends.
  • I like biscuits and gravy wayyyyy more than I realized.

-Steph

2016 travels

Posted on by StephFiguresItOut

Last year was a great year for me.  I am a nurse and work three 12 hour shifts per week, so I am able to travel a lot! I visited many cities I had never been to before, and some that I had but just needed to visit again!  I hope I am fortunate enough to keep the exploring going into 2017.

Boston in February: I had been to Boston before but in the summer. It was freezing! But I pranced around in the snow like a child and got my combat boots soaking wet because I’m from South Florida, and let’s be real, never prepared for snow.

DC in April: Some of my best friends from college live in the DC area so I was very excited to visit them. We did a lot of biking, brunching, and bonding all weekend.

New Orleans in June: My first time in New Orleans! I went as my boyfriend’s date to one of his high school friend’s wedding, and we made a little vacation out of it.  Lot of drinking, eating delicious food, and live music. Anddd I loved his friends’ girlfriends, always a plus.

Singer Island in June: More like a stay-cation since it’s only a about an hour away from where I live.  My family and I went up for Father’s Day and had a very relaxing weekend.13422789_252194995157262_1239113763_n

Chicago In July: I didn’t know it got so HOT in Chicago! I was expecting it to be at least a little bit cooler than Miami, but I was very very wrong. Another city with absolutely amazing food. Me and my mom did yoga in the park one morning so that makes up for all the deep dish pizza, right?

Oklahoma in August: My bff from high school now lives about an hour outside of OKC with her boyfriend, two dogs, and cat.  I finally made the trip out there to visit them.  They took me on a float trip with a group of their friends which is the thing to do there in the summer. Basically we got two huge rafts and packed them with people and beer and floated down a river all day. What more could a girl ask for?

DC in November: So again, I live in South Florida and don’t know what season are. FALL IS MY FAVORITE. (Just like most people I know.) This was my first fall and I couldn’t get over how pretty it really is. I’m used to green palm fronds all year round.  Also I love my friends, visiting them is always a blast.

Denver for New Year’s: My boyfriend is from Denver so we went up to celebrate the new year.  We were able to squeeze in some sightseeing between spending time with his family and partying like it was 1999. (I’m pretty sure I was actually fast asleep on New Year’s Eve 1999). And again, we ate amazing food. Green chili should really be served at every Mexican restaurant, in my opinion.

 

What I am figuring out:

  1. Well first of all it’s best to travel where you know people so you can stay for free.  Also that makes you feel less like a tourist and more like a local.
  2. I need to keep exploring, cities and countries far away and those hidden gems close to home – exploring what interests me and what scares me.
  3. Always save my pictures somewhere besides my phone, my phone broke a few months ago and most of my pictures from Boston are lost forever.

-Steph