Recently, a few friends and I drove from South Bend, Indiana to Nashville, Tennessee for the weekend. I had never been to Nashville before, so I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I ended up loving it. If you’re ever looking for a weekend getaway from campus and have a car available to you, I highly recommend road-tripping to Nashville for the weekend. It is just a 6-7 hour drive away, which actually isn’t that bad for a whole weekend. Filled with tons of music, food and fun, Nashville is your perfect escape from the permacloud of South Bend.
The Music City is known for, of course, its music. On Broadway, Nashville’s main popular street, there are tons of restaurants and bars, each with their own performer. With music blasting and windows wide open, the street was full of amazing sound. Typically, the performers were taking requests, so each and every audience member would have a good time if they needed a break from the typical country music. When the performer didn’t know the song (or at least how to play it), they would still sing it as per the audience member’s request, but the performer would look up the lyrics and sing off of their phone for the song. I thought this aspect was not only pretty hilarious but also really made the performance and my entire experience at each establishment more personable.
Another well-known aspect of Nashville that I was happy to experience was the food. As the daughter of a vegetarian, I have had minimal exposure to fried chicken, so I think I ate more fried chicken in a single weekend than I have in my entire life. I now understand the true meaning of “Southern comfort food,” and it is absolutely delicious. Every chicken sandwich, biscuit and other meal I had was better than I could have imagined, and each restaurant was just as good as the next. If you are looking for a healthier eating experience on a trip and my description of all of this fried food is scaring you, do not fear–there were plenty of healthier items on each menu as well. A lot of the time there was a bit of a wait for a table or for our food, but it was completely worth it.
Overall, my trip to Nashville was awesome. While I do recommend waiting to go until you and your friends are at least 21, as the bar scene can be a large part of the experience there, it is the perfect weekend road trip to take with you and your friends. In addition to all the food and music, there are so many museums, shops and other fun places to go to. If you have a good friend here at school who is from the Nashville area, ask them for some recommendations, too. Yes, there are the famous attractions, but there are some lesser-known ones as well that could be just as good–if not better. From my experience, I highly recommend Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar and Biscuit Love; but honestly, every place I walked by looked amazing. Nashville is truly a great city.
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