Travel Log 2025: Nashville
When my sister-in-law and I decided to do a girls getaway over MLK weekend, we had a few ground rules when determining the destination: 1) Direct flights <3hr for each of us, 2) A new location for each of us with lots to explore, and 3) No looking North in a [failed] effort to limit cold weather. With our parameters set, Nashville popped up early as a contender! So, with our flights booked and our bags and parkas packed, we flew to the Music City of America.
Here are my favorite stories for the travel log from the trip:
Lauren O’Brien
1. Nashville Hot Chicken
Our first stop was Assembly Hall where we could sample any type of food we could possibly want…and I wanted Nashville Hot Chicken. While many will get in line at Hattie B’s downstairs, I ventured into Assembly Hall for Prince’s, the true original Nashville Hot Chicken.
Prince was a gentleman who absolutely loved his young girlfriend’s fried chicken, he raved about it! So, when she caught him cheating, she thought she’d give him some chicken to remember! She brined the chicken with ghost peppers and Carolina Reapers. Prince couldn’t even speak when he bit into that chicken…but the chicken backfired. An endorphin release of dopamine after eating chili peppers can happen, and that’s exactly what Prince experienced – and he loved it! While his girlfriend was long gone, he was able to recreate, sell, and establish what we now know as Prince’s Hot Chicken. He didn’t, however, trademark Nashville Hot Chicken, and when one journalist turned talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, commented that she missed the hot chicken from her hometown in Nashville, a company in Alabama seized the opportunity. Hattie B’s moved its headquarters from Alabama to Tennessee and trademarked Nashville Hot Chicken(TM).
Whether you favor Prince’s or Hattie B’s, the chicken is true to its name: hot. They’ll help guide you through their heat index as you order; I stuck to mild and was glad I did! I overheard one fellow traveler say his dad was crying after ordering hot.
2. Music City of America
It’s fascinating to learn how Nashville got its nickname; we learned it on a Gulch Food & Walking Tour. A college jubilee singing group was receiving great accolades, and Queen Victoria asked for them to come to England to sing, which they did. She was so impressed with the singers that as she visited with them at a reception that followed, she commented that “they were so good, they must hail from the Music City of America!” A journalist captured the line and used it in his headline, and BOOM, Nashville became overnight the destination for aspiring singers and songwriters. Prior to that, it wasn’t known for its music at all!
The city sure does embrace its identity, though! Everywhere you look there are nods to music even with treble clefs designed into the bicycle parking docks. Country music abounds downtown, and you’ve got the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, and Grand Ole Opry to show for it. But don’t forget to check out Printer’s Alley for some jazz and blues sets. And if the honky-tonks aren’t your general scene, don’t worry, we found live music everywhere from Assembly Hall to our hotel lobby.
3. The Gulch
Named to combine the “gully” and “ditch,” this was not a nice part of town for much of Nashville’s history. After the nearby rail station closed, crime went through the roof. There was a certain disgust in your voice when you said “…it’s in the Gulch.” Then, when the Turner family – owners of Dollar General enterprise – wanted to invest in their Nashville community, they turned their sites on The Gulch to revitalize, and they bought the whole area! They then started looking to sell it off in pieces to local businesses. That gave business owners peace of mind that they could set up shop and trust that the Turners were going to be by their side as the community developed.
Now, The Gulch is one of the hottest and trendiest parts of Nashville, with great restaurants, shopping, and condos. They hired street artists to paint art and murals on the buildings so that other [less well-intentioned] street artists wouldn’t tag over it with graffiti. Consequently, the city is full of picturesque moments. Our tour took us to Biscuit Love, one of the first restaurants the Turners invited to the area – the most popular food truck at that time, and to Peg Leg Porker’s barbecue joint for some mouth-watering pulled pork. We finished at Five Daughters Bakery for some sweet treats.
If you’re not in too much of a food coma, check out the cute shops – and Lucchese, the high-end boots shop where the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders get theirs! – or head to the nearby 12 South shopping district for some great boutiques and the famous Draper James.
It was an amazing experience with great food and awesome memories — an ideal start to the Travel Log 2025!
SEE ALSO: My Travel Budget: Top 5 Areas to Invest for a Memorable Trip
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