Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

First order of business today I. am. getting. my. greens! We went to The Frothy Monkey, whose menu I vetted beforehand and ordered up a big healthy salad and a very unhealthy sugary iced coffee. We decided that today we would just explore the city in no particular order or fashion and see where it took us. My favourite! But first, an appointment!

When Kat and I were in Seattle last year we got permanent bracelets welded on to our wrists for my birthday, and we love them so much that we decided another was in order. While quirky, the ladies at the shop were so patient and friendly as Kat and I waffled over which chains to get. Eventually, after much tippy tapping from foot to foot on my part, we got the chains sparked on.

We ended up in an area called 12 South, a walkable district full of mural covered brick boutiques, vintage shops, and cute restaurants. Big trees and bursts of colourful flowers decorated the neighbourhood and we found ourselves exploring the area for hours. The side streets were lined with unique bungalows, many of which were overgrown and painted dark colours (ahhh, what a dream to own an ivy covered witch house). Mid day we needed a break from the heat so we stopped into Bartaco. You’ll never guess but it was a bar… serving tacos. Unlike the tacos last night though I could actually taste these ones!

We continued on with our exploration and walked for so long that we crossed into The Gulch, a very upscale neighbourhood with high-end fashion boutiques, art museums and expensive restaurants. We’d eaten a later lunch but we’d been walking and talking so long it turned into dinner before we knew it!

Upscale neighbourhood + late lunch? Appetizers for dinner! We ate at Marsh House, a dark panelled fancy pants seafood restaurant with white marble floors, serving mostly things I didn’t recognize and a whole lot of raw oysters and caviar. I’m mostly confident we didn’t look completely out of place… but the tuna crudo and salmon tartar was so good that I didn’t even care.

We debated hailing a cab back home, but what’s another few kilometres at this point? My feet were already angry anyway and somehow it really felt like we should continue the walk. Just a few blocks later and we both stop dead in our tracks.

Is that…?

Across the street was a Taylor Swift mural called What Lifts You. We didn’t realize it was here and we just happened to take the correct street to see this?! Thank you universe for not letting us call a cab!

As it turns out, aimless exploration with good friends in new cities is what lifts me.

Sav

P.S. I was a rebel today…