Orange County: Beaches, Beach Cruisers & Balboa Bars

Orange County: Beaches, Beach Cruisers & Balboa Bars!

So on Friday, I was so excited that I was going to have 4 days off of work. 4 days!! Monday being Memorial Day and Tuesday being an extra day off to "save money" for the company. I have plenty of paid time off so I was happy to take the extra day off. However....friday at work all of a sudden I got a sore throat. No way! Seriously, I just got over a 3 week cold. This cannot be. Well I woke up Saturday morning and it was definitely a cold. Not cute. So I spent all weekend (and most of Monday) sleeping off this rude cold.

Today (Tuesday), I decided I'd had enough of my house and bed so I decided to venture out on a drive. I live in Orange County. Besides the hiking posts, I don't think I've done anything on Orange County yet.

Being that it was such a beautiful day, I decided to do some of the beaches. I started at the nearest beach to where I live which is Laguna Beach. It was still a little cloudy but still nice.

Heading North on Pacific Coast Highway, the next stop is Crystal Cove State Park.

A must stop is the Shake Shack! Located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's on the left (if you are driving north on PCH) right before Crystal Cove State Park.

This is the historic district of Crystal Cove. They are currently renovating some of the cottages within this district. You can rent one of the updated cottages per night. Right on the water. Amazing views and some movie history as you'll see a few pictures down. http://www.crystalcovebeachcottages.org/

Does this view look familiar? Check out the cottage on the left.

Up close. Well, it may not look like much now. But this was the cottage used in the movie Beaches! Seriously! I know, it's not so cute now but still pretty cool. And who knew it was located in Orange County! I believe this is one of the areas that will be restored once more funds are available. Hopefully they restore it to it's old movie star days!

**They also filmed scenes for the movie at the Balboa Fun Zone! Balboa Fun Zone is a waterfront amusement park located on Balboa Peninsula.

Next stop is Corona Del Mar. Located in between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Mainly residential with amazing houses and amazing views. From PCH, take a left on Poppy Ave. This dead ends at a beutiful view. Make a right at the dead end onto Ocean Blvd. State Beach is on the left. Tons of celebrities live in this area. I didn't want to be a stalker so I didn't take pictures of the amazing houses around this view. But stop by and you will see. :-)

Wow!

Check out the top floor of this house! I wonder what it looks like from the water!

Last stop of the day was Balboa Island. Continue going North on PCH. Make a left on Jamboree Road which turns into Marine Ave. Marine Ave. is the main street of Balboa Island. Very cute little beach town. Quaint restaurants and beachy shops surrounded by cute (million dollar) houses. Lots of people drive golf carts around since parking can be tight and not plentiful.

A MUST have while on Balboa Island: A Frozen Banana or a Balboa Bar! Yummo!


This path surrounds Balboa Island making a really nice walk!

From Balboa Island, you can take the ferry (by car or walk on) over to Balboa Peninsula where you can access Balboa Pier/Beach and Newport Pier/Beach. Also on Balboa Peninsula is the Balboa Fun Zone which is a boardwalk/waterfront amusement area.

There is also another way to get to Balboa Peninsula without taking the ferry. From PCH continue going north and make a left on Newport Blvd and merge onto Balboa Blvd.

Normally, I would continue driving North to Huntington Beach which is a few miles north of Newport Beach but I didn't have time since I got a late start. Most people would probably start in Huntington Beach and go south to Laguna. But since I live south, I went backwards! Huntington Beach is a fun busy beach. If you make a right on Main Street, that is the central hub. Tons of restaurants, bars and beachy shops. On the beach you can rent beach cruiser bikes. When I lived in Huntington, I used to ride my beach cruiser from Huntington to Newport. It's a nice fairly flat ride. My favorite part of living in HB was utilizing my beach cruiser! If you live in HB you must own one! :-) Huntington is great for people watching too. Crazies!!

So if you are in Orange County, you must check out the beaches. Even if you just do a drive by. Have a nice casual Southern California day!

**Check out Newport Harbor Tours to see where your favorite celebrities live and hang out. Some celebrities you will hear about are: John Wayne, Dennis Rodman, Dean Koontz, Jean Claude Van Damme, Michelle Pfeiffer, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Shirley Temple, Bette Midler and more! Check out their website! www.seeing-stars.com/live/newportbeach.shtml

Movies to See:

Beaches of course!!! ha ha.

Online Travel Tip

Hi Travel Peeps!

Just thought I'd share a website I use to check flight prices when I'm researching a trip. I use http://www.kayak.com/ . You just load your dates and destinations and it searches direct airlines and a bunch of discount websites such as Priceline, Expedia, Cheap Tickets, etc. When it's done searching, you end up seeing all of the available flight options. This lets you know which website offers the cheapest rate. Once you've selected the flight you want, just click on the one you would like to book and it takes you directly to the website offering that rate. You are not purchasing your tickets through Kayak. Kayak is just your "search engine".

I absolutely love this site. It's so much easier and faster than my previous ways of searching. Me, being the careful shopper, used to check all of the different websites on my own. This just makes it so much easier.

Sometimes when you select your dates, you will notice a pop up calender on the right which shows the cheapest dates to travel to your destination within your travel month. This helps if you are flexible on your dates.

Try it out and let me know how you like it!
http://www.kayak.com/

Good Night Globe Trotters!!

Where I'm NOT Going...

In my last post, I told you I might be going on a trip soon. Well, I have good news and bad news. The trip I was talking about did not work out. This was the trip:


3 Nights, 4 Days in CHICAGO!!!!!
$230 airfare
Sweet discount at a Marriott in Downtown
and a Cubs game at Wrigley Field!!!!!
All on my 30th birthday weekend.

Sounds amazing, right??

**sigh**


The problem was not me but my friends!! :-) Either they had another trip planned and couldn't spend the extra money, just got an internship and couldn't get off work, can't take a vacation the same time as me since we have to cover each other's vacations, used all of their time off for other reasons or have another trip too close to this one, etc. So I am very bummed and totally in denial that it's not happening. I can't seem to cancel my room reservations. It was such a good deal.


Now for the good news. There may be a bigger trip coming up to take the place of this one! I can't give you more details yet because I don't have them. I'm still in the research stage. Checking out costs of flights, hotels, etc. I don't even have a set destination yet. Just researching to see the best deal.

Speaking of deals....where are the deals?? I thought since we were having a budget/economic crisis, there were supposed to be better deals on flights? Where are they? I don't see them. Very disappointed.

To hold you over until I get actual travel plans......I have some updated garden pics. Especially for my cousin Nina In Freiburg. http://ninainfreiburg.blogspot.com/ Who also loves to garden and randomly we like the same types of vegetable plants. :-)




Tomato Plant #1. This is the smaller plant but has huge tomatos on it. Can't wait to start seeing it turn red.


Bell Peppers are getting big!


New bell peppers are starting to grow.


Tomato plant #2- The big one. Had tons of flowers and now they are turning into tons of tomatos! Finally!!


Up close you can see some of the tomatos. Not quite sure how big these ones are supposed to get though.


My Cypress Tree. He's kinda puny but I still love him.


My kitchen basil plant. He's cute too.


Ciao for now World Travelers....

New trip on the Horizon?!

Good news Travel Peeps!!!!

There may be a new trip coming soon! I'm so excited. I don't want to talk about it until the plane tickets have been purchased. Don't want to jinx it. ha ha.

Oh hey....I just gave you a hint. It's far enough for me to fly!

Where am I going? Hopefully I will be able to confirm soon and I'll definitely let you know if it's a go.

Happy Saturday Travel Bugs! Enjoy your weekend!

In the mean time.....New Garden Pics:

My bell pepper gets a "home" makeover!

The whole gang.

One more thing before I go.

In honor of Earth Day, which was on April 22, my friends and I went to see the new Disney movie Earth. The deal was that Disney will plant a tree for every ticket sold during the movie's first week. So of course we went! The movie was great. It basically follows 3 families during a year. Polar Bear, Whale and Elephant families. However, the movie is not just about those 3 sets of animals. The cinematography was amazing. And of course it's Disney, so it's family friendly. I definitely recommend it! If you are interested in seeing it...go before April 28!! Lets get some trees planted!!!

Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G06r7eKKjkI

Go Green!!

Where to stay in London?

I love London! I could definitely live there. London has always been my "hub" while traveling in the Europe/UK area. I always fly in to London and then go from there. Whether I'm going to Paris, Scotland, Ireland or a Contiki Tour accross Europe.

While in London, I've stayed at major hotels (Marriott's of course since I work for Marriott and get a sweet discount!), bed & breakfasts and once I also rented a room for a few weeks. All of my accomodations have been different and amazing in different ways.


Marriott Hotels:
It's nice to stay at these hotels every once in a while because they are much bigger than your typical "European" hotels. So if you've been hosteling it or staying in little European Inns where you've been sleeping in a tiny twin beds, this will be a nice luxury. However, I definitely endorse trying out a bed and breakfast at some point for some English charm!

A few I've stayed at:

London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/londt-london-marriott-hotel-grosvenor-square/
I think this is my favorite one. Near Oxford Street (5 min walk) which has tons of shopping and restaurants. Closest tube stop is Bond Street. Great location.

London Marriott Hotel Regents Park
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonrp-london-marriott-hotel-regents-park/
I liked this one too. Closest tube stop is Swiss Cottage Station.

Renaissance Chancery Court London
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/loncc-renaissance-chancery-court-london/
For me, this one was a little out of the way. Renaissance is still a Marriott, but it's fancier. Closest tube is Holborn Station.

London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonma-london-marriott-hotel-marble-arch/
I didn't stay at this one but my friends did. Still very nice. Closest tube is Edgware Road or Marble Arch.


Bed & Breakfasts:
http://www.londonhometohome.com/homes_central.html
(the one I stayed in is second on the website! my room was the one with the red twin bed!!)

I stayed at the "Kiln House" with my host Lee. She was super nice. I had a room on the main floor. The only room on the main floor. I had my own bathroom too. She had a continental breakfast set up for me each morning. However, she figured out what I'd actually eat and would just leave exactly that (instead of her huge spread of breakfast foods). She even made me hot water for my hot cider a few times! Her house is actually a historical landmark and has been featured in tours and in a book. Her house was an actual kiln. The kiln is now actually a dining room.

What I loved about staying at a bed and breakfast, is that you just get a whole different experience than if you were staying in a hotel. Just make sure your house is within walking distance to a tube station!

The "Kiln House"

A few more London Pics....

Tiffany's Taxi?!

Oh how I miss Pret a Manger!!




Ciao World Travelers!!

Train Rides to Scotland....

Rail Europe Travel….

I found a few pictures I had from traveling on the Rail Europe train. We traveled from London to Edinburgh, Scotland. You can check them out online. http://www.raileurope.com/ . They also have discounts for travelers 25 years old and under!

They have different classes of seating with different restrictions. We just got the economy seats. If the seats are not full, you can actually sit wherever you want. My friend and I got seats with a table to ourselves. Awesome!

I did find out that I can not face backwards while the train is moving. Nauseaus!! So I had to make sure my seat faced forward. Luckily my friend didn’t have that same problem so we were able to sit at our own table. And spread out our stuff. The views were great. Lots of green, lots of water and lots of sheep! They also have a snack car if you get hungry.

The train leaves from Kings Cross station in London. Kings Cross like in Harry Potter! Look for Platform 9 ¾ if you have some extra time. It does exist!


Gotta have your tunes on a trip like this. I'm not gonna lie, I totally have a Europe Trains playlist. Ha ha. Such a dork.



Train ride essentials: travel journal (my friend's), reading material & water of course. Oh and of course the previously mentioned iPod/Zune/etc.



Previous post on Scotland:
http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/06/edinburgh-scotland.html

Good Day Travel Peeps!!

Flying.....

Random pics of the day:



Can I tell you how much I love flying? I mean I really love it. I love airports and their little newstand gift shops. I love the excitement of knowing you are about to take a crazy trip and see new things and new experiences. I love knowing that I don't have to worry about work for x amount of days..... etc.

When I fly to London, I almost always use Virgin Atlantic. www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/us/index.jsp Each seat has it's own tv where you can watch movies, tv shows, track your flight, text message any guest on the same flight (seriously you can!), listen to music, meditate, etc. I would normally try to catch some zzz's while flying but I get so excited about all of the possibilities of catching up on movies and what not. I'm not gonna lie....I also kind of like the airplane food. Not always. But it's so cute on it's little tray with it's little wine glass and it's little salt and pepper. They also give you a little care packet with an eye mask for sleeping, ear plugs (just in case some people think it's happy hour and talk during the entire flight!), pen and paper, socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste! **sigh** It's the little things that entertain me.....

What I don't like about flying are the bathrooms. I mean seriously. Do I even need to explain why I don't like them? Anyways, here are a few pics from one of my flights to London.

Have a great day Travel Kiddos!





Previous London posts:

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/05/london.html

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/06/excerpts-from-travel-journal.html

Travel & Adventure Show- LA

So yeah.....I went a little crazy on brochures.






Got to meet Rick Steves and sit in on his seminar. http://www.ricksteves.com/ He reminded me of my Travel & Tourism teacher back in the day. He was enthusiastic about what he was talking about and for travel in general.



After listening to him speak about what makes his tours different from other tours and what people would be a good fit for his tours......I decided that I would most likely not be a good candidate for his tours.... your luggage has to be approximately 9 x 22 x 14! wtf! For those of you that don't want to do the math...that is the requirements of a carry-on at the airport. There is absolutely no way! The reasoning behind the small luggage is because they stay right downtown in main cities (as opposed to some of the bigger tour companies who stay outside of town in bigger hotels). Some of these main cities have lots of stairs, no elevators or a little bit of a hike since the bus cannot access some small areas in which these hotels may be located. Also, everyone carries their own luggage. The advantage is that you get some great family owned quaint hotels in some amazing cities right near all of the action. When all of the bigger tour buses have to leave for the night, you will still be there in the middle of everything! But yeah.....2 weeks worth of luggage in a carry-on?? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do that. :-)



We also got to listen to Samantha Brown speak. She is host of a few shows on the Travel Channel. Passport to Europe and Passport to Great Weekends and next season's Passport to Asia. http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Samantha_Brown She pretty much has the best job ever! Getting paid to travel and stay in wonderful places! Luckyyyyyy.

I put my name in all the drawings. I haven't won anything yet but I'm waiting for a phone call or an email telling me i've won a 6 night trip to Ireland or a round trip ticket on Jet Blue to anywhere they fly or one of the sweet gift baskets or the trip to Vietnam. ;-) I'll keep you posted!

Day Tripping- La La Land

Hooray for Hollywood!

I know, I know. The economy sucks! But that doesn't mean you can't try new things and visit new places. Since I (like the rest of you, I'm sure) am currently on a budget, the big trips are on hold. Most recently, I've decided to give Hollywood another try. They've actually cleaned it up a bunch in the last few years. I've taken 2 separate day trips to Hollywood recently and here's what I've found:

Griffith Park Observatory:

http://www.griffithobs.org/

Admission is free! Woo hoo! Located in Griffith Park above the neighborhood of Los Feliz, the Griffith Park Observatory over looks the city of Los Angeles (including the Hollywood sign). It has great views of the city and the stars if it's a clear night! They have a ton of exibits on astronomy including the planets, stars, the moon, etc. All for free. For approximately $7, you can check out a show at the Planetarium located within the Observatory. http://www.griffithobservatory.org/psoplanet.html A very interesting show and I definitely recommend seeing it while you are there. You can also check out the ginormous telescope (only open on clear nights) and check out the stars and planets live and in action.

The view of LA from the Observatory

Pink's Hotdogs:

Hollywood's famous hot dog stand. Opened in 1939. Tons of celebrities grab a Pink's hot dog while they are in town. There are autographed pictures all over. The line is crazy long and it's literally a big "stand". No inside dining. They do have an outdoor patio with lots of seats. Any kind of hot dog you can imagine, they have. The dogs are all named after celebrities. Vegetarians, don't worry, they even have a vegi dog! Woo hoo! And yes, we did stand in line for 45 minutes to get a freaking hot dog. Don't judge. We wanted to say we'd been there, done that. :)

http://www.pinkshollywood.com/

The Grove:

The Grove is such a cute outdoor shopping center. I love it there. They have a ton of shopping places, a few pricy restaurants, a water show (think a tiny Bellagio watershow), live music, a trolly, coffee and icecream stands, etc. The Grove is a good "people watching" place. The Farmer's Market is also next door.

http://www.thegrovela.com/

The Grove @ Christmas time

Universal Studios:

Soooo expensive! However, I got in for free since there was a travel industry day. Yayyyy me! It was fun, but there is not a ton of things to do. The rides are more about the special effects rather than speedy rollercoasters. Be careful of all the rides because pretty much all of them squirt water in your face. Seriously. The Backlot Tour is fun, but I've been on it so many times, that it's not as exciting as it used to be. I would say go if you've never been. But if you are looking for speedy roller coasters, try Disney or Knott's in Orange County instead. Universal is more about special effects and movie making.

We did get to meet the Grinch and take pictures with the "Who's" since they had "Grinchmas" going on. ;-)

http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/

Pantages Theater:

So this one's gonna cost you. However, you should definitely see a show here if you can. The theater is amazing. I saw Lion King there and also Wicked....TWICE! Both shows were amazing and the theater was beautiful.

http://www.pantages-theater.com/?gclid=CNPu4omDkJgCFRYiagodDXDYng

Disney Soda Fountain & Studio Store:

Located on Hollywood Blvd near Hollywood & Highland. Fun old fashioned icecream parlor with a Disney flare.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/el_capitan/soda_fountain/main.html

***Just in case you are wanting a picture of the Hollywood sign......it is NOT lit up at night. Take your pictures during the day! I'm just saying....

If you would like to get close to the Hollywood sign, check out this website for the best places to view it: http://www.hollywoodsign.org/see.html They show you directions to see the sign. I personally took the Beachwood Canyon one which leads into some really cool houses. I would definitely like to check out the Lake Hollywood one. And of course I've been to Hollywood & Highland but that is pretty far from the sign.

**The Capital Records building was built in 1956. It was the worlds first circular office building. It resembles a stack of records (vinyl 45's) on a turntable. The needle at the top has a red blinking light that blinks in Morse Code to spell out the word Hollywood. It has done so since the building opened in 1956.

There are a ton of other things to do while in LA/Hollywood. Melrose Ave has funky hip shops and cafes, Robertson Ave is famous and most likely filled with Papparazzi because of the famous expensive shops such as Kitson. There's Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood & Highland, Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Fashion District are just a few more highlights.

Another thing to do is to just drive around. Drive up into the Hollywood Hills or Beverly Hills and gawk at the mansions!

Have fun discovering Old Hollywood!

Movies to see:

All of them! It's Hollywood biatches!

(However, The Holiday is a good one!)

Happy New Year!

I know, I'm a little late but..... Happy New Year!!!!!

I hope you all get to go somewhere fun this year. Whether it's a European adventure, a trip to New York City or just a weekend getaway, I hope you have wonderful travels!

Don't let the economy get you down. Save your pennies and take a day or weekend trip. Learn something about a near-by city or your own city. (google can be helpful!) Learn about others. Just get out there and do something!

Take care and be safe in 2009!

Coming soon...... DAY TRIPS! (mainly because I'm poor and bored with no big trips planned!) haha. I've already taken some fun day trips and plan on taking more. I will let you know what I've been up to soon. ;-)

Ciao fellow world travelers!

Things are Sweeter in Tennessee.

Nashville, Tennessee

As The Wrecker's said in one of their songs......"Things are sweeter in Tennessee". But are they?? Well, I went to check it out and so here it goes:

So, our goal was to make the 12 o'clock shuttle from my work which takes us to the Orange County Airport. This sounds simple to most people, however it was stressing me out tremendously. I have a ton of work to do normally, but leading up to a weekend (especially a holiday weekend) can get even busier. I am also a little OCD regarding my work. So, of course we had a lot of last minute things to do and people were asking long questions that required research on my part to answer. But at 11:45pm, I decided I was DONE. Hands in the air, I'm over it, I'm taking a trip and All of this can wait until Tuesday! I'm so proud of my self for "letting it go". I stress enough during the weeks and so this is my little vacation and I wasn't gonna worry about it. So we were off and on our way to the airport on the 12 o'clock shuttle.

It was about a 4 hour flight to Atlanta where we had a layover of about 1 hour. The only thing is they oversold the flight and I unfortunately did not have a seat. Luckily, someone volunteered to give up their seat and I was back on the plane with a seat. 1 hour later, we were in Nashville. It was a little after 11pm Nashville time when we arrived. The taxi drove us through their main downtown strip. The place was hopping! We spotted our first cowboy....and then another....and another. Oh gosh WHERE ARE WE!?

We checked into the hotel, dropped off our stuff and walked downtown. They have 2 main streets in downtown. 2nd Avenue and Broadway. These two streets are filled with bars, restaurants, live music, tourist shops and life size statues of Elvis (seriously I think I counted about 4). Music is everywhere. You can walk by 5 bars in a row and each one will have a live band playing. I would say there were like 30 or so places playing live music at once. There are also people playing music for money on the streets. Primarily country music. There were a few places playing other types of music as well (rock/blues), but primarily country. My friend has lived in Nashville and swears there are many places to hear other types of music like singer/songwriter and blues. Mainly these places are not on the downtown strip. She even told me about a time she ran in to Maroon 5 at a bar after their show. They talked a little bit and Maroon 5 asked them for a restaurant recommendation. They gave their suggestion to which Maroon 5 replied by telling them they were gonna get a taxi. So what should 2 girls with a car do?? Of course offer them a ride which they accepted. They all ended up having dinner together! See, you never know who you will run into in "Music City"!

On Saturday, we decided to check out one of the recommended restaurants we were told about. Pancake Pantry (http://www.pancakepantry.com/) was established in 1960 and was Tennessee's first pancake house. The place is family owned and everything is made from scratch. Peach delight, Blueberry, Apricot Lemon, Pecan and Chocolate Chip are some of the yummy selections. However, expect a line. A long line. We decided to skip Pancake Pantry for the day since the line was about 2 hours long.

Our taxi driver instead took us by Vanderbilt University to the Parthenon. The Parthenon in Nashville is the only life size replica of the original which resides in Athen, Greece. We then decided we would walk from there and try to find Belmont Mansion. We did not have the best map in the world so we ended up missing streets and roaming around Nashville for about 3 hours until finally walking back downtown. We had lunch on Broadway and went back to the hotel. The heat and the miles and miles of walking and the jet lag must have done something to us because we were just exhausted. It was very hot, but I think what we weren't used to was the humidity! We did not do too much else but rest and read our books. I did go back out for a walk downtown in the evening. Tomorrow, we decided we shall rent a car!!!

Best idea ever to rent this car!! $25 gets us the car (complete with AC!!!) until tomorrow where we will drop it off at the airport on our way home. Our hotel had free internet and we mapquested our hearts out. We looked up all of the places we wanted to see and were off to pick up the car. This day, we did get to go to Pancake Pantry and I enjoyed some Blueberry Pancakes. The line was about 45 minutes long. Not too bad.

We then went to Belle Meade Plantation which was very cool. (http://www.bellemeadeplantation.com/) Built in 1853, the Harding-Jackson family were the original owners of the Belle Meade Farm. The farm bred and trained championship Thoroughbred horses. On site is also, the dairy (or creamery), the slave quarters, a mausoleum and stables. Free to browse around and definitely worth the trip. You can purchase tickets for a tour which actually takes you inside the mansion. About 6 miles from downtown.

I had to! ha ha.

Next stop was The Grand Ole Opry House. (http://www.opry.com/) We did not go inside the Opry House, but did get to go into the Grand Ole Opry Museum which was quite interesting. The grounds are nice as well. Definitely check out the museum. It's free and very cold inside (nice to get out of the heat!) and fun to look at even if you are not a huge country music fan.

While we were across the river, we went to LP Stadium: Home of the Titans. Just to look and take a few pictures.

We saw the Tennessee State Capital building. Very close to downtown and our hotel. We couldn't find how we could get to the top of the hill it was on to view it up close, but we still saw it and were able to get some good pictures.

We then decided to check out that house I was telling you about. I had mapquested the directions and since we had extra time, we decided to check it out. It was about a 15 minute drive on the 40 freeway westbound. We got off the freeway and turned down this long windy road. Green hills on both sides of the road but no houses. I'm not gonna lie, I was thinking, "this is beautiful, but we are in the middle of nowhere!". But that only lasted about 1 minute and then we saw tons and tons of beautiful houses. I mean really beautiful. Now this is what I was hoping Tennessee was going to be like. We found my house and I love it now more than I did before. I didn't get to go inside, but I have seen pictures of the inside. Check it out....isn't it awesome?!



Our next recommended restarant is SATCO or San Antonio Taco Company. But you must call it SATCO or you will be outed as a "tourist"! SATCO is near Vanderbilt University and is the local hangout. You can even get a bucket of beers. When you walk in, you are greeted with pads of paper and pencils. There is a check list of different types of tacos, fillings and sides. You check off what you want and give it to the cashier. Very casual yummy place to go. Even for a vegetarian like myself. They had bean tacos! Woo hoo!

Back to the hotel to shower and get ready to go back to Broadway to have drinks for my roommates birthday. The big 25! On our way back to the hotel after drinks, we stopped by the market to get waters and met a hilarious (and I think homeless) guy. He was super nice and very funny. There are some interesting characters in downtown Nashville, but I have to say everyone was friendly.

Monday. Up at 4:15am to get on our way home. Another layover in Atlanta, Georgia. This one was a long one. Then back to Orange County. Then the 45 minute drive home. It was a long day! Plus we gained 2 hours in the time change.

So. Lots of things to do in Nashville. The downtown area was not my favorite part of Nashville, but did have a lot to do. Definitely rent a car. Since everything is spread out, you will save money on all of the taxi's you would have needed. Do fill up the gas tank before you drop it off so they will not charge you a ginormous fee! The car will help you see all of the great sites within Nashville. These sites are important to the Nashville's history. I would definitely have loved to have more time to drive around more in the suburbs. It's just very green and beautiful.

So, in conclusion.....things can be sweeter in Tennessee, you just have to venture out and find them!

My Nashville playlist includes:
The Wreckers- Stand Still, Look Pretty
Sara Evans- Greatest Hits
Dixie Chicks- Taking the Long Way






Ciao!