Where To Be in 2014

As the new year arrives, there are always lists being compiled for what to look forward in the coming year.  Fashion trends; the next big foodie obsession; the 'in' colors for the year.  So of course it's no surprise that there's a list of 52 Places to Go in 2014.

There's pretty much something for everyone.  There's Nepal and Dar es Saalam, Tanzania for those truly adventurous (and wealthy) travelers.  Tahoe, CA and Andermatt, Switzerland for the snow lovers.  Belize and the Seychelles for the sun worshipers.  And the list goes on and on.  But don't be intimidated by the list, there are plenty of options is you aren't able to leave the country.  There are places from the North Coast of California and downtown Los Angeles to St. Petersburg, Florida.  Nashville, Tennessee and Indianapolis, Indiana also made the list.  You can't get more accessible than those two places.
 

 Obviously I can only speak to the places I have been so let's go down the list.

#15- Nashville, Tennessee

It's not just a place for country music fans.  It might be thought of as Music City now but before then it was labeled, The Athens of the South.  But why, you ask...I'll tell you.  It first got the nickname in the mid-1800s because the city was quickly becoming a center higher education, with colleges and universities cropping up(Belmont University and Vanderbilt to name a few).  It also had the first public school system south of the Mason-Dixon line.  With all this going for it, Nashville became the place to be.  Hence, it was like the Athens of yester year.  And the cement their claim as The Athens of the South, in 1897, they built a replica of the original Parthenon.  It was built for Tennessee's Centennial Exposition in what is now called Centennial Park.  Not only is it a fun attraction to visit, but it certainly saves on the plane ticket to Greece.  Inside, you can see replicas of the marble friezes which would have lined the top of the outer part of the temple.  You are also able to see the cult statue to the goddess Athena, the patroness of Athens.  The original statue was made of ivory and gold and with materials like that, it didn't last long.  The Athena Parthenos, the full name of the statue, is almost 42 feet tall and was based on the many descriptions of the original statue.  It's definitely a different point of view of a city that is pretty much exclusively thought of as a center of music.

If you like your history a little more recent, why not visit the remains of Fort Negley, just south of downtown Nashville.  While you would assume that it was the Confederates who built the fort to defend the city of Nashville, it was actually the Union army who built it after they had won possession of Nashville early in 1862.  It was built on top of St. Cloud Hill, which overlooked the city and the river, by a force made up of runaway slaves, free Blacks and other laborers.  When it was completed, in December of 1862, it was the largest inland stone fortification that had been built during the war.  Two years later, the Confederate army attempted to recapture Nashville but Fort Negley aided the Union army in retaining the city.  




The other highlight of Nashville for me was the Opryland Hotel.  You might think, "Really?  You want me to visit a hotel?"  It's not so much visiting a hotel but more like a downtown that happens to be
enclosed under a glass roof and has plenty of rooms nearby.  There are plenty of restaurants, bars and shops to pause at as you take in the space.  The best way to see Opryland is to just wander around.  There are waterfalls you can walk around, gardens with paths meandering through them and even a riverboat tour that takes you along a canal inside the hotel.  I was there during New Years and it was lit up with millions of lights hanging from the cavernous ceilings.  More than likely, if you came to Nashville to hear some music there will something playing at the Opryland.  If you want to mix some Nashville music and dinner with the ambiance of an old timey riverboat, you can book a ticket on the General Jackson Showboat.


Of course many of the visitors to Nashville are country music fans and they want to experience some of that while down there.  There's the Ryman Auditorium, which started its life as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, where the famed Grand Ole Opry show was performed for over 30 years.  the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum charts the history of the quintessential American music and honors some of its most famous performers.  If you visit downtown Nashville at night you are likely to take in a performance from anyone, from an unknown up-and-comer to a surprise appearance from a well known singer.


So regardless of whether or not you're a country music fan, Nashville has lot to offer and is well worth a visit.


(I've decided to make this a series of posts since I can really ramble on!)