This post is long overdue, I know, but I believe that this experience was worth the post. Holidays have become a bit more different for me nowadays. I feel as though I don’t need to spend them with family as tradition has it. For one, my parents are divorced. My mom doesn’t celebrate holidays for religious reasons and my dad has friends and his side of the family he can spend these occasions with. This leaves me to have a bit more flexibility as to how I can choose to spend my holidays. Rather than stay at home and go along with the same traditions, I took it upon myself to have a new adventure. I knew I would get a few days off for work, so I decided to plan a trip! I hit up one of my friends that joined me on my road trip, Winnie, and she agreed to road trip to Nashville, TN with me.
The Hostel
Music City Hostel was home for the trip and it was honestly one of my most favorite stays. The hostel is centrally located right by the city so it was easy to visit the spots we wanted to see. While the hostel provided clean accommodation, it wasn’t the amenities that made the stay worthwhile, it was the guests. There, I met so many amazing people from all walks of life and from different countries as well. My friend and I shared a room in a unit, but the room across from us was a mixed dorm. The dorm was all guys but we all got along pretty great. We had one ex-military guy who had a movie made about him (Th Outpost), two guys backpacking separately from the UK, and later one Scottish guy who kind of did his own thing. We went out together, hiked, and enjoyed each other’s company. It was common to hang out in the little lobby where you would mingle with the other hostel guests. It was such a sense of community and it truly felt like a little family by the end of my stay.
Thanksgiving
This was my first time ever spending Thanksgiving with strangers and it was probably one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had. I had it planned out that it would be my outdoor day since businesses were typically closed for the holiday. However, Thanksgiving was a bit of a gloomy and rainy day so it just ended up being a day in spending time at the hostel. The hostel had arranged an afternoon potluck. Some people cooked while others brought was they could from the grocery store. It was a very wholesome gathering. I wasn’t able to spend the whole night with everyone since Winnie and I had reservations at a nice restaurant (Ellington’s). I think I would have rather just stayed at the hostel though since the Thanksgiving dinner reservations were sub-par.
Things We Did
1. Hiked Narrows of the Harpeth.
Only 30 minutes from our accommodation was a hiking spot with a pretty nice view. The top of the hike overlooked the river. We hiked another trail and that led us to a large, open rock with a small waterfall. The opening is called Montgomery Bell Tunnel. Winnie did not want to hike with me but I had no problem recruiting my new friends to join me.
2. Had Dinner At Justin TimberLake’s Bar, The Twelve Thirty Club
Their live music was fantastic and the inside was decorated beautifully. The food was a bit pricey though.
3. Broadway
Did you even go to Nashville if you didn’t go out for drinks on Broadway? One of the bars I went to was Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Bar.
4. Midtown Tin Roof
Yup another bar.
5. Visit the Parthenon in Centennial Park
It’s a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens.
6. Printer’s Alley
More bars and fun places to hang out. Go at night to see the neon signs light the alley. We ended up going to this one hidden club that looks like an All Saints storefront called Dirty Little Secret.
7. White Limozeen
A pink and instagrammable bar themed after the icon herself, Dolly Parton.
8. Supported the Artists at Belcourt Taps
On our last night, we supported one of our friends at the hostel performing a set at Belcourt Taps. The whole hostel came to support him and we also enjoyed the music from the musicians he shared the stage with.
I don’t think I could’ve chosen a better way to spend my 2021 Thanksgiving. Would you ever spend your Thanksgiving holiday with strangers?