Hello again friends! Did you miss me? It’s already half way through 2018 and I’m just now getting to the long overdue retelling of my most recent New Year’s Eve festivities. Despite the shameful lack of blogging, I have been to some amazing destinations this year and I’m ready to make up for lost time.

I kicked off 2018, with my favourite travel tradition of celebrating the start of the year in a new city. Five years in and still going strong! In 2014, I set the bar high with a fun-filled night on the streets of New Orleans. In 2015, I partied Catalan style at the Plaza de España in Barcelona. I danced my way into 2016 at a glitzy party under the Seattle Space Needle. And last year, I used my one “cheat” year to celebrate in my beloved Vancouver, where I’d actually never spent NYE.

This year, I ventured to a new city and even a new state… Nashville, Tennessee. Now, it’s no secret that I’m not much of a country girl, but even I was drawn in by the allure of Music City. When my friend Joy suggested it as a possible option, I jumped at the chance to join her for 5 days of bar hopping, thrift shopping, and BBQ eating. Sounds tough right?

Our timing was not ideal because we happened to catch Nashville in the middle of a ridiculous cold snap, which hit lows of -17°C. My poor West Coast body struggled to deal with the harsh conditions meaning that we whimped out big time on the outdoor NYE party we’d planned to attend. Lucky for us, our back up was my 13 year old self’s dream come true, a Y2K themed party with an amazing house band playing hits from the early 2000s. It was like high school all over again but without the friend drama or homework.

We also managed to check out some touristy attractions like the Country Music Hall of Fame. While still not exactly my cup of tea, I did geek out over the Shania Twain exhibit. I still remember all of her over-the-top costumes from watching every single music video she ever made.

The best meal we had was a family style lunch at Monell’s in Germantown. We joined a table full of strangers for an all you can eat Southern meal complete with fried catfish, chicken fried steak, okra, grits, green beans, cornbread, biscuits, sweet tea, lemonade, and peach cobbler for dessert. My mouth is watering just thinking of those delicious calories.

Other highlights include watching a movie at a theatre with reclining seats, snagging the last table at a secret Absinthe bar, and attending Sunday morning gospel hour at famed honky tonk, Robert’s Western World.

If you get the chance to visit Nashville, I promise that there’s something for everyone. The people are friendly. The food is delicious. And the music will have you tapping your feet to songs you never thought you’d enjoy.