So I went and I came back a better person. I can't pinpoint what it was exactly, but Nashville changed me. I went to my element, fully immersed into the culture and became a southern girl. Accents and all! Our travels included a lot of live music, laughter, and making our own adventures when we got terribly lost! I'm glad to have traveled with a friend that travels well. Nothing was scripted or planned out, we just went with the flow. Whatever seemed interesting is what we did; what a simple way of life!

I always heard that the people in the south are nice, but I never expected southern hospitality to be so intense! Everyone was so nice it almost freaked us out. Being from Seattle, a city where everyone is so individualistic, we were blown away by the sense of community and hospitality the southerners have. It was refreshing to see people we just met willing to simply grab a cup of sweet tea with us. We met a couple while waiting in line to meet The Band Perry and we got to talking about travelling and life. They were from Alabama so they knew the in's and out's of hospitality. We had about an hour long break before the next meet and greet so we all went out to Nashville's ONLY coffee shop and had coffee all together. They were really sweet and insisted on paying for us as well. We ended up talking to them for over an hour and later watched to fireworks display together! They do a lot of work overseas in Africa so it was amazing to hear their stories and adventures there.

Nashville is also known as 'Music City' and they didn't disappoint! EVERY SINGLE bar on the strip had live music all day long. I'm wondering if all of Nashville follows those same rituals or if it's just the downtown. From my stay, I began to understand country music a bit more. I got to live out the words that i've been singing. So surreal! Join me on adventure as I walk through our stay in Nashville. Enjoy!!

Celebrating Independence Day on Broadway in Nashville, TN

The Band Perry Meet and Greet! 

Striking Matches- An incredible Duo! 

The Band Perry Outdoor Concert

Gloomy Day in Nashville on July 4th

On the bridge of Cumberland River

This was our wonderful Hotel- The Hilton Hotel 

View from our room window- You can see the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Symphony Center, and the  Bridgestone Arena! 

Mariya posing with Rascal Flatts

My first picture with KINGS OF LEON!!

Rockin out with Elvis!!

A pick symbolized a live music venue

Mikes coffee and Ice Cream. Out of our 4 day stay in Nashville, We came here 5 times. We are not addicted. 

We met a woman who gave us free Georgia peaches. What a sweetheart!

The Breakfast Pantry- Wonderful Mom&Pop Place!

Beautiful record wall at the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

Panoramic Shot of another record wall, So majestic! 

The Ryman Auditorium- Nashville. 

Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Much Love 'Merica!! 

Home sweet Nashville.

Ever since I found out that Nashville existed, I wanted to go there. This wasn't like a 'Hey, I want to go to Nashville' it was more of a 'Get me to Nashville or someones gonna get hurt'. Well lately that burning desire to work and eventually live there has been multiplying! Of course I don't know anyone there and I have no idea how I would get there, but there was a will! As a student and an intern, I had no money to go visit so all I had was stories, videos, and pictures that I could find online.
I read a blog posting from Claire Diaz-Ortiz about how she traveled the world in 2009 and made money by blogging about her travels. That post hit it right on the money for me! That's EXACTLY what I was wanting to do. I was incredibly inspired by her story and I realized that if I really want it, I can do it. I decided to go online and research different ways I can travel on the cheap. I looked into staying at hostels, host families, a roommate or just renting a place of my own. Even with the cheap options, it still gets pretty pricey especially if you don't have any job leads yet.

There was however one more option: Sweepstakes Contests! I decided that I had nothing to lose by entering in some sweepstakes. After all, I REALLY wanted to go to Nashville. There was a contest called 'One Of A Kind Nashville' through visitmusiccity.com where you go on Pinterest and pin pictures and describe what you would want to do in Nashville. Well that day, I spent approximately 4 hours posting, pinning, researching, and dreaming about Nashville. I checked back over 10 times to make sure that I did everything right and that my board met all the criteria! If that's not passion and persistence, I don't know what is. However, the more I looked at pictures, the more I wanted to be there, and I knew that I would be incredible devastated because I got so emotionally invested!

Moving on, On Wednesday (two days after they were scheduled to chose a winner) I was convinced that I didn't win and that someone else got the prize. I decided to check my e-mail one last time and sure enough, there was an e-mail stating that I had won the promotion sweepstakes package! Me and a guest will be going to Nashville for July 4th weekend, hanging out with The Band Perry, and getting VIP passes to some of Nashville's most prominent places! I flipped!! A dream was becoming reality for me! I AM GOING to the place that captivated my attention and my interest. I cannot wait to spend 4 amazing days with my best friend in Nashville. All my favorite things in one! To add the cherry on top, My birthday was this weekend and this is just THE best birthday present one can receive! My 20th year of life will begin with a boom(literally!). I hear there will be 2 fireworks displays while we are there. We are heading out on Wednesday morning so there are still many stories to come!

 Now if there is anything that would make this trip even more unreal is if we get to hang out with Ed Sheeran. Side note: That's who I want to work with on his next US tour in January!

Moral of the story: If you want something bad enough and you are willing to work your butt off for it, you will get there and you will achieve it. Safe Travels friends!

Stay tuned for more unreal Nashville Stories, pictures, video logs, and more!