Emily's Travel Recommendations 🚙✈️🚆

If I May Recommend…

Looking through Emily’s many years of blogging, she covered such a wide range of topics! Yes, she loved discussing her faith and belief in God, talking about her family, and sharing encouraging words about those going through physical trials such as she endured, but she also loved creating recommendation lists for others that she compiled from her travels.

From Nashville to Hollywood, Duck (NC) to even Scotland, Emily always wanted to share insightful tips with others. Whether at restaurants, tourist attractions worth visiting or even holes in the wall she stumbled upon herself, every city she visited had something worth experiencing. And of course we know she had a special love for bookstores!

Emily believed in living every day to the fullest and traveling (and planning trips) was a big part of her life post-transplant. We decided to compile a list of some of her best city recommendations below, and we hope you’ll leave a comment on her blog of your favorite recommendations to share as well in her honor!

US Trips

California

Chicago, Illinois

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Denver, Colorado

Duck, North Carolina

Houston, TX Pt 1

Houston, TX Pt 2

Nashville, Tennessee

Scotland 2023 (Emily’s last trip)

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Postcard: Nashville

Since summer=travel season for a lot of people, I thought I'd share some of my favorite places to visit with all of you, as well as local recommendations. One of my favorite things to do post transplant is travel, which is so much easier, because I don't have machines to lug around anymore! So I've been to a lot of lovely cities in the past 10 ( Almost 11!) years, and I love to share my travel thoughts with you. So this will be a pretty regular feature here until I'm caught up on cities! 

I've been to Nashville twice, and it's one of my favorite cities in the country. It's a big city with a small-town feel, and it has amazing attractions and places to eat, plus a Dominican monastery and a fantastic Catholic bookstore (yes, in the heart of the Bible belt! Win!)

Both times I've been to Nashville I've stayed in private homes, but here are some of my favorite places in Music City: 

St. Mary's Catholic Bookstore, 1909 West End Avenue

Three floors of Catholic amazingness! 

The Parthenon, 2500 West End Avenue

A recreation of the famous Parthenon in Greece, complete with a recreation of the Athena Parthenos (If you've read Rick Riordan's Gods of Olympus series, you know what I'm talking about!) Set in the middle of a park in downtown Nashville, it's also a great place to hang out, picnic, and play. 

The Frist Museum, 919 Broadway

The gallery hosts touring art exhibits, as well as being a place for local artists to exhibit their pieces. Adult admission is $12, but anyone under 18 is FREE, and college students are $9. 

The Wild Iris, 127 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN (near Nashville) 

Located in a strip mall (or at least it used to be!), it's a charming restaurant with an excellent wine list. 

Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Motherhouse, 801 Dominican Drive

The sisters do offer retreats for young ladies from time to time, but you are also free to attend Mass there, or even parts of the liturgy of the hours. Contact the sisters to check on Mass and prayer times.