The Parthenon? In Nashville, Tennessee? Yes, it's as random to me as you might feel. And no, we did not teleport to ancient Greece. The re-creation of this ancient architectural masterpiece is also the centerpiece of another attraction: Centennial Park. Let me just sidebar the huge monument in the park to talk about the swing chairs surrounding it. These could be an attraction in themselves and I would like one of my own. Any builders — contact me! They swing as you pump the foot stool part of it. I just love them. And, by indication of April's face on the pictures in this post — she also loves them too.

Back to the monument — obviously pretty epic. But not as random as I thought. It was built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, which featured other unique highlights from around the world. It was a lot of peoples only opportunity to see showcases of other cultures and world marvels because that time didn't allow for mass transit easily. Things weren't just a plane ride away. I couldn't even imagine the whole scene back then — although the museum inside the Parthenon shows various pictures of it helping me to do so — of seeing this huge thing and all the other pieces from around the world that would seem so bizarre and different. 

The coolest and actually the most surprising part to me is not the outside, but what it houses on the inside — a 42-foot statue of the goddess Athena.

The statue is the primary reason I pay the $6 admission for anyone visiting. You just don't expect it. Even describing a 42-foot statue doesn't do it justice. 

If you miss the museum's opening hours, definitely stop by at any time of the day to check out this monument. It really is impressive. And the swings. Those are not to be missed. 

Read more for pictures and a little throwback excerpt and (embarassing) video from three years ago...

The Hermitage — Andrew Jackson's home he built over time and lived in occasionally from 1804 to 1845 — is a nice place to visit and walk through some history. You're not allowed to photograph the inside of the house and can only go through it on a tour, but it's very similar to the Carnton Plantation in Franklin in terms of years it was active and use. Of course this one didn't have blood stains on the floor from a battle as far as I'm aware. 

The area outside the house is also beautiful. You can see the garden with Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel's, tomb. I loved that Jackson didn't want anything excessive written on his tombstone, but for Rachel he made sure to write this beautiful eulogy. 

Read more for photos and a throwback to three years ago when I went with Brittney and Whit...

The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge is a short walk away from Lower Broadway where all the Honky Tonks are. It is a nice little walk that connects downtown Nashville with the residential suburbs of East Nashville, and contains a nice view of the downtown skyline and also the color-changing Gateway or "Korean War Veterans Memorial" Bridge. 

I just love how peaceful it feels any time of the day. Although it's not like the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge from Chattanooga where the both sides of the bridge are vibrant or touristy, it's still a good place to come and walk or bike through and back. 

Plus, because it's a short walk from downtown/Broadway, you can get yourself some Mike's Ice Cream after and stop by all the Honky Tonk's. 

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I'm always asked if I moved to Nashville for music. As in, Are you a musician? No. Mostly for the sake of others hearing, I am not. 

But definitely one of the things I love about Nashville is it's music. The authenticity of the performances here and the community and support for each other that I've seen is really inspiring. 

But to learn more about the history of music in Nashville, the Country Music Hall of Fame is the way to go.

In addition to admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame (CMHF), check out the RCA Studio B tour, and a tour (or at least a visit) of Hatch Show Print.

Read on for more details and photos...

When April was here #waybackwhen (specifically November), I wanted to go on a day trip somewhere else aside from Nashville or the immediate surrounding area. Researching various options (including other nearby states), and asking others who are from here, Chattanooga was the chosen city considering it was nearly everyone's first recommendation.

We initially had the idea to set out super early, had even bought tickets to ride the Southern Belle Riverboat cruise at 12:15pm. But sometimes not everything goes as planned. 

The night before, I got a flat tire. So the next morning — the one where we were supposed to head out super early — we had to go to the tire shop instead. We got breakfast after, thinking we had a lot of time, and left around 11am. After realizing we might just barely make it, we called the Riverboat company at about 11:30am asking what would happen if we were five minutes late, to be informed that the boat had left 15 minutes ago. We were so confused until we realized that Chattanooga is one hour ahead of Nashville. 

We had literally missed the boat.

I was able to get a gift certificate for the money I spent so I could go back later. I'll be sure to share the actual experience. But in case you want to go now then I recommend you get a Groupon.

Here's what we actually did instead:

1. Lunch at Good Dog and dancing on the sidewalk ;)
2. The Incline Railway
3. Clumpie's Ice Cream (made from local ingredients)
4. Drive through Lookout Mountain en route to Rock City
5. Side trip to Georgia look out and a fairytale village
6. Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge — awesome at sunset
7. Carousel Ride at Coolidge Park
8. Took night pictures at the Polka Dot Wall — exact location hard to determine. By Broad and Main St, near The Feed restaurant.
9. Dinner at Sugar's

With additional time, we could have explored:

• Tennessee Aquarium — world’s largest freshwater aquarium
• River Gorge Explorer
• Raccoon Mountain Caverns
• A show at Track 29
• Some more districts of downtown Chattanooga —see a breakdown here.

For all pictures and trip details/experience, read on...

Funny enough, I have to admit I've never seen an actual show in the Walt Disney Concert Hall — I've only been in the lobby or meandering outside it. And that's the thing — although I've heard the acoustics and performances are amazing and it's definitely on my list to experience one day — just from viewing it and walking around this amazing architectural structure is an experience in itself. 

There's some stairs that will lead you up through the seemingly-moving reflective plates. You can go around to the back to see a garden area and a beautiful mosaic flower piece, "A Rose for Lilly," — Frank Gehry's tribute to Lillian Disney — and that will lead you to some stairs with a leaved wall for more #instagrammoments haha. But actually. It was a cute setting to capture Whitney and Chris. 

But wait... there's more! 

READ MORE FOR PHOTOS AND OTHER PLACES NEARBY...

Olvera Street is a beautiful place. From the first time I visited here in middle school, I was absolutely enamored with the bright colors, and positive energy that could be felt wandering down the "street."

I've visited here for their Día de Los Muertos//Day of the Dead event as well as their Virgen de Guadalupe event in December. Other events/celebrations are listed here. Even to be here for no event at all still provides an inspired and fun experience. 

The mission of Olvera Street goes beyond the appearance of a Mexican Marketplace — it was created in 1930 "to preserve and present the customs and trades of early California." According to their website, many of the merchants on the street today are descended from the original vendors.

Not only all that, but it's right across the street from another historic part of Los Angeles that's still in operation and every day use: Union Station (opened in 1939) — making Olvera Street an easy destination/metro ride, and you can take a look inside this historic building. (One thing about Olvera Street is parking can be tricky to find, especially during an event. It's better to plan for a full day in downtown and just park somewhere for the entire day, then take the metro or walk to different spots.)

We were really fortunate this time around because The Avila Adobe, a house built in 1818 and is listed as the oldest standing residence in Los Angeles, was open! So we had the opportunity to go inside and walk around (usually it's closed whenever I've visited because I tend to go in the evening or at night).

Don't miss getting some churros and a picture with the burro. 

READ MORE TO SEE PHOTOS...

LITTLE TOKYO! I've only been to Japan once on a layover from Thailand. We had about twelve hours so we took a subway into Narita and saw just a glimpse of Japan. And I'd say Little Tokyo is a little less than the equivalent of that. It's a very small glimpse into some Japanese shops, cuisine, clothes, and history. 

READ MORE ABOUT THE PLACES TO EXPLORE IN LITTLE TOKYO...

This is an absolute priority place for people visiting Los Angeles for the first time. 

Griffith Observatory sits high in Griffith Park area, giving a beautiful overview of the city. During the day time, during the sunset, during the night — there is never NOT a good time to check this place out. You can even hike to it if you're feeling adventurous. And honestly, that might not be a bad idea since parking can be hit or miss depending on the night. (I feel like this place has become more well-known and popular so the last two times I've been, parking has been a headache to find because it's so limited. Hiking would be preferred.)

Not only do they have telescopes to observe and look through, but exhibits are inside to educate about the solar system, and the Earth we reside on. 

Access to the observatory is free. But make sure to plan ahead and get there early enough to reserve a seat for one of the featured shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium. This beautiful dome screen makes you feel like you're part of the environment it projects. I highly recommend "Centered in the Universe." I've seen it at least three times and I'm still in awe each time. The universe is just SO BIG. And I love how this video tells the different stories of it. The only bummer about the videos are they don't sell advance tickets — first come first serve — and they only have one planetarium, so the show viewings are at certain times. Make sure to check the times before you go.

On-going events can be found on their event calendar (such as star-gazing nights). Usually whenever I've been, there's always something going on. 

And be careful about traffic and other events going on — especially around December. The first time I attempted to visit Griffith Observatory was when I was writing a story about it in my high school newspaper. Around December there's the DWP Holiday Light Festival in Griffith Park. I was unaware. And after choosing an exit of a long line of cars and then turning the wrong way off the freeway, my companions and I ended up on a 3-4 hour long excursion and never got to the park. It was awful. But eventually, some nights later, I found it and loved it. 

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When choosing to go find the abandoned Griffith Park Zoo in Griffith Park, I was under the impression that it would be some kind of strenuous hike. It was not. 

In fact, the hardest part of the whole thing was going the wrong direction for a bit after parking our car, when we should have just headed straight for the open park to the right, where there also happened to be a Shakespeare performance happening. 

As we were wandering up the right path, Whitney noticed the cages to our left. They were literally just right there. There's even picnic tables where the animals once roamed/stood (because there's not a ton of room for roaming). No extreme trail or even really any hiking at all. You just walk up the path and you can see all the old cages. You can go inside the cages if you want. Some areas are gated off. But there's easy openings in the fence if you really have the desire. I can imagine this would be a creepy place to be at night. 

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