The second leg of our Tennessee trip (Part 1 of our TN vacation is here) was spent in Chattanooga with friends who were wonderful enough to host us at their home. There were loads of things to do in Chattanooga that we took advantage of, and we ate out a lot haha. My favorite travel past-time! Well, that and napping.
Lots of Things to Do in Chattanooga:
Monday
After our Country Music Hall of Fame adventure, we arrived around dinner time on Monday & brought snacks to make a charcuterie platter for dinner since we were already too tuckered out to go out.
Tuesday
Tuesday we slept in & then went to check out Warehouse Row, a local mall that was originally Old Stone Fort during the Civil War, then became a warehouse district at the turn of the 20th century. Now it houses eateries & stores. We had a bento box at Two Ten Jacks Izakaya + Ramen House. Then we wandered around & checked out that latest at J. Crew, Madewell, Anthropologie & Lululemon.
Tuesday afternoon was for discount shopping! We drove to Dirt Cheap & checked out the close-outs there. It was overwhelming but my friend & I each found a few deals.
For dinner that evening we tried Taqueria Jalisco Ania, a local taqueria. We were so busy catching up I forgot to take pics of the menus, the food or the drinks.
Wednesday
Wednesday was for being tourists!
We ate breakfast at Honey Seed which was delicious. They make their own bagels, which are very mild & set off the saltiness of my egg, cheese & ham sandwich perfectly. I also tried a delicious mixed drink called the O’Honey, made with vodka, sparkling wine, sunshine juice & honey. So much yum!
After breakfast we drove up to Lookout Mountain & visited Rock City. I love vaguely creepy roadside attractions so Rock City & their Fairyland Caverns were the perfect sight for us to see! It’s a tiny city carved out of the mountain with a meandering path that takes you to the caverns. The cave is dark & houses old-timey nursery rhyme dioramas in black light. And by old-timey, I mean, terrifying lol.
Unfortunately, the day we picked to go was super foggy so we couldn’t actually see anything from Lookout Mountain. Womp womp.
That evening we hit a favorite pizza place, Pizzeria Cortile, with our hosts & their friends. They do some really special pies. This time I tried the Brussels & Bacon. So good, as always.
Thursday
This is the day my friend & I went & got foot massages, went to The Hot Chocolatier for delicious drinks & snacks, then went on to TJMaxx. A huge mistake on my part. But I don’t regret it one bit. I found several things for myself & even found a dress for an Oscar event I had coming up. (It is a Vince dress that retailed at $445, nabbed for $25! I did indeed wear it to the event – which I will be posting about soon!)
The rest of the day was spent chilling & napping.
Friday
Friday we had a late flight so we had a whole day to burn. My friend & I had breakfast at Southern Squeeze, another favorite spot. Then we hit up 5 Guys for some greasy burgers. We lazed around the rest of the day & I spent time packing all my newly acquired goods. I had thought to buy a reusable tote bag at TJMaxx just so I could bring all my items back without checking a bag. Mission accomplished, no bags checked.
Our flight was a red-eye so we went out to farewell dinner with our friends at the Bitter Alibi, a charming 3 story spot, with a speakeasy type of feel. Then we had dessert at Peach Cobbler Factory to stretch out the time.
After that we headed to the airport for our flight home. It was delayed & we didn’t get home till like 2am in the morning but, it was a fun trip. We had a whole weekend to recover & reset before returning to work on Monday. This is key when travelling – build in a buffer day or two to re-acclimate!
