Last Wednesday, I packed up my car in Austin and hit the road towards Nashville. I spent the first night in Little Rock, the next three nights in Nashville for a bachelorette weekend, and the final night in Memphis. It’s been quite the semi-solo adventure!
Prior to my arrival at The Peabody Hotel, I hadn’t had the chance to plan how I’d spend my time in Memphis. So as soon as I checked into the hotel, I pulled out my laptop and propped myself up with a giant stack of white, fluffy pillows. And much to my surprise, I found that I was in the most ideal location for an afternoon Memphis adventure.
But first! I had to spend some time geek-ing out over the hotel itself. A construction girl by day, I really appreciate historic buildings {side note: I spent a college summer in Nantucket studying historic preservation}. And because The Peabody Memphis was built in 1925, there were so many details that caught my eye: tall baseboards, tray ceilings, lots of windows, built-in cabinets, old-fashioned closet doors. Simply put, the room was stunning.
After some super speedy research, it was time to explore. I made a last minute reservation at Flight, a highly rated restaurant located only two blocks away from the hotel, and headed that way. The restaurant carried the wine flight concept over to the food menu, which is perfect for someone dining solo {especially a blogger that’s used to sampling everything on the menu with other bloggers}. Almost anything on the menu could be ordered as a traditionally sized entrée or as a smaller portion to make up a dinner “flight”.
My flight consisted of the lobster claws {an appetizer special}, lobster gnocchi, and soft shell crab – all of which felt unique to this restaurant {I don’t see much shellfish in Austin} and all of which satisfied my very obvious seafood craving.
After dinner, I took the long way home by walking down Union Street towards the Mississippi River. I strolled down the riverwalk and soaked up beautiful views of Mud Island River Park, river boats, bridges, and public art. It had been a while since I walked around a town with my big camera and I was so happy to spend time looking at Memphis through a lens.
From there, I turned on Beale Street to put my eyes on Memphis’s music strip. I wasn’t able to sit in on any music, but checking out the blues scene will definitely be on my list the next time I find myself in Memphis for more than an afternoon!
A quick adventure it was, but also an enjoyable buffer between vacation life and real life. See ya soon, Austin!
Disclosure: Although The Peabody Hotel kindly provided a media rate for the hotel room, the opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.
I have only driven through Memphis a handful of times in my life but never actually stopped to partake in any eats. Sounds like an awesome trip you had! I was born and raised in Bentonville, AR and my fiance was born and raised in Cabot, AR just outside of Little Rock.
It’s nice to take a break from driving and soak up some small town culture when you have the time!