A few months ago I went to Nashville with some friends for a week-long competition — so I didn't exactly choose to go there for vacation. Before traveling there, I wasn't expecting my trip to be as exciting as it turned out. I actually really enjoyed my stay in Nashville, and by the end I didn't want to leave!

One thing I particularly loved was the beautiful weather which lacked the thick humidity of Houston, which is where I go to school. Several locals we got to meet had pointed out that the weather was really hot that week. We were surprised considering the temperature in Nashville was about 10 degrees lower than in Houston. The warm air without humidity makes the trip so much more enjoyable.

Our competition was held in the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Resort. The river and waterfalls and all the greenery along with the grand structures were all breathtaking. We had fun exploring throughout the whole resort during our free time. It's definitely a sight worth seeing, and it's even more beautiful at night with all the lights.

One of the places most important to country music in this city is the Grand Ole Opry. Unfortunately, my group didn't have enough time to go visit it and take a tour. If you love country music, be sure to see any of their weekly shows or take a backstage tour. After all, it is considered country music's most famous stage.

We also really loved the food in Nashville. For breakfast one morning we went to a highly recommended place called The Loveless Cafe. It's a really cute place with shops all around it. They even have mixes and ingredients in case you want to make some of their delicious food at home. The biscuits were definitely one of our favorite foods there. While we were there in Nashville we also tried some delicious spicy chicken which was really spicy but so worth it. We also heard about some great barbecue places if you love barbecue. So when visiting Nashville be sure to ask the locals about all the best places.

We also enjoyed a little trip we took to go see a life-size replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park in Nashville. I particularly enjoyed seeing it because I studied Latin and learned about Roman and Greek culture for three years. The building was tremendously huge. It was incredible to see the what the famous Greek architecture looked like without having to go actually go to Athens.

Inside the building was a towering replica statue of the Greek goddess Athena as well as several other original sculptures. Whether you know a lot about Greek culture or not, it's still an amazing site to visit.

You can do more exploring in several museums or the Hermitage, a plantation that was owned by Andrew Jackson. Overall, Nashville is a beautiful green and lush city with so much history. You should give this city a visit and enjoy all of its greatness as much as we did.