I lived in Nashville for many years, pursuing my own musical endeavors. And while it was a great place to make music, I always felt a bit at odds with the larger-than-life, cowboy-hat-wearing, beer-swigging, Trump-voting, bachelorette-party-hosting persona of Nashville’s calling-card genre: country music. At the height of my involvement with Nashville’s music scene, I definitely had a bit of a stick up my butt about country music. The two main reasons for this were, (1) as a non-country musician working the Nashville circuit, I was eager for this city to be more known for music *in general* than for country music specifically, and (2) the novelty of this scene had LONG-since worn off, leaving me annoyed in the way only locals can be in regard to tourist attractions. Therefore, I always refused to cover any of Nashville’s country persona on this website.
Ironically, I actually do like country music.
And now that I am (SPOILER ALERT) leaving Nashville, I thought it’d be prudent to cover the country scene here… you know, for the court record. Afterall, this can make for a super fun trip if you’re visiting from out of town. So without further ado, let’s get country!
I don’t know what I expected when I showed up in Mississippi. I had some vague aspirations about getting out into the legendary Delta to see pieces of the Blues Trail, but I wasn’t sure how realistic it was to cover all of that ground in the short time I had. I thought it would be cool to visit the Crossroads, but everybody I know that has been there told me it’s literally just an intersection in the middle of nowhere. So I wasn’t sure it was worth the drive. This probably doesn’t sound like the beginning of a great article. I really thought of the Blues mostly in the past tense so I wasn’t expecting to find anything in Mississippi but some history. But OHHHHH MAMA! I have never been more wrong in my LIFE!
Catania is the second largest city in Sicily. The population of Catania proper is about 320,000, but there are a combined 1.1 million people who live in the metro area. In Italy overall, Catania is the 10th biggest city, and the 7th largest metro area. This is a major population center for Sicily, second only to Palermo, which will be our last stop on this trip. Catania is not the most well-known place, but it's definitely not small either. It's actually really big, especially by Sicilian standards. But Catania's burgeoning population should be surprising. This isn't exactly prime real estate.
Why? Because of Mount Etna.
The time has finally come. It's time to talk politics. But before that, I'm going to take 2 minutes to make sure that everybody is up to speed on the Cuban Revolution.
The Cuban Revolution was one of the most unlikely success stories in modern history. Although fighting had been going on intermittently since 1953, it wasn't until 1956 that Fidel Castro (you've heard of him, right?) and 80 of his fellow rebels sailed a small yacht called the Granma from Veracruz, Mexico, back to their home country of Cuba...
Ísafjörður [ees – ah – fyur – thur] is the capital of the Westfjords, which are a remote Icelandic province in the far northeastern reaches of the country. It translates to something like “Ice Fjord,” which is pretty fitting, and a shining example of Iceland's love for hyper-literal names. Today we’ll begin by talking about the Westfjords as a whole, but first, some clerical housekeeping…
Reykjavík is quickly becoming an "it" drinking and nightlife destination. This is your guide and 10-Bar Sampler of Reykjavík's nightlife. Whether you've got a long layover, or are visiting Reykjavík in earnest, this should provide you with the direction and social lubricant you need to have an awesome time.
This is the all-you-need-to-know guide to Nashville's indie side, including all the best bars/venues/music. We're even building out a section for Nashville's frequent but elusive secret shows. And you won't see a single cowboy hat! Probably.
Toronto took me by surprise in a lot of ways, and one of the most compelling things about this city was the art. Yes, Toronto is home to a few famous art museums, but you don’t have to buy any expensive museum tickets to get a glimpse into Toronto’s art scene. There’s another side to that coin that costs a hot $0.00 to see.
Fun Peter-fact: I went on a class trip to Toronto when I was in 8th grade. Aside from being in an elevator that dropped 3 stories (before it caught itself) because the fat kid in my class wouldn’t stop jumping up and down, I don’t remember much about Toronto other than the bone-chilling cold. But now I’m going to return for Toronto Round 2.
This is Part 2 of my time sneaking around Venice, seeing everything this amazing city has to offer, and spending as little money as possible in the process. Here we'll go through extensive photo galleries, which stretch well into night time on the canals, as well as meet the infamous Plague Doctor.
