We have now seen this are of the world through all the seasons. There were some things we couldn't do because roads were closed due to the winter season. We also didn't do too much hiking the brazen cold either. But I must say my favorite time of year to see this area is the spring. It's rainy, and muggy, but so beautiful with everything in bloom.
Such a wonderful place.
On the way there we tend to split up the drive into 2 days. But this trip I decided we had to stop in Nashville.
I further discovered that Nashville considers themselves the Athens of the South (who knew?) and as a result they built a life size replica. From what I've read, the reconstruction and details is about as accurate as one could get, and it is the only one in the world. I've been to Athens and seen the ruins, so I HAD to see the replica in Nashville. It was quite something.
You do have to pay to get inside, but the bottom level has a nice little art gallery, as well as souvenir shop, and then you go upstairs to see the giant Athena statue. It was definitely something.
We also made a stop at the Convention Center as they had a big resort next to it. We had some time to kill before the Parthenon opened, so we wandered through. They had a lot of Christmas shops and events going on outside, but the inside of the resort was also pretty spectacular. I can see why people would want to stay there.
Our last Day in England we went out to Hampton Court Palace. This is where King Henry VIII famously lived with all his wives at one point.
It is a beautiful place, situated right by the beautiful rive Thames in a small little town. We spent most of the day wondering the palace and grounds which are pretty spectacular. And then we wondered the small city stores. Such a pretty area of the world to see. I had been here before, but because of the weather I never got to explore the grounds. This time we got to see the gardens. It was a lovely way to spend our last day in England. And below is the picture dump of all we saw.
