Tour De Knoxville

By now you guys have probably figured out that I love traveling and exploring new places. Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time in Knoxville, TN. Why Knoxville? Well since you asked…let me officially introduce you to Justin, aka “The Boy,” a new character who will be frequenting my blog posts...hopefully for a long time :) The Boy is currently living in Knoxville which allows me the perfect opportunity to get out of Indiana for a while and go explore a new city.

There are some really cool places in Knoxville, and the city has some neat history. Knoxville in January & February can be a little cold (no worries, The Boy is great at scraping car windows…smile!).

The afternoon weather was perfect to get out and explore the city both weekends I was there. If you’re ever in Knoxville, you should go visit these places:

1.       The Sunsphere @ the World’s Fair Park: The Sunsphere is a giant glass ball in downtown Knoxville that was built for the World’s fair in 1982. You can ride up to the top and see the entire city. Plus it’s located in a really cool park that would be perfect for picnics in the spring time (**hint hint**).

2.       Neyland Stadium: Tailgating is one of my favorite fall activities. Outside of that, I could really care less about college football (yea. I said it.). I was super pumped however, to visit Peyton Manning’s old stomping grounds…I wonder if I can somehow get this off the side of the stadium and hang it in my living room?

3.       Old City: Old city is a historic district with tons of unique shops, boutiques, and restaurants. The Boy and I went to a great gastropub called The Crown & Goose where we tried out a European Cheese Board. With the help of our amazing server, we tried out some crazy cheese & wine combinations (Would you ever think to pair cheese with peach preserves & walnuts? Me either, but it was awesome!).

4.       Market Square: It’s exactly like it sounds. Lots of unique restaurants and cafes - great places for a date night. Speaking of…we tried out this great place called Oodles Uncorked. The food was incredible (and the wine was good too :) ) Definitely a place to check out if you visit Knoxville. I also recommend Blue Coast Burrito…you can never go wrong with Mexican food!

5.      The Greenway: Knoxville is very runner friendly, which I love. There are over 50 miles of paved greenway in Knoxville for runners & bikers to utilize. I’ve only explored a few miles and have stayed pretty close to home, but I think I’ll add another running goal to the list: Run all of the Greenways in Knoxville. The greenways run along the river, through parks, and past historical sites so the runs are very scenic which I enjoy.

Side note --> The Boy happened to be in Louisville the night of the Bachelor premier and I (of course) forced him to watch it. He was a good sport and only made fun of the show every other minute as opposed to every minute :) He even remembered that I was rooting for Kacie B, and while we were walking downtown, he pointed out the Tennessee sign that they showed in her introduction video. I think he’s a keeper!