My Commons Life

News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here

Nashville Wanderers

Walker Tries to Feed a Venus Flytrap?! (or We Visit Bicentennial State Park)

by

It’s officially the last Nashville Wanderer’s post of the year! We’ve explored a lot of places throughout our first year at Vanderbilt, making great memories along the way, and hopefully, through these posts, we’ve inspired you to travel off campus as well. This week Walker and I decided to pack a lot into one post, so we went and visited one of our favorite places in Nashville: the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. Not to be confused with Centennial Park, Bicentennial is located right down the hill past the Tennessee State Capitol. It’s a bit of a hike if you decide to walk — about 45 minutes (which I still highly recommend) — but only a short eight-minute ride if you decide to Uber. Since the 19-acre park is so beautiful and has a multitude of attractions, I made a list to cover as many of the features as I could. Bicentennial has got:

  • The Greek-inspired Tennessee Amphitheatre
  • The Nashville Farmers’ Market
  • The Court of Three Stars (the center has an echo spot like Upper Quad) surrounded by a Carillon of 50 Greek-styled bell towers
  • Rivers of Tennessee Splash Fountains
  • A 200-foot-wide Granite Map of Tennessee
  • A World War II Memorial with an 18,000-ton moving granite globe
  • The Tennessee State Museum right across from the Court of Three Stars

For our trip, Walker and I spent our time exploring the Tennessee State Museum, the Court of Three Stars and bell towers, and the Nashville Farmers’ Market. We started at the museum, which is free to the public, and were immediately blown away by the structure and detail of the exhibits. Music, racial movements, the Civil War, sports, clothing through the decades, paintings, and even quilting (I still don’t know why quilting was involved) were covered in the wonderfully arranged displays of Tennessee’s origins and past. The museum had plenty of interactive screens and videos that covered each exhibit and also had plenty of photo-worthy architecture as well (the place is so huge that I honestly lost Walker for a solid ten minutes).

Before we left the museum, we hit up the children’s area (you should not be surprised by this point) and it honestly had some of the coolest art from the entire place. While the general exhibits had lots of history, the children’s area had all of the bright murals one would look for. The floor was covered by a giant map of Tennessee and the walls had multiple colorful pieces on them; one of them even included the Batman Building, but Walker failed at getting my photo next to it (rip).

After chilling at the museum for a while, we headed over to the park itself to check out the WWII memorial. As mentioned above, the WWII memorial has a giant, heavy black granite globe in the center of it, showing the places around the world that Tennessee troops went to during the war. The memorial is surrounded by cherry blossom trees and leads the way to the Court of Three Stars.

This area is so cool to experience because one direction you’ve got a beautiful lawn leading up to the State Capitol hill, and the other way you have 50 Greek-inspired columns that encircle a humongous granite version of the Tennessee Tristar. The lawn was undergoing construction when we visited this time (hence the lack of photos), but from past visits, I can assure you that it is a sight you will want to see while at Vanderbilt.

For our last stop, we hopped into the Nashville Farmers’ Market to check out some of the cool printing shops and local businesses inside. We had grabbed food at Commons before we left (gotta get that swipe), but the market also has bubble tea, crepes, Mexican, coffee, Jamaican, Korean, BBQ, a deli/grill, Jeni’s ice cream, and more. Since we weren’t eating anything there, we shopped, took some artsy photos with a magazine (check below), and then headed to the outside market and garden center.

The outside market hosts a lot of events throughout the year, and although there was no specific event the day we were there, they had some food trucks and neighborhood vendors selling their art (I got a bag of scrap fabric for only $5). The garden center, Gardens of Babylon, has actually been rated one of the most environmentally friendly businesses in Nashville. It was so fun to see all of the different kinds of plants (some were the same ones from Stevenson’s greenhouse) and shop around for flowers and succulents. Walker and I also spent a shameful seven minutes trying to get a mini Venus flytrap to eat a leaf (it did not work). But all jokes aside, I will definitely be hitting this place up for some affordable house plants for next year and recommend the same for anyone else.

Bicentennial State Park is a jam-packed experience that makes you want to come back time and time again. It is seriously one of the most beautiful places I’ve found in Nashville and I hope that you take the time to see it for yourself. Whether you’re looking for some good food, a scenic place to study, a chance to get to know Tennessee’s rich history, or a new succulent, Bicentennial has got it all and is only a walk away.

Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park Info: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/bicentennial-mall

Tennessee State Museum Hours and Info: https://tnmuseum.org/

Nashville Farmers’ Market Hours and Info: https://www.nashvillefarmersmarket.org/

Walker is a Third Wheel? (Jk We Visit Belmont)

by

Summer is right around the corner! The smell of flowers is everywhere and the humidity is relentless (my hair and I have been at odds for weeks now), but my spirits are high as I have officially pulled out my summer wardrobe (hello shorts!). To embrace the beautiful weather, this Saturday Walker and I, along with my favorite roommate Paige Anderson (also my only roommate), visited Belmont University to explore the campus and attend their annual Belmont Block Party. The event lasted from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Belmont Boulevard and celebrated businesses such as Proper Bagel, Bongo Java, Local Honey, Topgolf, and King of Pops with giveaways. It was a blast and a half and although this particular event has already passed, I would highly recommend searching for similar events in the area. Calendar events like this are all over Facebook and Instagram, easy to find, and 100% worth the experience. Plus, who doesn’t love getting free stuff?

Now, for those of you who have yet to hit up Belmont University, let me tell you why you should. The campus is only a 13-minute walk or a 5-minute scooter ride away from Commons (totally doable) and is basically the picture-perfect college you thought you’d attend when you were eleven years old. Gone are the horrors of ugly construction projects like there is around every turn of Vandy. In fact, Belmont’s got everything. It’s got historic buildings and landscaping for days with perfectly manicured lawns (I love you, Alumni Lawn, I truly do, but you’ve got nothing on Belmont), flowers everywhere, and fountains galore. Belmont has so many fountains that I think they could legitimately solve California’s water shortage if they just donated them all.

My favorite part of the university, however, is the gazebos that sit on the lawn in front of the Belmont Mansion. A portion of the architecture on the campus has been there since the 1860s, back when the campus was still the Acklen estate, and the gazebos show some of the beautiful designs that are still in great shape today. We went to go take photos in the gazebos, but we had to wait a while for a couple of prom groups to go through their photos. While waiting, I was inspired and Paige and I ended up taking some prom-style photos ourselves. Walker, on the other hand, blew us away with a few poses of his own (see the photos down below).

For dinner, we stayed in the area to try a restaurant called Blvd Nashville, and it was so unbelievably good. With prices that match Hopdoddy’s, Blvd Nashville has a broader menu, while still killing the classic burger and truffle fries. The patio we were on was so pretty and I honestly could have stayed there for hours. After we left the restaurant, we headed across the street to House Of, which is a student-run boutique that sells designs from local designers and brands. The store has really good prices for being in Nashville, and I ended up leaving with some new laptop stickers. Right next door is Boulevard Record Shop which is as hipster and cool as you’d expect from a record store next to Belmont; all the indie records you don’t know but feel like you should. Belmont Boulevard is a place that I have entirely overlooked since coming to Nashville, but I have a feeling it’ll become a place that I visit often.  

Whether you need a place to study or are just looking for a fun afternoon activity, the Belmont area is definitely worth a visit. And if for no other reason, check it out to see the beautiful place where your tuition dollars could have been going instead. Anchor Down!

(This post is in no way reflective of my views of the Belmont campus versus Vanderbilt’s. I anchor down for life and hope you do too)

Walker and I Get Our Inner Horse Girls On? (or We Visit the Frist)

by

With all of the lovely weather that graced us this last week, Walker and I decided to head downtown and get our class on at the Frist Art Museum. With our luck, we planned our trip on the one cloudy and humid day of the entire week, but regardless, the museum was a sight to see. Located near the front of downtown, the Frist is about a 30-minute walk or a seven-minute drive, depending on how you want to get there (10/10 would recommend walking and hitting up McDonald’s for a $1 ice cream cone on the way). As Vandy students we get free admission — you’ll need your Commodore card as proof — and with your sick new wristbands (peep the photos) you’ll have access to the entire museum.

Now normally I’d recommend setting aside an hour or two to experience all of the beautiful art that the place has to offer, but due to an event that was starting soon, Walker and I only had 45 minutes to make it through everything. It was a hard task considering that everything is so regal and beautiful, but we did our best to document the hotspots of the trip (one of which was their insanely classy bathrooms … yes I did take a mirror selfie in it … I am only a little ashamed).

  • classy af
  • whoops…

The lower level exhibits of the museum are currently showcasing Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art, which ended up being a glorified animal painting fest with lots of doggos and cattle painted onto canvases. The best part of the lower exhibits, however, was a multi-room gallery dedicated solely to nineteenth-century horses. I don’t know whether “horse” is the museum’s new theme at the moment, but there were so many of said animal that I felt like I was in a horse girl’s dream and couldn’t find my way out. That being said, I got some bomb.com photos with the paintings and was able to find my way out in a speedy five minutes without hating the overwhelming aura of “stallions” too much (this may be me being a bit dramatic, the paintings are nice, I swear).

  • so. many. good. boys.
  • more horses?

Next, we went up to the second level to walk through the Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing exhibit. This exhibit focused on the documentary photographer, Dorothea Lange, whose breathtaking black and white portraits worked to expose injustice and inequalities in the twentieth century.

After making our way through the photographs, we ended up at my personal favorite place in the museum: the interactive children’s exhibit. We ended up spending 35 minutes of the entire 45 minutes we had at the museum in this area, and I do not regret a single thing. From a stop motion station to light boards and a portrait drawing circle (surprise, surprise, where you could draw horses), this place truly has it all. Now I’ve been waiting to hit up this area of the Frist since I first heard about it, so it might have just been me, but I could have spent hours in there. There was this sick heat motion sensor wall that worked kind of like how an Xbox Kinect does when it detects your body moving and we attempted multiple still shots including spelling out YMCA (Walker forgot how to spell and ruined it) and anchoring down (an even bigger fail).

This took us way more takes than it should’ve.

Walker’s favorite station was a soundwave board that moved sand into different patterns on the board as it changed frequencies, while mine was the stop-motion station where we created a short film. I tried to document it on video for the blog, but we accidentally hit delete instead of replay 🙁 (shoutout to the eight-year-old boy who tried to help us recover it even though we all knew it was too late).

  • we accidentally deleted it

What I love about the art museum is that you can go to appreciate the details and effort behind the paintings and photographs, or you can go to have a fun time making up stories about why each piece was created. Either way, as long as you’re respectful of the people around you, the guards are extremely nice and enjoy seeing people interact with the art. So whether you end up checking out the Frist for the art galleries inside, or just for the architecture of the building itself (which is beautiful and 100% photo-worthy), the Frist Art Museum will not disappoint. If you have a free afternoon or weekend and you are looking for something fun to do downtown, I’d highly recommend checking it out.

Frist Art Museum Hours:https://fristartmuseum.org/visit/hours-directions

McDonald’s Hours: Open 24/7… SO GET THAT CONE!

Walker Makes A Mixtape?!?! (aka We Visit the Country Music Hall of Fame)

by

By: Nashville Wanderers

With the weather warming up and spring right around the corner (my inner Minnesotan is so confused right now), Walker and I decided to head downtown for this week’s blog. As country music fans, and more importantly, Peter Cooper fans (the museum’s senior director as well as our very own History of Country Music professor) we’ve been meaning to hit up the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for a while. The museum is located directly across from Bridgestone Arena and is surrounded by other awesome Nashville hotspots. It’s around a 45-minute walk or a 14-minute scooter ride but let me tell you: it’s so worth the trip. This has hands down been one of my favorite experiences in downtown Nashville and I hope that everyone takes a chance to check it out!

Now for an important tip before I begin. Lucky for us Vandy students, we have free access to the entire museum (shoutout to my man, Peter Cooper), but there’s a specific way to get it. When you get up to the front desk, tell the staff that you’re a Vanderbilt student (bring your Commodore Card for proof) and say that you’re looking for their “Passport to Nashville” deal with the university. If you don’t mention the name of the program directly, they aren’t supposed to give you a free ticket, so don’t forget this!

For our trip, Walker had scored us two tickets to see a live interview with Emmylou Harris and her Hot Band in the CMA theater inside the museum (which was led by Peter Cooper, because who else at this point?), and it was fantastic. The CMA theater doesn’t have events very often, but I would highly recommend attending when they do.

The self-guided tour starts on the third level of the building where you will promptly meet a door that leads to a Taylor Swift exhibit. Among many things, it includes two of her costumes from her “Look What You Made Me Do” music video which was super exciting to see. Past her exhibit, however, is where you’ll find all of the original country music stars. Rows and rows of glass cases are filled with instruments and clothing owned by the most influential country music artists of all time. They’ve got glass cases for Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells, Elvis Presley, DeFord Bailey, Charley Pride, and more. You name a country artist, and they’ve got a costume and guitar from them.

  • Don Gibson
  • Elvis Presley

As you can see in the photos below, Walker and I found that the second floor was definitely our favorite. Along with the museum’s advertised Outlaw Movement exhibit (shoutout to the billboard on Hillsboro that advertises it), interactive screens and games all over the place. The interactive sites include creating your own song title, writing a song (where we, of course, spelled aNcHoR dOwN), finding your future music-related job, designing an album cover with your face on it (scroll down to see Walker’s horrifying album cover), and recording your own demo in a definitely not soundproof “recording booth” karaoke station (two of the four song options are Taylor Swift songs? … there might be a trend here.)

  • ANCHOR DOWN
  • Inside the Karaoke Booth
  • Walker’s New Single
  • The Outside of the Interactive Station
  • Walker is Destined to be a Music Producer

Another part of the second floor was dedicated to artists starting from the 1990s to today. Toby Keith’s shirt that he wore in “I Love This Bar,” Carrie Underwood’s dress she wore during the finale of American Idol, and Taylor Swift’s dress from “Love Story,” are some of the many iconic memorabilia that are kept there.

  • Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift
  • Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill

One of the more random things in the modern country exhibit was a giant guitar that you could climb inside, and of course, photos were immediately taken. I accidentally walked in front of a seven-year-old girl to get said photo and that is the moment that I realized I needed to chill out a bit — my photo still looked bomb though (thanks Walker). Next to the guitar is a beautiful view glass window view of downtown where I attempted to have Walker take a photo of me pointing to the Batman Building (only my favorite building in all of Nashville). Sadly, he’s still working on his photography skills, so I had to (poorly) edit the photo to do the building justice (please excuse my wonky hand).

  • After editing (aka I’m good at editing) 🙂
  • Pre-editing (aka Walker sucks at photography)

The best part about the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is that it never gets tiring. There are so many artists to appreciate, exhibits to view, and activities to try that you learn something new every time. Walker and I have already gone back since our first trip (cause free trips are the best trips) and it feels just as inspiring and fun walking through again. So if you’re looking for a good time, trying to learn anything about the music history of Nashville, or you just really want to be surrounded by Taylor Swift promotion, the Country Music Hall of Fame is the place for you.

And a quick note to my man Peter: you guys either really know how to market to the teen girl demographic, or you are using your chair as senior director to proclaim your love to Taylor. Either way, I love it.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Hours: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/visit/hours#.XJmuflxKg2w

Peter Cooper’s History of Country Music Class:

1640 History of Country Music