I did a roadtrip through the deep south in the USA with my friend Hanna and it was absolutely amazing. It is such a special and different place than any other place I have ever been to and it so worth to visit. Just have a look at all the places I’ve been and maybe it is something for you as well 😉
Orlando
Our first stop was Orlando, Florida. Orlando itself is not much, you just have to go there for the amazing parks out there such as SeaWorld, Disney World, Universal Studio’s or many others. We were there for two nights. We arrived pretty late that day after a ten hour flight so that day was basically gone. The next day we went to Universal Studio’s which is absolutely amazing. Be aware that the tickets are pretty expensive.
Tallahassee
Our next stop was Tallahassee and we had actually no idea what was out there. It was our first day of driving our rental car and that was pretty exciting. On our way to Tallahassee we visited Silver Springs. Silver Springs is often called the gateway to the Ocala National Forest, the second largest, most southern National Forest east of the Mississippi. The springs feeds into the Silver River, a 4.5 mile stream that flows east from the springs to the Ocklawaha river. We also did the boat ride with the glass bottom, so you can check out the clear water underneath you. We also saw an alligator there, which means it’s not the best idea to swim 😉 Tallahassee itself wasn’t that special actually. You had some pretty historic houses up there, but we were pretty late and we just had diner and drinks.
Pensacola
The next day we went to Pensacola and the city is known for its beach, so that’s where we went! We had some cloudy days and sometimes even rain (or you can better say showers!) so it was nice to catch some sun and relax on the beach. We had a lovely lunch and then went chillin’ in the sand.
New Orléans
New Orléans was definitely the highlight of the vacation. What an amazing cool, beautiful and fun city that is. It really topped my expectations. We were there for two nights, which was cool because there were so many bars and restaurants to check out there. New Orléans is known for its live music and man, there’s a lot of live music. Basically everywhere you go is live music. On the street, in bars, in restaurants, in hotels. It’s just so much fun. Other than that,it is also a very beautiful city with so many beautiful colored houses and balconies. Bourbon Street is the place to be and BB King’s Blues Club is really cool and if you are looking for the most famous beignets in town, go to Café Du Monde 😉
Vicksburg
The next day we went on our way to Vicksburg and along the way we went to a very beautiful plantation called Oak Alley Plantation. Oak Alley Plantation is a historic plantation located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in the community of Vacherie, St. James Parish, Louisiana, U.S. Oak Alley is named for its distinguishing visual feature, an alley (French allée) or canopied path, created by a double row of southern live oak trees about 800 feet (240 meters) long, planted in the early 18th century — long before the present house was built. The allée or tree avenue runs between the home and the River. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture and landscaping, and for the agricultural innovation of grafting pecan trees, performed here in 1846–47 by an enslaved gardener. The plantation that you see in the movies? Well this is exactly how you would imagine it. Really worth to visit! We arrived late in Vicksburg, which was fine because there wasn’t much special there. We ended up in a cool roof top restaurant that had an amazing view.
Memphis
Then we went off to Memphis, which we were very excited about. We went to Graceland, the house of the King called Elvis Presley. I was really amazed by Graceland and it felt somehow very special to be there. Not only can you go on a tour in the house, there are also exhibitions about him, you can see his cars, his costumes, just everything. It was just very special and if you ever get the chance to go to Memphis, visit Graceland. At night we went to Beale Street Historic District, which is also a street where there are many bars and restaurants that offer live music and Southern food.
Nashville
I always wanted to go to Nashville and the time finally came. We went on a tour bus to see the city, which was pretty nice. We also drove through music alley, which is a street with a ton of recording studio’s. This is the place where a lot of artists record their music. It was really fun to see that the studio’s looked like houses, but they were actual studio’s. The place to be in Nashville was Broadway, which was also a street with a ton of bars and restaurants that almost all offered great live music.
Asheville
On our way to Asheville, we drove through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. It is completely free of charge and everybody can drive through it. You had plenty of stops to stop so you could enjoy the view and the surroundings. You can also walk through the park, but there’s a chance you run into a bear, so we didn’t do that. We arrived late in Asheville so we went straight to a restaurant for diner where I had this amazing pasta with lobster 🙂
Charleston
Charleston was cute. We went on a historic carriage tour through the city which was really nice and we strolled through the city. Charleston has pretty houses and the vibe is relaxing. At night we had diner at a pub.
Savannah
The next day we went to Savannah, which was suprisingly a very fun and beautiful city. I had no expectations at all, but Savannah was just really beautiful and had a ton of shops, bars and restaurants. It was also fun at night, where we had drinks and were treated to live music again.
St. Augustine
St. Augustine was also a cute city. It is the oldest city of the US, so that was kind of special. The place to be is the historic district with many shops and restaurant. Again, live music obviously 😉
Orlando
Our last stop was Orlando again where we stayed for one more night before we were going home. We went to Disney Springs which is a shopping and dining area with entertainment as well. If you don’t go to Disney World, but you still want some Disney, this is the place to be. It is free of charge and the parking is free as well. We had drinks there at this crazy restaurant that looked like an aquarium including some dinosaurs lol.
The car
Well, this was the car. Not bad right? 😛
Video
Take a look at the video above to have a little impression of the trip 🙂
