Chattanooga Getaway: part 1

Hello strangers!

I think it's about time I posted another blog post. So here you go!

A month ago, Jonathan surprised me by planning a getaway for our 4th wedding anniversary (July 28th). He planned everything and made all of the reservations, and all I had to do was pack my bag and get in the car. I was SO excited, to say the least. :)

The two-night getaway he planned was in Chattanooga, TN...a city that is near and dear to our hearts. Having met at Lee University in Cleveland, TN we spent a lot of our dating and newlywed years in Chattanooga. This was a chance for us to relax and revisit all of our favorite places together.

The drive to Chattanooga from Franklin is absolutely beautiful. Even the drive there brought back many memories of our early years together when we'd travel to Murfreesboro and back to visit with Jonathan's family (or to visit each other during school breaks before we were married).

Upon our arrival, the first stop was to our absolute favorite pizza place, Lupi's Pizza (located on Broad Street in downtown Chatt.)

Everything about Lupi's is amazing. The atmosphere, the service, the locally grown ingredients, and of course, the pizza! I hope this will come true soon!

Every time we go to visit, we ask them when they're coming to Nashville. They always tell us it's in their plans to come our way soon.

One of our favorites to order there is ground beef with feta cheese and fresh basil on the side. Delicious!

Our next stop was to check-in and get settled into our hotel. Husband got an amazing deal on a two night stay at The Chattanoogan. It was wonderful!

After getting ready for the evening, we walked around the Bluff View Art District. 

We spent our first wedding anniversary in Chattanooga as well, so we thought it'd be fun to try and recreate some photos we took from that day. 

2008 - One Year Wedding Anniversary

2011 - Four Year Wedding Anniversary (only I forgot that the '08 photo of husband was taken in front of the brick wall instead of the ivy...oops! But these spots are right next to each other :)

2008 - One Year Wedding Anniversary

2011 - Four Year Wedding Anniversary

Good times!

For dinner, we went to another favorite, Tony's Pasta Shop and Trattoria, located in the Bluff View Art District.

One of my favorite things there is the bread they serve before hand. They bake it with whole garlic cloves right in it. I normally pick out the cloves themselves, but it leaves such a unique garlic taste that most garlic bread seems to lack. And they serve it with olive oil that has fresh parmesan cheese in it! Score!

I normally get the Chicken Tetrazzini, but this time I decided to try something new and go with the Baked Pesto Chicken Ravioli. I was not disappointed! I'm not sure which one is my favorite now, because they are both so good.

Jonathan got the Chicken Parmesan, which he was a huge fan of.

To wrap up our night on the town, we walked around the art district and beyond some more...got some ice cream (at The Icecream Show)...reminisced...and just enjoyed our time together. It was perfect! 

Thank you, Jonathan, for such a wonderful anniversary celebration! I am so thankful and blessed to have you as my husband. I love you so much!

Stay tuned for the rest of our Chattanooga adventure...