Saying I love Charlotte is an understatement. It has to be one of my favorite cities ever, and every time I visit I find myself loving it more. My family has been going to one Carolina Panthers game a year for almost 15 years now, and we have become fans of the team and the city. This year’s trip to Charlotte was for a different team. Our favorite UTK Volunteers played West Virginia in the Belk College Kickoff in the Panthers stadium.
One of my favorite aspects of Charlotte is the people. Everyone is incredibly nice and welcoming! It’s a big city without being too big. I never feel lost or scared or overwhelmed when we are walking to and from places.
This trip was short, but those are my favorite kind of vacations. I’m pretty sure I would rather take ten weekend trips than have one week long vacation.
I thought I would recap our 48 hours in Charlotte to give some recommendations if anyone is traveling there soon and for my own memory!
We left Knoxville around 5, and traffic was horrible. When we finally made it to Charlotte, it was too late and we were too tired to do anything. We did stay in the Hilton at University Center, and it was just outside of the city- perfect distance to get an Uber.
On Saturday morning we got an early start. This French bakery was our destination, and it was the perfect spot to get a game day breakfast. There were UT and WVU fans everywhere! The atmosphere was so fun. We all got the build your own breakfast sandwich, and I got the seasonal pecan café crème.
After finishing at the bakery, we headed to 7th Street Public Market, but I wish I had realized it was 95% food and only one shop! I just assumed it would have a mixture of both, but unfortunately we had already ate so there wasn’t much to do there.
We made our way to Bank of America Stadium. What was nice about the game being there was our knowledge of how the stadium is set up and what all is around the area! I got the bottomless popcorn bowl and a hotdog, which is basically my personal heaven.
Unfortunately, the Vols did not win. It was still fun to go to my first away game, and it was a great trip to get the season started!
After the stadium cleared out, we ventured to Tryon street (the best street for food in the city), and ate at McCormick and Schmick’s. It’s a great seafood restaurant!
On Sunday morning, we went to Bricktop’s for brunch, and it was so so good. We had eaten dinner there before, and the brunch lived up to our expectations! I got the avocado toast, but my favorite part was the homemade donuts! So. Good. The restaurant is in a neat shopping center, and it would have been fun to spend some time around there!
Then we were on our way back to Rocky Top! I am so happy we got to make this trip to support our Vols! I had a great time with my parents, and I am so thankful they let me be their roadtrip buddy!
