Sleeping in the City

The view of Nashville at night from our hotel room

In contrast to popular opinion, I find that my favorite place to fall asleep is in a city hotel. Although most prefer silence when sleeping, I find that the hustle and bustle of city nightlife is the perfect melody to fall sleep. As silly as it sounds there is something comforting about knowing that there are plenty of other people still awake and the world has not stopped moving as I sleep. One of the most recent trips I’ve taken was to the city of Nashville, Tennessee. There the bright neon lights, the hum of country music in the bars, and the constant movement of people proved to be rather peaceful at night. After spending the night walking around on the streets of Broadway and seeing all the Nashville had to offer I couldn’t have been happier to know that when we returned to the hotel I could still faintly hear the sounds of the city. I would assume that John Cage would approve of this view of city sounds. Every car horn, person loudly laughing, raindrop falling, couple whispering, or car door slamming can be thought of as music. It is these everyday sounds of the city that I enjoy most and that which provides me with a good night’s sleep.