Hotlanta

My aunt and uncle recently purchased an amazing home just minutes from downtown Atlanta that they want to share with the family.  This was my first visit to Atlanta in 13+ years and Evan's first visit ever.

Our Itinerary (August 18 - 20, 2011)

Thursday, August 18

We spent most of the day on the road but arrived in Atlanta at a reasonable time - 5:45pm.  We spent the evening touring my aunt and uncle's home, which is magnificent.  It looks like something out of a Home & Garden magazine.

For dinner, my aunt S took us to a local, Southern food restaurant called Nancy G's.  She picked it specifically because they put a fresh and healthy spin on low country food.  Right off the bat, I really liked the atmosphere.  It was very relaxed and cozy.  I got the grilled pork chop with smashed potatoes (I'm not sure if there's a difference between this and mashed potatoes) and squash casserole, topped with an apple chutney.  My aunt S had the dish before and recommended it.  I rarely, if ever, have pork chops.  It's really hard to make without drying out the meat.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the meat flavorful, tender, and juicy.

Evan and I split a banana pudding for dessert, which was also very yummy.  Evan must have been trying to butter me up because he said my version was better.  :)

When we returned home Evan and I reserved our tickets for the CNN Studio Tour the following day.  In retrospect, we probably should have gotten the Atlanta CityPASS.  Unfortunately, I felt like there wasn't a perfect pass for us.  We could've chosen some other passes that covered two out of the three main attractions (CNN, Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium) but then we would've paid full price on the third place.  If we had done the CityPASS than we would've paid to see five places even though we only wanted to see three.  I think they could make it a little easier on people and create a pass for the big three.  Period.

Friday, August 20

We drove downtown and parked in a garage for $10.  From there we walked through Centennial Olympic Park to the CNN building.  We had reservations for the second earliest tour of the day - 9:20am.  I had done this tour years ago in 1995 when I was 13.  I remember really loving the tour then.  I didn't not love the tour this time around but I wasn't nearly as impressed.  It's neat to see the worker bees (producers, cameramen, anchors) doing their thing but for the most part, you don't get to see much.  Something else that's disappointing is that most of the well-known anchors are in NYC.  That being said, it's a novel experience and something most would enjoy.

When we left the CNN building we walked back through Centennial Olympic Park and visited the information center.  Prior to the 1996 Olympics my grandmother had bought bricks to be engraved with our names.  These bricks and so many others make up the walkways in the park.  In the past couple of years they established a database system so I was able to search for our names and then find the corresponding section, which was neat. 

Our next stop was the World of Coca-Cola.  I absolutely LOVED this museum when I visited it years ago.  Unfortunately, they completely re-built/-re-did the museum and now it's no longer what it once was.  Today's Coca-Cola museum is very commercialized, kid-centric, and superficial.  They introduce the self-guided exhibit with a mandatory 10 minute film, which is utterly stupid and left us scratching our heads.  It was a goofy cartoon that was meant to be a sing-a-long but nothing about it was catchy or cute.  

One of my favorite aspects of the original museum was its continuous display of Coca-Cola commercials.  At the new museum they have some radio announcer guy who introduces and explains the commercials.  It's completely unnecessary and frankly, patronizing.  Instead of taking the opportunity to further promote themselves, Coca-Cola should have spent more time informing and educating.  

All that being said, there are still some "fun" aspects to the museum like the tasting room and the artwork/decorative coke bottles from all over the world.  

Lastly, we made our way over to the Georgia Aquarium.  Something really convenient is that all three buildings are part of one big square - the Centennial Olympic Park being the middle piece.  The Georgia Aquarium is definitely geared toward children but since Evan and I are kids at heart and we love animals, we really enjoyed the different exhibits.  We petted a sting ray, which was kind of soft/slimy.  

One of my favorite exhibits featured beluga whales.  That Raffi song, Baby Beluga, made a big impact on my young life...haha.  They seem like such expressive and sweet creatures.  If I had kids I'd certainly take advantage of the opportunities the Aquarium offers like sleeping overnight or hands-on interaction with the beluga whales or dolphins.  

We also had lunch at the Aquarium, which I would not recommend...

The picture quality is terrible, but look at the smiling beluga:

Another exhibit:

Here are some decorative dolphins that were on display outside:

We came back home to relax and cool off and then decided later that we were too tired to go out again for dinner.  My aunt S very kindly went out and picked up some food from Zoe's Kitchen.  It's a chain and we have one in our area but I had never tried it before.  I was under the mistaken impression that it was mostly vegetarian food.  Evan and I shared two sandwiches - the Gruben and the Turkey Stack - both of which were delicious.  We also split the chocolate chip cookie.  Awesome.  We'll be eating there a lot from now on. 

Saturday, August 20

We spent most of today with my aunt S visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and the Atlanta Historical Center.  The gardens were really lovely and the cafe served light/healthy food.

The Historical Center had some interesting exhibits.  I particularly liked the ones covering the Civil War and Margaret Mitchell - I'm a big fan of Gone With the Wind.  There's an historical house, the Swan House, that is part of the Historical Center.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to take an interior tour because they were booked up by the time we arrived.  Still, I was able to take some exterior pictures. 

  

We closed out our final evening with dinner at Flip Burger Boutique.  My aunt S got the lamburger, I got the bacon cheeseburger, and Evan got the local burger.  Everything we had was delicious.  We topped off our meals with two shakes - nutella and burnt marshmallow and strawberry shortcake.  I love nutella but I prefer it as a spread.  I didn't even bother to try the strawberry shortcake because I'm not a fan of strawberries.  As much as I liked the food and appreciated the appropriately sized portions (small to medium), I wasn't a fan of the decor.  It was extremely modern and I thought, cold.  When I think of a burger joint, I think of comfort. 

And as if we hadn't had enough sweetness with our shakes, we swung by Gigi's Cupcakes, which is in the same shopping center as Flip Burger.  We picked up the "Vegas Wedding" cupcake - vanilla on vanilla with sprinkles - and saved it for a late evening snack.  It was absolutely amazing.  And we made the right decision splitting it because it was entirely too much sweetness for one person.  

Because I hadn't been to Atlanta in so many years this visit was almost like a first-time visit.  I was really impressed with how green Atlanta is.  It seems to be chock-full of great food joints and shopping but there's also the sense that you can close the door to your house, just minutes from downtown, and have some quiet.  I found that very appealing.  There's a nice balance. 

I imagine we'll be going to Atlanta more frequently in the coming years.  There's a lot more to see and eat!