P and I had a great getaway weekend in Atlanta. Warm breezes, good food, cooking, museums, and lunch with Julie filled our weekend with happiness! This was the India detox trip and it was just what I needed before buckling down and finishing graduate school! WOW--do I have a great boyfriend or WHAT?
We stayed at the Georgian Terrace, and old hotel in Midtown. It was a beautiful place with a kitchen in the room! We were very excited about the idea of cooking breakfast...until we realized that the hotel wanted to charge us 25 dollars a day to borrow some pots and pans AND 25 dollars a day to loan us plates and silverware! Always the problem solvers we headed over to the grocery store around the corner and found a 12 dollar pan, plastic plates and cutlery, and a much needed knife! The best thing we bought was some seasoned raw shrimp! We asked the woman to add some spices she had sitting on the counter and she happily obliged. These guys cooked up in a flash for a great snack.
We checked out the Botanical Gardens on our first venture out. They had a train exhibit set up outside. It was amazing!
All of these exhitibts were created out of organic materials...and made to look like local attractions. Here is a picture of Turner Field.
We had fun checking out the indoor plants as well. P is standing near this weird tree that has very soft bark.
A lot of plants were from South Africa...making me excited to view the landscape of this country with my own eyes in a few months.
We headed over to check out Olympic Park on other day. During our outing P and I have decided to rate all of the Olympic locations that we visit. Atlanta will be our second following the winter trip we took to Munich. I think we both agree that Munich was much cooler than the area put together in Atlanta. Munich's sky lounge and elaborate glass structures created to cover the swimming pools and other exhibition halls were unbelievable.
Atlanta does have some interesting components. They allowed people to purchase bricks so there are sidewalks made of personalized bricks throughout the park.
The fountain is amazing. It resides on the ground, forming the olympic rings in brick. It is coordinated to music at different times of the day. Its HUGE!
It is a very peaceful place in the middle of this bubbling city. I appreciate the quiet of America so much more after returning from India. We take the clean air and quiet city afternoons for granted here.
Finally, the quilts. There are several of them on one side of the park. Each has a message it is trying to convey. This one is showing the evolution of the Olympics through out time.
Other quilts included tributes to the medal winners, statements about terrorism and the importance of the global event. I imagine these were added after the actual games ended which give the park a sense of historical record not evident in Munich. If anything, the Germans have conveniently forgotten the terrorist incident that occurred on their grounds. There is no tribute or any information available on the kidnapping event that took place there.
All and all it was a GREAT WEEKEND! So wonderful to spend some time with P, see an old friend, relax and check out the city!
