I grew up just outside of Atlanta and have to say that when it comes to a "staycation", I am pretty lucky to be able to call Atlanta "home"! Hubby and I are expecting our first little baby girl here in a few weeks and we decided that Atlanta would be the perfect spot for our babymoon... our last hurrah before she arrives. We were given a two-night stay at a ::swanky:: Atlanta hotel for Christmas, so once we had a date chosen, it was simply a matter of packing a bag and driving 30 minutes south. We decided to grab a bite to eat at a local haunt in Kennesaw first. Our doctor appointment had ran later than we both expected (little Miss is doing great!), and by the time we got out, we didn't want to have to wait even longer to eat. So we headed to
Cherokee Cattle Co first. It was a great choice and the perfect way to start off our weekend! And then we were highway bound!
We got down to North Avenue just as the sun was setting (and creating a beautiful sunset). I snapped this picture in my side-view mirror, just in case we missed it later. The hotel we were going to stay at, the
Renaissance Atlanta Midtown, was located right near to Biltmore Hotel and the Ga Tech campus' Barnes & Noble. We found a great place to park the car that felt safe and convenient and then walked the block to the hotel. When we walked in, we immediately started to relax! The place was very swanky, and when I found out that we had a 16th floor King room with a city view, I just about swooned. lol. I made an audible "Oooooo" that had the receptionist smiling (suburb girl goes to the big city... yikes). Then we made our way up and found our paradise. I loved the view! I loved the bed, and the pillows were fabo! This was going to be a great weekend! We decided to
just ::chill:: for the evening, and made plans for our big day in the city to happen on Saturday.
We woke up and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant: Briza. Yumm! The ambiance was very pretty and modern and the food was delish! I had the Abercrombie Benedict (fried green tomato topped with ham hock, greens, hollandaise and a jalapeno) and hubby had the regular Eggs Benedict. Both were great, and the fact that it was included with our stay made it even better! After a satisfying meal, we took off and headed out towards MARTA for our jaunt to the heart of the city. It'd been years since I'd riden on MARTA (back when I would commute to GSU as a freshman), and while sometimes a bit shady, it was horribly convenient. And it provides a great opportunity for people-watching! Once we got downtown, we headed out towards CNN and the Centennial Park district. Our first stop was CNN for the tour (which was great by the way), and then we crossed the park, waved at the ferris wheel, and toured the new-ish World of Coke. Both venues were extremely interesting and provided just enough "tourist-fare" for our curiosity.
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| North Avenue Station |
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| Waitin' on the train! |
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| Before the CNN tour! |
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| People doing work! Look at all of those computer screens... |
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| ::oh so attractive:: |
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| G in front of the WoC |
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| On the way to the vault that holds the "secret formula". |
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| Fun with visual effects! |
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| Just before the 4-D film! :) |
After our late morning outing that was quickly turning into an early afternoon experience, we decided that lunch was in order, and maybe a rest. We decided to head back towards MARTA with the hopes of being able to make it back to the hotel. (This mamma-to-be was starting to get tired, and that super-soft bed was sounding better by the minute.) So we made it to the Peachtree Center Station area and decided to dine at
Jalapeno Charlies which had a nice patio a floor up from street level so we could dine al fresco and watch the people pass by. And this weekend was a particularly good weekend for passer-bys because apparently there was a "
Furry Convention" going on right down the street so there were tons of people dressed up as giant stuffed animals, complete with big, fluffy tails. It was quite a sight! And we even ::considered:: popping in for a moment, but again, rest sounded good. So we headed back to the hotel for our siesta.
Hours later, we were all rested and refreshed and ready for dinner! We didn't want to go far, and we definitely didn't want to drive anywhere (and have to re-park), so we used the UrbanSpoon app on our phone and found a little place literally around the corner that sounded promising.
Cypress Street Pint & Plate was actually quite the find! First of all, it was packed and have a great patio, but we ventured inside and found a booth along the back wall. The was a huge bar in the middle, a few tvs scattered about, and people everywhere. It had a great feel to it! And the food was fabulous! When we had first checked out the menu, it sounded promising, but they definitely delivered greatness! We started with the fried truffle mushrooms (and had enough to feed an army), and then each had a burger. I had the "Pickleback" which features lovely fried dill pickles. And G had the "Sublime Burger" which was essentially a bacon cheeseburger with two donuts as the bun. This preggers was dying for a bite, and my goodness, it was heavenly albeit messy. The service was great and fast, and eventhough the place was noisy, I'd go back in a heartbeat!
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| "Sublime Burger" |
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| "Pickleback" with Greens |
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| Specials and entrance to Cypress Street Pint & Plate |
The next morning, we had breakfast at Briza again and then finished our staycation with a visit to IKEA. We found a few essentials and then made our way back up to the burbs. All in all, it was an amazing weekend and the perfect opportunity to relax and still see some sights and enjoy some great food!
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| Yay for reflective surfaces!! |
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| A cloudy Sunday morning. |
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| :selfie:: |
Now, we are ready for the next adventure!
She'll be here before we know it.
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| Little Miss at 28 weeks! |
