Three days in the ATL

A recent business trip took me to Atlanta for the first time. What a charming city! I was not used to driving in a major city - heck, let's be honest, I'm not used to driving at all. As a New Yorker, I think I've driven once or twice a year for the past 5-10 years. But, I obtained my rental car at the airport Hertz, fired up my GPS and took off for downtown Atlanta. At 11pm. In the pitch black. With a GPS that just couldn't navigate the downtown streets.

After a few wrong turns and deep breaths, I made it to the lovely Residence Inn by Marriott Atlanta Downtown. Over the course of my three days in Hotlanta (there's certainly a reason for this nickname!), I visited a few other neighborhoods: Midtown, Buckhead, Virginia Highlands and Inman Park.

View from my room at the Residence Inn Atlanta Downtown

Thursday night, after a several great meetings during the day with local writers, I met up with an old friend who now resides in Atlanta with her fiance. She met me at the hotel and we drove to gorgeous Buckhead for manicures at Sugarcoat, which was one of the nicest nail salons I've ever been to, followed by some delicious sushi at Taka. On the way home, she drove me through some back roads of Buckhead to check out the sprawling mansions scattered along the area's quiet, tree-lined streets.

Friday was a fun-filled day with a group of local bloggers and journalists. We took an Atlanta Culinary Tour, where we got tastings at various Inman Park restaurants. I think my favorite stop on the food tour was a stunning historic local spot, Parish Foods & Goods, where we sampled several desserts, including a to-die-for banana-bread bread pudding.

Upstairs dining area at Parish Foods & Goods

Next, we got pedicures at Sugarcoat's other location in Virginia Highlands - just as lovely as the Buckhead location, with sleek white seating and girly accents. 

Sugarcoat in Virginia Highlands

Finally, we had dinner at Wisteria, where I enjoyed a salad comprised of grilled Georgia peaches and blue cheese. Yum!

Saturday included breakfast at the hotel followed by fond farewells and an eventual flight home, after a long seven and a half hours at the ATL airport due to storms in New York.