Ah, Atlanta. For not being city folks, we are rather fond of this place. We visited in the first weekend in June for the
Indie Craft Experience. Since it also coincided with my birthday weekend, we decided to be all extravagant, and to just have a good time. And so we did....
We arrived quite late on Friday (much later than planned), so we literally went to the hotel and crashed. We were at ICE all day on Saturday. After leaving Saturday night, we headed to Inman Park as Wayne had made reservations for us. We arrived a bit early and walked around. It really is a gorgeous part of town. All big stately buildings and historic homes.
And in the midst of it is this cute little set of buildings that includes the restaurant Wayne chose,
Wisteria, and a small bar.
The inside of Wisteria is just as charming as the exterior - lots of brick and an overall cozy, warm feeling.
The wait staff were great and the food was....well...incredible is the only word. I tried desperately to take pictures to share with everyone, but as it got later, the light just wasn't sufficient. I did get this one picture of what Wayne declared to be the best appetizer he's ever had (and I'm in agreement): A caramelized vidalia onion tart served with local cheese.
Wayne had fish and I had a vegetable plate that included (and I'm not kidding you) 10 different vegetables. Each one was perfectly done. We are hoping to be able to go back soon with my parents in tow as I think they'll love it.
On Sunday morning we had a bit of time before we had to be back at ICE, so I suggested we head to
Ria's Bluebird for breakfast. It is a tiny place...diner-y looking.
But oh, the comfort food. Check out Wayne's stack of chocolate chip pancakes:
And my incredible nutella cream cheese stuffed brioche french toast with caramelized bananas. Yep, it was just as amazing as it sounds.
After breakfast, we were definitely feeling like a walk was in order, so we headed up the street. I paused at the scooter below sitting quietly outside. Why? Because it's adorable.
Just a few steps away was the entrance to the
Historic Oakland Cemetery. It is gorgeous and although the light wasn't great (quite a bit too bright), we spent quite some time walking around and taking pictures.
I loved the fact that you were surrounded by these incredibly old gravestones and all the history that comes with them, but could still see downtown.
The cemetery has a series of benches and furniture that look incredibly peaceful. I could see spending hours sitting quietly communing and contemplating.
Close to the visitor's center is a fountain that was simultaneously appealing and creepy. The little girl could be cute and having fun, but she has no eyes. I'm not sure this would be bothersome to anyone else? Maybe I'm special.
This was a typical headstone...take a look at the years.
Wayne took the shot below and I love the way that light was falling on the grave stone.
Toward the center of the cemetery are the graves of confederate soldiers.
I took this photo and then pulled Wayne over to see the person who was buried with his dog. He giggled and explained to the total clueless sport person (that would be me) that the statue is a Georgia Bulldog. As in the team. Ooops.
And finally, the Mausoleums. The doors were absolutely gorgeous.
Time caught up with us and we had to depart to make it back to ICE before it opened. I would like to return to Oakland Cemetery at some point when we have more time (and better light) to wander around. Honestly, I think it was my first visit to a cemetery...ever. I've always imagined them as creepy places that one should avoid. I think after dark I would still feel the same, but in daylight this one is lovely and peaceful.
Although we were planning to stay over on Sunday night and spend Monday playing in Atlanta, for complicated reasons we had to head home early. On the way out of town we stopped at
Tamarind Seed for a quick farewell Atlanta dinner. We just got lucky with this one - I literally pulled up the GPS, choose Asian food, and went to the closest place. It turned out that the GPS seems to have good taste.
We started with fresh veggies spring rolls.
I had the Pad Thai with Tofu that was partially consumed before the picture and Wayne had an amazing dish of Chilean Sea bass in a fantastic curry sauce.
We ended with a small chocolate mousse cake. Clearly not very thai-themed, but it had (what I'm going to pretend is) a little J on top in honor of my birthday.
We didn't get quite the trip we had planned, but it was definitely an enjoyable (and immensely indulgent) one all the same. Honestly, cutting it short only gives us the perfect excuse to head back soon. :)
And in the midst of it is this cute little set of buildings that includes the restaurant Wayne chose, Wisteria, and a small bar.
The inside of Wisteria is just as charming as the exterior - lots of brick and an overall cozy, warm feeling.
The wait staff were great and the food was....well...incredible is the only word. I tried desperately to take pictures to share with everyone, but as it got later, the light just wasn't sufficient. I did get this one picture of what Wayne declared to be the best appetizer he's ever had (and I'm in agreement): A caramelized vidalia onion tart served with local cheese.
Wayne had fish and I had a vegetable plate that included (and I'm not kidding you) 10 different vegetables. Each one was perfectly done. We are hoping to be able to go back soon with my parents in tow as I think they'll love it.
On Sunday morning we had a bit of time before we had to be back at ICE, so I suggested we head to Ria's Bluebird for breakfast. It is a tiny place...diner-y looking.
But oh, the comfort food. Check out Wayne's stack of chocolate chip pancakes:
And my incredible nutella cream cheese stuffed brioche french toast with caramelized bananas. Yep, it was just as amazing as it sounds.
After breakfast, we were definitely feeling like a walk was in order, so we headed up the street. I paused at the scooter below sitting quietly outside. Why? Because it's adorable.
Just a few steps away was the entrance to the Historic Oakland Cemetery. It is gorgeous and although the light wasn't great (quite a bit too bright), we spent quite some time walking around and taking pictures.
I loved the fact that you were surrounded by these incredibly old gravestones and all the history that comes with them, but could still see downtown.
The cemetery has a series of benches and furniture that look incredibly peaceful. I could see spending hours sitting quietly communing and contemplating.
Close to the visitor's center is a fountain that was simultaneously appealing and creepy. The little girl could be cute and having fun, but she has no eyes. I'm not sure this would be bothersome to anyone else? Maybe I'm special.
This was a typical headstone...take a look at the years.
Wayne took the shot below and I love the way that light was falling on the grave stone.
Toward the center of the cemetery are the graves of confederate soldiers.
I took this photo and then pulled Wayne over to see the person who was buried with his dog. He giggled and explained to the total clueless sport person (that would be me) that the statue is a Georgia Bulldog. As in the team. Ooops.
And finally, the Mausoleums. The doors were absolutely gorgeous.
Time caught up with us and we had to depart to make it back to ICE before it opened. I would like to return to Oakland Cemetery at some point when we have more time (and better light) to wander around. Honestly, I think it was my first visit to a cemetery...ever. I've always imagined them as creepy places that one should avoid. I think after dark I would still feel the same, but in daylight this one is lovely and peaceful.
Although we were planning to stay over on Sunday night and spend Monday playing in Atlanta, for complicated reasons we had to head home early. On the way out of town we stopped at Tamarind Seed for a quick farewell Atlanta dinner. We just got lucky with this one - I literally pulled up the GPS, choose Asian food, and went to the closest place. It turned out that the GPS seems to have good taste.
We started with fresh veggies spring rolls.
I had the Pad Thai with Tofu that was partially consumed before the picture and Wayne had an amazing dish of Chilean Sea bass in a fantastic curry sauce.
We ended with a small chocolate mousse cake. Clearly not very thai-themed, but it had (what I'm going to pretend is) a little J on top in honor of my birthday.
We didn't get quite the trip we had planned, but it was definitely an enjoyable (and immensely indulgent) one all the same. Honestly, cutting it short only gives us the perfect excuse to head back soon. :)