Exploring Hotlanta!

I know “Hotlanta” is probably a term that Atlanta residents are tired of, but we found it to be quite fitting.  The heat and the humidity made it difficult for me to breathe at times.

First we checked into the Residence Inn in downtown.  The building was old, and the hallways smelled funky, but our corner room was pretty nice.

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I liked the lions on the building across from us.

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We also had a partial view of Olympic Park.

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Our first stop was CNN tower.

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The building is pretty huge and impressive.

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They own the Cartoon Network.  So cute!

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The tour includes a ride on what I believe is the tallest free-standing escalator in the world.

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The tour guide showed us some of the inner workings of a news anchor desk.  We also saw the newsroom.  There were some people working, but it was not too busy since it was Sunday afternoon.  Since news happens anytime, there are people working around the clock.  We learned that the news anchors store a week’s worth of clothing in their lockers in case they have to fly out on a moment’s notice.

They also showed a short video montage designed to pull at your heartstrings.  The tour ended in the gift shop, as most tours do.

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Glitter CNN flip flops, anyone?

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Or maybe some CNN winter accessories?

Next we headed to the Coca Cola museum, but made a few picture stops on the way.

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The College Football Hall of Fame looked pretty cool.  We stopped in the gift shop, but there was very little Pac-12 representation.

D had just recently been to the Coca Cola museum while on a business trip, so I took the tour by myself.

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They start you off with a cold Coke, which was nice on the hot day.

I chose Coke Zero, which I prefer to Diet Coke, for some reason.

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Then you enter into a room filled with Coca Cola memorabilia.  Our enthusiastic tour guide told us some of the history of the company.

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This dispenser is the oldest piece they have.

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Then you watch an inspirational mini movie about Coca-Cola and life’s moments.  Another heartstring-puller.

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The factory plant is offsite, but there were some displays.

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There was a long line to take a picture with the polar bear mascot.

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This was another picture opportunity spot.

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I thought the display of art made with Coca Cola cans was neat.  I skipped the line to see the secret recipe vault.  Instead, I made my way to the best part: the taste testing room!

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Each set of machines features various sodas from the different continents.  Each nozzle is labeled with the country and flavor.

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Asia!  For some reason, I really liked Korea’s soda, but I don’t know what flavor “Joy” is.

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South America!

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Africa!

I did not try all of them, as that would be serious sugar overload.  The kids would have loved it!  On your way out, they give you a glass bottle of classic Coca-Cola.  Then you go to the gift shop.  It was too crowded, though, so I just met up with D.

We walked through Olympic Park and came across this sign, which I thought was odd:

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Olympic Torch

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I was sad that all of the restaurants that I wanted to check out were closed on Sunday.  We ended up with take-out from Flats, which was just ok.

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We were back at the hotel before dark, and were able to watch some Olympics.

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We drank my souvenir Coca-Cola for breakfast since we could not bring it on the plane ride home.  We ate our free breakfast at the hotel, which was actually really good.

The MARTA station was really close, so going to the airport was easy.

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I took this picture at the airport for my sister.  Apparently it is a chain over there.  Southwest had a counter where they were giving out free soda and cookies.  I was also pleasantly surprised that Southwest is giving out actual snacks (not just peanuts) during the flights now, too.

This will conclude our posts for Atlanta.  It was fun to explore a new-to-me state.

 

 

 

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