Well hey there. I hope y’all doing fine. Welcome to the mighty fine southern state of Georgia. Picking up the backpack from the Far East, I now will ‘go West’. Only I’m using a suitcase this time for practicality reasons (keeping wee beasties out).
Everyone knows something about the United States of America, and I thought it about time I saw our neighbours across the pond for myself , or more specifically to meet up with a couple of friends from yesteryear who had first crossed paths with me on British soil.
So this story takes me to Atlanta (phonetically spoken as a-lan-na if you are truly southern, but ‘the ATL’ or ‘A-town’ also suffice), the capital of Georgia, old capital of the Confederates, shopping destination for all the clothes you get at the other big cities like New York, Los Angeles and such like but at a cheaper price (low state taxes etc.) and accommodation to stay over is a significantly less so too. Outside of shopping…. It not so much what to do but where it is… as Atlanta is one of those places with no city planning, so everything is everywhere. Therefore having a local as guide goes a long way (especially since the transportation system doesn’t (due to the lack of it). So what does one do when one isn’t here to shop?
Outdoorsy things – with the weather being generally humid in the summer and prone to sudden downpours (well it is sub-tropical)... walks are bearable when it’s short and/or sheltered. Luckily there is a heck of a lot of trees around here and Kennesaw Mountain offers a pleasant short walk. Famed for being a battle site of the Civil War, it is now trampled by dog-walkers and running enthusiasts.
For those who prefer activities on the water, you can head to the Ocoee River that hosted the 1996 Atlanta Olympic rafting and canoeing events (even if that particular section of the river was technically in the state of Tennessee). We took a route further down-stream for a 5 mile route of white water rapids and the guide of our raft was a teacher during the week at a local school and raft guide at the weekend (pretty cool!). There route took us 2 hours through spectacular scenery of forest clad hills and between thrown around by the rapids we could jump out the boat voluntarily for a swim. There is also the Chattahoochee River which is closer to town and made famous by numerous country songs (Atlanta is a huge base for such music), which is more appropriate for light water sports or walking activities.
Food – the first thing you should be thinking of when you think of the south is Southern Fried Chicken… or just about anything fried passes as southern. There is even a country song devoted to catching chickens to fry! It’s a catchy tune (pun-sville!). We tried some at Pat’s Kountry Kitchen, a roadside eatery in the sticks, and not only was the food fantastic (as rated by my American friends) the place was soooo country, with rocking chairs on the porch, wooden panels, biblical quotes and cast iron pans decorating the walls alongside a family portrait (I assume of the owners), with country music on the stereo speakers… yes ma’am!
This southern food is not complete without a piece of cornbread or a biscuit… but the latter is not as we (pond dwellers of the opposite shore) know it. This biscuit is more like a scone in texture, but lighter in density and more buttery. This is used to sandwich savoury items e.g. chicken (but can be used like our scone too).
Altogether we had whole fried (f.) catfish, country f.chicken, country sour steak (ground beef), chicken n dumpling soup with sides of mash potato, creamed corn, candied yams, f.onion rings, black eyed peas, f.squash, f.okra, homemade apple sauce, green beans, tater tots, macaroni and cheese and french fries with cornbread and biscuits.
I also tried my stomach at a southern BBQ grill with a pork special meal - pork sarnie, coleslaw (not with mayo as standard), pickle, pork in baked beans (which I found more delicious then Heinz - it is possible!), potato chips (which I consequently realised that they are what we at home call ‘crisps’) and a slice of orange (random)… but all tasted nice and served on a polystyrene tray.
Sights – [in progress… as in I’m still sightseeing, so will get back to you on that later]
No comments:
Post a Comment