By November, your typical Floridian is already wishing for cold. We pray to the weather Gods or Papa Dios for a cold front often and if we just don’t get one by Thanksgiving, many of us pack up the car and go for a viaje up north to the closest, coolest city that we can drive to in one day: Atlanta. That’s exactly what my familia did last November, we bolted and did ATL at full speed for one day. That might sound crazy, but I’m for real, even just a couple of days away can be enough to satisfy my need for leaves crunching under my feet and brisk Fall air. We arrived in Atlanta in the early morning READY TO GO. We had done most of the super touristy stuff already on previous trips and wanted to see a new party of the city. And to be completely transparent, I wanted to enjoy a newer, trendier part of ATL because I was looking hella cute that day and I wanted to indulge. Don’t judge me!:)
We decided to hit up The Ponce City Market first because errbody was talking about it. Every blog I read, every article I saw, every friend that lived in the area… all pointed me to this place. It’s like a hipster shopping mall/food hall. Which doesn’t sound super-duper impressive I guess, but guys! This place was hella dope. The architecture at first glance is reminiscent of all of the trendy restaurants you see nowadays with that exposed brick look, and the industrial looking fixtures BUT like, even better. This place did it right. Not to mention, there was art everywhere, in its design and the aesthetics of the stores and eateries…. which I’m totes here for. I mean, que nice! I loved the nifty shops I saw. Like, for instance, this charming sewing studio for friends to gather and sew, or the old timey looking flower shop I saw that was covered from floor to ceiling with beautiful blossoms. And don’t even get me started on the food. Hay de todo!! There’s everything you could want. Everything from upscale Mexican, to down home fried chicken, to authentic Asian cuisine, to farm -to-table yummies. It’s kinda ridiculous how hard it is to choose. And to be real, the Marido and I were annoyed that we had the kids with us for a hot minute cuz we couldn’t eat the eccentric fusion type of food that we wanted. Anyway, we settled on Minero, a Mexican spot, and ate some scrumptious Tacos then hit Honeysuckle for some gelato. Lunch ended on a happy note, everybody full.
I mean, GUAU! 
Hipster chic, amiright?
“Barriga llena, corazon contento.”
– Spanish proverb
After the eats, we followed all the arrows outside to the Atlanta Beltline, which intersects with the market. The Beltline is an art installation-walking/biking path- Civil Rights monument all in one. And it was a fabulous coincidence that it is smack dab next to the market. Talk about 2 birds, one stone. The day was GORG, a perfect 65 degrees and sunny, and every able-bodied human being in Atlanta got the memo, cuz the Beltline was effing PACKED. That was a bad and good thing for us. Bad because it made it harder for us to do the one thing we desperately wanted to do, ride electric scooters. They were being ridden all along the Beltline and we were DYING to get on. So was everybody else tho. They were friggin sparse. On the other hand, people coming out in droves like that always makes me feel like I’m a part of something. Like we are all sharing in the gorgeous day together. Like no matter how different we are, we can all agree to have fun and play in light of a beautiful day. It’s quite lovely. My corazón was beating extra that day.
Now, the Beltline is dope as a public space, but I can’t talk about it without mentioning what makes it espectacular. And that’s the civil rights markers and monuments that line the path. There are pictures, art installations, words, and historical markers that point out the important things that occurred in Atlanta during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Important shit, and particularly poignant given the current racial climate of our nation. What was cool was seeing how many abuelos were showing the pictures to their grandbabies and passing down that crucial history. Truly cool.
Another thing that caught me off guard, in a good way, was the amount of graffiti art along the Beltline. It’s everywhere. And it’s encouraged. There are several overpasses that look like they have been painted and repainted a zillion times. How cool that the city allows people to express themselves in this way, and in a public space. I loved it, and so did the niños.
We capped off our whirlwind day with scooters. Hell yea, we did! I found a free one and watched riders like a hawk until another one came available. The Marido and I rode with one kid each for the remainder of the evening, well into the night. Up and down the miles of Beltline with smiles plastered on our faces. We watched the Atlanta sunset, enjoyed the cool breeze, and gave ourselves a pat on the back for the fantastic idea we had of driving up north. It was totally worth it. The perfect Fall day. Thanks Atlanta.
With hugs y mucho amor,
Joana
2 Comments
Jenny
Thanks for sharing! The next time I go, I will have to look for these monuments. I didn’t see them when I went to Ponce Market. I did get to ride a scooter on the beltline but I think because of the weekend we went, the crowd was a bit much because of a concert.
Joana
YES! The Beltline was a dream on those scooters. I know they are annoying to pedestrians, but riding along that beautiful path with the wind in your hair…thats GOALS! Hugs to you!