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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Getting to know Atlanta


It’s called Hotlanta for a reason. Not many of us could imagine playing tennis in the sunny weather of Atlanta. It’s hotter than hell in these August crispy days. I’m so sorry if you’re from Atlanta and are offended if anyone uses that term. But again, it’s called Hotlanta for a reason!! A lot of men say Atlanta has the “hottest” women in the south and Women in Atlanta pretty much live up to that reputation. Oh and not to forget, several surveys have showed that Atlanta has one of the most sexually adventurous population in the nation and its residents have the highest sex drive in the US. LOL that’s pretty dope!!


Nightlife(Tongue & Groove)
But one of the major reasons is Atlanta being a major destination for night life. There’s always something mysterious about nightlife in Atlanta. Atlanta’s nightlife is so friggin cool, lots of fun activities and lasts for hours. If you forget to visit the fun night clubs during your visit in Atlanta, you probably missed the most exciting part of this wonderful city. Lounges, restaurants and karaoke bars also play an important role in making the nightlife more happening.

When one thinks of Atlanta, hip-hop comes to mind immediately. Atlanta sometimes is also referred as hip-hop capital of the south but it’s also famous for neo-soul, southern rap and R&B. Most music fans know that Ludacris, Cee Lo Green, Lil Ton, B.o.B, Outkast, Ciara, Usher, Keri Hilson all hail from Atlanta. Even Justin Bieber calls Atlanta his US adoptive home.

Downtown Atlanta with Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Downtown Atlanta is amazing and the real estate is “legen-wait for it-dary”. It’s impossible to get your eyes off the beautiful property. Nuff said. Atlanta has a reputation of being the “city in the forest” due to an abundance of trees. Out of all the major American cities, Atlanta has the highest tree coverage percentage at 36%. Even the main street of the city is named after a tree. But the city’s lush canopy has been under threat due to urban construction, aged forests, heavy rains and droughts.

Wherever I go, I always try to explore local food as I’m a big food freak. When it comes to Atlanta, it’s mostly a fried chicken town. If you ask whether we could find a great barbeque in Atlanta, I’m going to say NO!! Atlanta is not a barbeque city. Not in the sense that you can’t find any but to find an authentic style of Georgian barbeque you ask? Well it’s certainly impossible. Atlanta rather borrows the style from neighbor states.

Inner view of Empire State South
But lately Atlanta has shown some signs towards its inclination to southern food. There are few restaurants in Atlanta such as “Cakes & Ale” and “Empire State South” that might give a vibe of how Atlanta is representing southern food. Empire State South opened by Hugh Acheson, a contestant in Top chef masters (season 3), is a great place to dine. The restaurant had its ups and downs, especially during its beginning phase. It took a while for Empire to find its feet but now there’s no other place better than Empire to get a handful of southern classics.

Turner Field(Home of the Braves)
Now talking about Sports, Atlanta is home to three major sports team: The Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Hawks of National Basketball Association and Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. The Braves are the oldest continually operating sports team in America. The Braves had an unprecedented run of 14 straight divisional championships from 1991 to 2005 with a World Series triumph in 1995. Atlanta has hosted several international and professional sporting events. Most popularly, the summer Olympics of 1996 and Super Bowl XXVIII and XXXIV in 1994 and 2000 respectively.

Atlanta has been the seventh most visited City in the US, with a flow of over 35 million visitors per year. There’s no high season for tourism here. With several events and festivals taking place every once in a while; Atlanta is able to attract a good number of tourists. The most obvious reason for booming tourism industry is the city’s history museums and outdoor attractions. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site is a major tourist attraction which includes the preserved boyhood home as well as the final resting place of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Atlanta also features several outdoor attractions. Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park accommodates over 1300 animals representing 220 species and is among the only four zoos in the US to have giant pandas.

CocaCola Lights up Its Headquarters in Atlanta
with Digital Projecton
Atlanta is the Eighth-Largest Economy in the country with 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies running business operation in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The city is the global headquarters of corporations like AT&T Mobility, UPS and Newell-Rubbermaid, The Coca-Cola Company and The Home Depot. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport also plays a key role in Atlanta’s economic growth. Delta Air Lines is the city’s largest employer that operates the world’s largest airline hub at Hartsfield-Jackson airport and has helped Hartsfield-Jackson to become the world’s busiest airport, in terms of passenger traffic as well as aircraft operations.

Atlanta airport transportation system is indeed a mess during peak hours, especially around the Hartsfield-Jackson airport. It’s a lot better for a visitor to book a limousine service in Atlanta to make sure he/she doesn’t have to deal with the traffic hassle. All limousine companies hire professional and well experienced chauffeurs who could be of great help to get rid of the heavy traffic.

Grand Hyatt Atlanta
Atlanta is a great place for any visitor since there are so many things to do, so many places to visit, wonderful restaurants to dine, plenty of historical museums, several sporting events for sports enthusiasts, beautiful downtown, lots of musical events for music fans. With more than 93000 hotel rooms, Atlanta can accommodate both international as well as national visitors. From high class five star hotels to cheap motels, one can find an accommodation that suits his/her budget and decide where to stay.