3 Day Tour of the ATL...outside the ATL

My friend Maggie is coming to the ATL! Maggie is from Ireland, lived in England and is coming to Atlanta! Maggie knows her stuff and I don't think a trip to the The Varsity is going to impress her very much. Therefore, I am planning ahead for her October visit, doing research, making lists and attempting to put together a Red Carpet Tour of the ATL for the Well Travelled Woman. Maggie and her Brit friend, Jessica arrive on a Monday. I am considering whisking them away to Tate Mountain for a night. Just one hour north of Atlanta (or thereabouts), Tate is located near Jaspar, and is a little slice of heaven.

After a night of a barefooted dinner on the porch at Tate and a breakfast of omelets and English Muffins, I am considering taking them to the best outlet mall shopping this side of the Mississippi- North Georgia Premium Outlets. It is about 30 minutes from Tate and is a pleasant experience during the week, but never on the weekends. I hear Varsity Jr. is coming there, so if they have to have it, we can go there for a Frosted Orange and sip on those while in Off 5th.

If we can't go up for our mountain outing we have an incentive to stay in the city on a Monday night, Evening Brunch at Rosebud Atlanta. Located on N. Highland Avenue, Rosebud uses local and regional ingredients. I am getting the fried egg tostada with heirloom tomato pico de gallo, guacamole and salsa roja and a housemade Bloody Mary. And yes, I plan my meals months in advance. I think I might even already have an outfit in mind too.

We can also swing by The Porter in Little Five Points to make my European friends feel a little at home. It is no Guinness at Bushmills Inn, but it is close as we can get. And there's always The High. But I am not a huge Dali fan and that is all I see still running in October that looks interesting. Plus, there are only a few moments when you can actually enjoy being outside in Atlanta and October is one of them.

October weather in Atlanta is usually quite glorious. With Highs in the low 70's and low's in the 50's and average temperatures in the 60's, it is a great time to live and be in Atlanta. And the perfect time to spend the day at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.



The Botanical Gardens are a great place to stroll and relax, take a small picnic and a wonderful place for a photo op. It is a beautiful, sweet smelling place to spend the day, to sit and journal and be with friends. Their concerts in the garden are a beautiful experience with nature, art, music under a canopy of pale stars right in the city. If you live or work in town, I recommend getting an Annual Membership and going for a stroll during your lunch hour or better yet, spend a Saturday. For under $100 you can take your brown bag lunch there about once a month for a year. Lunch with the butterflies does you good. Disclaimer: I don't think they really let you eat and bring a bunch of food. For some reason I just always have to have food of some sort on my person. So be discrete, clean up after yourself, take your garbage with you or place in proper receptacles and don't tell them I sent you.

If we can't get enough of nature from the Garden's, I think we may head south to Serenbe for a day. I am completely cheating again, by taking my friends out of the ATL during our 3 day tour OF the ATL. To me, it still counts since we are still in Fulton County. But, seriously what else is there to do in the city? Aquarium, maybe. World of Coke, no. Shopping? Who needs Phipps if you hit up the Outlet Mall? Serenbe has great specials during the week. We can even stay the night at the Inn and have dinner at The Hil for $169 (double occupancy-rooms are $109 with $60 receipt from The Hil). We could arrive in time for an afternoon stroll, freshen up at the Blue Eyed Daisy and head up to The Hil for dinner. Enjoy a farm to table breakfast the next morning and have an easy drive up to Hartsfield Jackson for their Thursday departure. It's no London Eye or Buckingham Palace, but it is a Frosted Orange and discount shopping, what more could a girl want?