27 Nov ATLANTA, GEORGIA: SHRIMP GRITS & SOLANGE
After not having set foot in the US since Nelly had his cheek bandage on, choosing Atlanta as my reintroduction was a great idea! A few things drew me to Georgia – seeing one of my best friends who I hadn’t seen in 17 years, checking Solange and Afropunk Festival off my bucket list for 2017 and being around black people! Seriously, I just wanted to be around my people. If you live in a predominantly white city, you are nodding your head with the quickness right now! Anyways, based on what I ate, where I stayed and what fun things I did, here’s my weekend travel diary of Atlanta!
BOOKING A FLIGHT TO ATLANTA
I’m a late bloomer to most things and discovering the joys of Google Flights is no exception. After searching for flight options with google, the lowest ticket I found from Halifax to Atlanta was $274 for a return ticket, in Canadian dollars with taxes in *jaw drop* You can’t even travel within Canada for that cheap, unless there’s some sort of sale and even so, it’s never that low! Because of my indecisiveness I ended up buying it at last minute for about $380 but still a mega STEAL!
WHERE TO STAY IN ATLANTA
I love/hate searching for airbnbs. I hate it because I’m very particular about where I stay and end up sifting through a lot of properties before a decision is made. However, I love it only when I find the perfect place for me! I’m gonna do a separate post of where I stayed but for now, check out (HERE) the page for the newly restored historic property I stayed at!
WHERE TO EAT IN ATLANTA
My friend/blogger boo Ramona took me to Atlanta Breakfast Club for brunch, where I tried shrimp & grits and peach cobbler french toast for the first time. Loved it all! I also had the chicken and biscuits with a side of the most delicious chicken gravy!! I hung out the most with one of my oldest friends, Mutsa and I had a lot of firsts – first Chik-Fil-A and Denny’s experiences. Denny’s was meh and Chik-Fil-A has had me dreaming of those waffle fries ever since! After a night out we also had brunch at a spot called The Republic where I had Shrimp Tacos and tried the famous lemon pepper wings I’ve heard so much about and they were delicious aside from the fact that this batch was so salty I felt my water levels just drop with each bite! Soooo worth it lol.
WHERE TO DANCE IN ATLANTA
I was excited to explore the nightlife with my friend Mutsa and we opted for an African club called XS. It comes with the expected set up of a night club but without the frills. We just wanted to dance to Afrobeats and be around people who love to dance and not stand around in a club posing. XS did not disappoint on that front!! We danced the WHOLE night away. Mygaahhhdddd, did we dance!
WHAT TO DO IN ATLANTA
I got to experience a place called Ponce City Market. Picture a multi-functional space, not quite a mall, with a food hall, shops, lofts and offices. We walked around and then settled for some gelato from Honeysuckle and picked up some authentic South African biltong (jerky for my North American peeps/air-cured beef) from Biltong Bar. So delicious and took me back to being home. We made our way to Afropunk Atlanta where my soul literally burst with joy! It was a submlime experience being around thousands of beautiful people. It was lovely to meet super blogger Chastity and a facebook boo, Elle! My friend Mutsa and I found a decent spot and hankered down to watch Solange. She was EVERYTHING I’d hoped for and more. Afropunk is a festival that is worth experiencing at least once. There’s one more left for the year in Johannesburg, South Africa at the end of the year. If you can make it, DO IT! If not, keep an eye out for next years lineup!
Hope you loved the breakdown of my time in Atlanta, below are a few photos to give you a visual of my adventures, check back for a post on the gorgeous airbnb I stayed at!
x
Musemo
