Atlanta & New Orleans

Here it is, my first blog post!  It’s about my trip over and my time in Atlanta and New Orleans (which was now 4 weeks ago...woops!).  Better late than never!  Post on Austin, Phoenix and Grand Canyon to follow soon(ish).

Journey across the pond:

Despite 8 months of planning I still somehow ended up packing and organising things literally right up to the last minute.  Without a wink of sleep I set off to Edinburgh airport at 3:30am for the flight to Paris: day 1 of 90, leg 1 of....well a lot.  Considering my last experience of Charles de Gaulle involved running through the airport only to arrive at the gate to be told that the plane had left, I was apprehensive.  However, due to landing in the same terminal as departure and with 4 hours layover it was as enjoyable an experience as travelling through Charles de Gaulle can be.  Once aboard the flight to Atlanta I was extremely pleased to discover the flight was only half full.  Having two seats to myself made the 9 hour flight infinitely more comfortable!

On arrival in Atlanta came the joy of customs.  The best part about it was overhearing an English woman on arrival at customs say “look at the size of the queue and not a bevy in sight!” Brilliant!  Then to find my bag and with it my first experience of this country’s inability to signpost properly. Obviously I should just know that bags coming through from customs go to conveyor belt 2!  I eventually emerged from Atlanta airport (apparently the busiest airport in the world – ideal way to start my trip) a mere 3 hours after landing...

Atlanta:

Atlanta Centennial Olympic Park

I chose to start my journey in Atlanta due to wanting to start in the southern states (Texas and Arizona in June would not be fun) and the reasonable price of the flights.  However, it turned out to be an enjoyable start the trip.  Although it admittedly doesn’t ooze character and has a fairly homogenised large metropolis vibe, I found myself feeling comfortable in the city very quickly.  It has a relaxed southern feel where people say hi to you on the street (60% of the time genuinely pleasant, 40% creepy) mixed with the fast pace of city life.

Despite a shaky start of taking a wrong turn on my first step out of the hostel, day 1 of 90 proceeded to go very well.   The weather was really sunny (something I was majorly craving!) and I successfully set up my phone with an American sim card.  Although this means I’m paying for a contract here and at home, being able to access google maps and it’s very useful location finder has made it absolutely worth it!  A bonus to this experience was the assistant singing along to the music in the shop – you wouldn’t experience that in a T-Mobile shop in the UK!  On the topic of singing, there was a guy on the metro train who had earphones in and was properly dancing along to whatever it was he was listening to.  There was no attention seeking involved whatsoever.  He really was completely into his groove and watching him instantly put me in a great mood.   

                That afternoon I visited the Cyclorama which depicts the Battle of Atlanta during the civil war.  It is apparently the largest painting in the world which I guess is impressive but I left feeling a little underwhelmed.  I thought that the museum and gardens attached were more interesting than the cyclorama itself.  However, something that made it fun was a conversation I overheard on the way out: American woman says to her husband about the cyclorama guide: “He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met. I’m going to go tell him.”  Only in America!  I only just managed to not laugh.

On my second day in Atlanta I visited the Botanical Gardens.  Along with the usual beds of colourful flowers and glasshouses, the gardens contained an ‘Edible Garden’, where edible plants, herbs and fruits were being grown.  That is fair enough however I feel that the inclusion in the beds of placards containing full meal recipes was perhaps a step too far!

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

After spending the morning at the Botanical gardens I walked out to an area on the outskirts of Atlanta called Atlantic Station, a shopping village with tree lined streets, pretty squares and high street stores (including an H&M which I thought was just European, apparently not).  After wandering around and soaking in the sun I thought ‘I’ll just grab a light sandwich to go’. Ha. Not in Atlanta.  In fact not in America I am coming to learn.  It’s not that there was a lack of places to eat, far from it.  The problem is that they were all full on sit down restaurants.  I ended up in a pizza restaurant where thankfully they at least sold sandwiches, though due to the size of it I felt like I'd eaten a full meal!  I also encountered the difference between lemonade here and lemonade at home!  I have now learnt if I want lemonade and not squeezed lemon juice I need to order sprite.  Ah the cultural lessons I'm learning.

On a more serious cultural note, one of the most striking things for me about Atlanta was the size of the black population.  Having spent my life living in a city, and indeed a country, where the black population is next to nothing it was interesting and initially very foreign to be in a city where the black population makes up 54% of the population(note: figure taken from Wikipedia so give or take several %). 

Ebenezer Baptist Church

The highlight of my time in Atlanta was the Martin Luther King Jr. visitor centre and memorial site.  It is set in the Sweet Auburn district of the city where he was born, beside Ebenezer Baptist Church where he pastored.  It was very informative and well kept (and free which is always good).  There were some video clips from rallies against the civil rights movement and the statements about black people that were coming out of people’s mouths was really shocking.  Something else that I was taken aback by is that 99% of the people using the bus and metro trains in Atlanta are black.  It seems that in much of the US there is a clear distinction that if you’re poor (or a tourist) you ride public transport and if you have money you drive.  In Atlanta this distinction still runs down to poor equalling black and rich equalling white.

Martin Luther King Jr Memorial site

 My overall opinion of Atlanta is that although I’m not rushing back to visit and wouldn’t pin it as a holiday spot, if I were told by someone you have to go live in Atlanta I wouldn’t be complaining.

Amtrak Crescent:

Passing through the states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi (yes I did the rhyme as I typed that) and Louisiana riding the Amtrak Crescent was a journey rather than just a method of getting from point A to B.  These states were all covered in lush greenery, interspersed with small rural towns.  The towns were exactly as I pictured rural American towns to be: depressing. They were identical through all four states: houses dotted randomly, a car lot, a small church, a coca cola sign, a Shell garage, and ideally a guy sitting on a front porch smoking.  The sun shone in a crystal blue sky through the whole 12 hours, and I was surprised how quickly time passes when you're just watching scenery go by (interspersed with a few episodes of House).

This journey has definitely made me feel more at ease about my two night 36 hour journey from Seattle to Minneapolis in May!

New Orleans:

New Orleans across the (very muddy) Mississippi River

From the New South of Atlanta to the Old South of the Big Easy.  Day one in New Orleans I visited America’s main World War II museum. It was an interesting experience to learn about the war from an American POV having only studied it and visited museums that come from a British POV.  The ticket included a viewing of a 50 minute film called Beyond All Boundaries. With narration from Tom Hanks and seats that vibrated with explosions on the screen, it was a very dramatic depiction of the war – a very American depiction (but also admittedly a very powerful and engaging depiction).

St Louis Cathedral

Old (in American terms) meets new in New Orleans.  In the French Quarter the architecture did make it feel like you were in a French city, but in a parallel universe where something just isn’t quite right.  If you turn 180 degrees to face downtown or just look along the streets, you are faced with what is undoubtedly an American metropolis.  My favourite part of the French Quarter was Jackson Square with St Louis Cathedral and impromptu jazz band performances.  Inside the cathedral you were free to take pictures, which does explain why American tourists in Europe whap out their cameras in cathedrals and churches and are confused when told it’s not allowed.  After admiring the cathedral I stopped at Cafe Du Monde for an iced latte and beignets (French doughnuts that probably have never seen France).  They were very yummy however I was definitely in the background of a family’s photos spilling iced coffee down my front... I’ll be that idiot in the background that is a necessity for all holiday pics.

Coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde

Unfortunately, after the success of the cathedral, doughnuts and jazz band I found the French Market in the French Quarter to be a huge let down.  The best part of it was the entrance archway.  I was expecting an authentic French market, with good food and interesting crafts.  What I found was a tacky tourist market, filled with fast food and cheap souvenirs.  Lost in translation I guess.  Another note on the French Quarter: Bourbon Street – so sleazy (and that was during the day)! 

Algiers Point, jazz walk of fame

part of the village

One of my favourite things I did in New Orleans was taking a free ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers Point, providing great views of the city.  At Algiers Point there was the jazz walk of fame, a paved path with street lamps each of which had a picture of a jazz artist and a freephone number that you could phone for a short narrative on the artist.  It was a brief but informative introduction into the world of jazz.  At Algiers Point I also encountered something which, from the distance, looked like a children’s playpark but turned out to be a Native American village.  It was a sort of recreation area with a central hut, picnic benches, boxes for growing plants, and colourful paintings and information placards about the area's native american history.  The whole place was completely deserted so I spent a very enjoyable hour wandering around and studying all the art and information boards.  It was only upon leaving that I noticed a No Trespassing sign - clearly in contradiction to the very colourful Visit the Village sign right by it.  It was unclear whether the sign was for the adjacent gravel road or for the village, but I have to say I’m glad that I didn’t notice the sign as, being a bit of a stickler for rules, I likely wouldn’t have gone down.

After the ferry trip back I went to a Starbucks for a cold drink and to escape the humidity and ordered an iced caramel macchiato.  Then something very scary happened.  It had the perfect combination of coffee and caramel flavouring and this thought actually crossed my mind: “I should go tell him it’s the best caramel macchiato I’ve ever had” ..... :o What is happening to me?! 

On Wednesday evening I went to a jazz concert on Lafayette Square.  For 12 weeks each year free concerts are held on Wednesday evenings.  The idea that a city can have weekly evening concerts for 3 months without having to think about the weather is very appealing!  After an enjoyable evening, I decided to take the free ferry across the Mississippi again for a night view of the New Orleans skyline.  A great end to my trip to N’awlins!

After managing without much trouble to survive the New Orleans southern drawl for 4 days, I then had a long conversation trying to order a medium cappuccino at New Orleans airport.  Medium.  Medium.  Medium.  Oh mee-dee-um.  To be fair to her it does sound more like meejum when I say it, but still you’d think she’d figure it out!

New Orleans highlights: the Native American village (a possibly illegal but educational experience), soaking up in the sun in Jackson square listening to a saxophonist, the evening concert in the park, and taking the ferry across the Mississippi.  My overall opinion on New Orleans is that I enjoyed all the things I did, but as a city I found something unsettling about it and I never felt quite at ease wandering around.