Coming Home!

Yesterday's dinner plans kept going awry. The French restaurant we wanted to go to was fully booked by an event, so we had to look for an alternative. That's when we decided to go to a Jamaican place. So we all board Marta to get there, only to find that the place is shut down. So back on Marta to the next stop in Buckhead, where we wandered basically from one stop to the next in search of food.

Thankfully we finally settled on an Italian place (we'd started this process at 6:30, and didn't get to a table until 8:00). I don't know what it is, but add some academics and some bottles of wine, and suddenly you've got a three hour meal. I didn't get back to my room until 11 pm.

Thankfully, this colloquium is now over as well. I've packed up the library, and I'm getting myself ready to head to the Marta station. Even with a gas shortage in the city of Atlanta, at least the Marta goes to the airport!

Hotlanta!

Here I am in Atlanta, enjoying the beautiful weather in the snazzy Marriott Renaissance. It's actually a pretty nice hotel. No refrigerated towels in the workout room, but there are balconies in every room, so I can get real fresh air! Plus, we're within walking distance of tons of restaurants, which is always very nice.

I'm starting to think that Atlanta is my favorite place to go for Colloquium. You can't beat a town with lots of good food, nice hotels, and decent weather. I also rode MARTA from the airport, which was fantastically easy and fast.

Last night Sommer and I went to Shout for dinner. Thanks to Google Maps (which seriously mis-labeled Shout on the map), we ended up walking about 3 miles before we actually got to dinner. Still, despite being 30 minutes late for our reservation, it was a great meal.

Sommer had sushi (and sake), while I went for a more traditional salmon dinner. We split a dessert medly, with the most amazing molten chocolate cake. Even if the service was pretty slow, that cake was worth waiting for.

As you can see, it's a bit trendy, and we were a little horrified by the number of bachelorette parties (we counted 5 during our stay). It wasn't as good as the YO Ranch Steakhouse in Dallas, but still pretty good.

With two more nights out before we head back, I think we're going to go to the French American Brasserie for some more posh fare.

But we couldn't leave without going to the Varsity! I can see it from my hotel room, and the only reason we haven't gone already is the Saturday Georgia Tech game. Nothing like hordes of football fans to make a quick trip for hotdogs impossible.

I'm already practicing my order, so I'll be able to respond right away when they call "what'll ya have?" My only dilemma right now is cheese or no cheese on the chili dog.