OH Design Co.

On our recent trip to New York City, we were out and about exploring everyday.  This has inspired me to get out and see more of my own city of Atlanta.  I live in the outskirts but that's no excuse for not seeing what is so close to me.  So a while back, I found a Living Social deal for tickets to the Fernbank Science Center's planetarium show.  This past Saturday we made plans to go downtown and see a show.  We had been to the Fernbank Museum before, but it was our first time visiting the Science Center and Planetarium, and it was pleasant surprise. 

The best way I can describe the Planetarium is that it's like an IMAX theatre, but just in a dome format.  When the show begins, the room is completely dark, so that the projector above, plus dozens more around the room, can cast lights up like a starry night sky.  It's so realistic that you feel like its night time.  (Go when you are well rested, because it's so real you might doze off!)  They show you what the sky looks like in our hemisphere for that night, and other constellations you can see in our night sky.  I even learned that some planets are visible in the night sky.  They just look like bright stars.  Often the first or brightest 'star' to appear at night is a planet.  The Fernbank Science Center also has a telescope, or observatory, that is open to the public on Thursday and Friday evenings, weather permitting.   

After we left, we thought since we were so close we would go check out Piedmont Park.  I remember when we were in New York, I was reading something about Central Park, and thought that they both shared the same architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, who is considered the founder of landscape architecture.  Well it turns out, the original design for the park was by Frederick Law Olmstead's sons.  They also worked on several other 'small' projects like the Washington, D.C. National Mall, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Biltmore Estate.  Just knowing that, makes me feel like what an honor it is to be able to walk through one of their design plans right here in my own backyard.  The Piedmont Park Conservancy also has a nice history lesson written up on it's website about the origins of the park.  I can't believe I have lived here nearly 13 years and have never been.  I'm embarrassed!  In my defense, I have driven past several times with the intent to visit, but couldn't see how to get in!  My tip, if you're driving, would be that the entrance is off of Monroe Drive, so get directions that send you there.  Also there is a parking fee of $1 per 30 minutes.  But, now that I have been, I want to come back again, and also explore the city's other major parks.  

Here are a few of the sights we captured while there:

Look at that skyline! This was the view that both my husband and I said reminded us of Central Park.  

These beautiful oak-leaf hydrangeas were everywhere!  After we had explored the park for a while, we were hungry and thirsty.  We headed across the lawn to what we hoped was the Willy's we had seen while driving.  It turned out to be Park Tavern which was probably even better.  The restaurant was packed and the food was delicious.  (My recommendation is the Southwest Fish Tacos!)  They have an indoor eating area, but if you enjoy eating outdoors and watching TV on a big screen, this is the place for you.  With our bellies satisfied, we headed back across the park to our car.  All of us were saying we have got to come back.   If you haven't been, you've got to go.  

I can only imagine what other Atlanta area attractions I have been missing out on, but the plan now is to get out and see them.  If you are from this area, let me know what your suggestions are!

(Repost from my old blog)

             

There were doormen, a concierge, and a house car with a driver waiting to take you anywhere you wanted to go that was near the hotel.  And their service and kindness was as amazing as the hotel.  

The hotel was 2 blocks from Central Park, so we had to go there first.  Even though spring hadn't quite hit the city, the park was still beautiful and we came back several times.  

Later in the week, we went to the MET, 

where we could see Central Park in the distance.

We also toured Brooklyn and Wallkill Bethel, and went to Times Square where we met up with friends from home. Being at Rockefeller Plaza, where the Today Show is filmed, was awesome.  We went to rent a car, and saw all of the flags literally right around the corner.  So many iconic sights were right around the corner.  

 

This artist was creating this amazing picture of Grand Central Terminal.  

We ate at several restaurants and I observed something about New Yorkers that I really admired.  I think we know they move fast and we often hear that they are rude, but I noticed in all of the restaurants we ate at there was a lot of conversation.  No one, and I mean no one, was on their phone or tablet scrolling thru a screen, unless they were dining alone.  They seemed to value conversation when they had the opportunity.  

One restaurant we ate at several times was called Le Pain Quotidien.  It was right around the corner from the hotel, and the food was AH-MAZ-ING!  We had waffles from there that were so good, I had to hunt down the recipe when we got home.   I have still got to order the special sugar you need to make them.  It turns out they were Liege waffles which are made from what I am guessing is more like a dough than a batter.  It's funny because the first day we had breakfast there, we all ordered waffles.  And when they came to the table, I was so disappointed because they were so small.  But they did not disappoint.  They were the best waffles I have ever had in my life.  I told my husband, I have never had a Cronut, but this is what I imagine they taste like.  Everything we ate there was so good.  

On our last day in the city we made plans to go see The High Line.  On our way there we came across  a beautiful public plaza.  I love being outside in nature, and the fact they New York has all of these public areas is lovely.   

The High Line is this public park built on an abandoned railway line that had become naturally overgrown after sitting unused for many years.  The city was going to demolish it, but two men decided to fight to have it repurposed.  What is there today is a beautiful park that is, again, open to the city.  I really want to come back and see it again when it's in full bloom.  

There was a sign I saw that said "The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding."  I found it to be hilarious.  While I would love to live in New York, the marathon Bravo is playing of Million Dollar Listing-New York, tells me that I would have to be kidding to think I could live there.  

New York, it was fun while it lasted, but we had to say goodbye.

It feels great to be back home and to have my space to myself again, but we'll be back!