Our last day of our trip we headed over to ITP aka Inside the Parameter of Georgia proper. (Not the burbs). I had pre booked a few fun things on this trip like we like to do ahead of time so we can just enjoy things once we go. I leave a lot of time open for exploration and surprises too. The Aquarium was a must see for us both so we got tickets online for a small discount. The link is hard to find so here it is: https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/tickets/ We checked into our hotel early at the Reverb Hard Rock Hotel in Downtown ATL. Kenya helped me find my reservation. They even accommodated our request for a wonderful view! Man oh man it was a good view.
It was such a luxurious welcome to Atlanta for our first time ever.
Speaking of the man. . . Josh one of the managers took such good care of us at the hotel you would have thought we both went to high school with him or something. . . This hotel actually understands what Southern hospitality MEANS. Everyone we interacted with in this entire hotel was so awesome.
XM at the coffee bar, the bartenders at the rooftop bar, even housekeeping. Everyone was helpful, fun, and happy to answer questions. The food at the coffee bar cafe the constant grind was really decent. . . I had the sliders bbq and an iced vanilla decaf latte which were heavenly. They even had salmon sliders Syd could eat which were also very good! Nice to have a quick and healthy food option at the hotel.
When I discovered the fancy Dasani Machine with both still and flavored options including sparkling, I decided to go see Josh again and buy some Reverb reusable merchandise hot/cold cups. I wanted to surprise Syd. We needed travel cups anyway and this was a ‘practical’ souvenir.
I was kind of in love with the Dasani sparkling peach water and drank it the whole stay. It was soooo good. I was hydrated A.F. this leg of the trip.
I found 2 World Cup games on and Syd was over the moon going back and forth while I showered and gussied up for the day. The room was ridiculously cool . . . so not to repeat myself. I’ll copy paste my booking.com review about it. My Review https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/reverb-by-hard-rock-atlanta-downtown.html?aid=304142&label=gen173bo-1DCDMoggI46AdIMVgDaKUCiAEBmAExuAEHyAEN2AED6AEB-AEEiAIBmAIhqAIDuALW_7mUBsACAdICJGY3ZGFlZDFhLTIzYzgtNDIzOS1iYTA3LWFiMzdiOTcyNDg4OdgCBOACAQ&sid=ad76412ed9d419d2e87ff02a799f25f9#tab-reviews
We headed out to the Aquarium in an uber. It was seriously nice. We headed for the sharks first, and I suggest doing the most exciting thing to you first. It got crazy crowded around 2:30. If we were in earlier I would say go in the morning if possible. Once it got crazy crowded it was so hard to see anything, and people were pushy and not distancing at all.
Before that it had wow factor. We particularly enjoyed the sharks, birds in the Cold water section, the Baluga Whales, and the sea dragons. We will come back earlier in the day next time and maybe off season. We did take a stroll outside after, but plan on doing other tourist attractions next time. It was HOT and we were tired.
We walked around the parks a bit and took a few pics for groups and couples with the attractions.
Being unseasonably hot and humid this time of year even for Georgia, we went back to the hotel to get spiffed up for dinner.
I did some research and made reservations in advance for Ray’s in the City. Due to our dog sitter canceling on us for our dinner in New Mexico we planned to just push it back to our ATL trip.
There’s no question that Ray’s is FINE DINING. I worked in fine dining for two different celebrity chefs so I know my stuff. Our server Joy and her trainee were both excellent. I had the surf and turf and that steak was one of the most perfectly cooked I have ever had in my life. Syd loved his meal too. I had a peach martini. I think I might try the margarita next time or go simpler like wine or a tried and true classic cocktail. It was good just too sweet for me. This place is popular no doubt. Make a reservation. I made mine on Open Table to get my points.
They kept wishing us a happy anniversary (5 years together) and we had a side dining room to ourselves nearly the whole time. It had lovely atmosphere and the service was spot on.
They even brought us an anniversary dessert. We chose the brownie sundae. With the caramelized banana and strawberry sculpted into a flower we were both over the moon. The brownie was fudgy, gooey, and not too sweet. It wasn’t your average banana split or hot fudge sundae. Order this!
After dinner which was so good I talked to a manager to tell her how amazing everything was, we took a stroll downtown.
We did a quick pit stop at the Wyndham. I stopped by their gift shop and bonded with the shop attendant who was a sweet and feisty Indian woman. We joked about what good wives we were. I snuck bought Syd a really nice Atlanta hat. . . when he joined me he said “Should I buy a hat?” She was giggling. He went and looked at all of the hats after I surprised him as I urged him to do and he decided that what I picked for him was his favorite anyway. I know my man. She and I laughed and she told him how lucky he is to have a wife like me. She can stay! Ha ha. I love little travel moments like this.
We walked a long way to the Sky Wheel, and there wasn’t a line yet. Syd tried to spring for VIP but you have to pre book it and I told him I didn’t care anyway which I didn’t. He’s so sweet. Man I love him. We enjoyed seeing the city from up above. We hated almost all of the souvenir photos, except one. Dang it! They got me. This one below was too fun and we have a collection of silly souvenir photos. I’m gonna do a gallery wall someday of all of them maybe in a basement bar or lounge.
We ubered back to the hotel and had some tea and sparkling peach water then headed up to the rooftop bar. The bartenders were awesome. . . Again everyone was awesome there. Service makes a stay special. We met a good looking young black couple who had recently moved to ATL and we ended up hanging out with them for about an hour. They were so interesting and were nice to let us scooch in next to them to get a seat with a skyline view. Thanks guys!
We then called it a night and watched some TV and slept like babies in that amazingly comfortable hotel bed!
The next day we packed up and hung out in our room for a bit. We got coffee at the lobby bar and ran into a huge film production shooting in the lobby. (I won’t tell). I got to chat with a head of hair/makeup dude also named Josh who was seriously cool and a stand in with a gazillion insta followers. Oh, and a financial guy. All great and it’s exciting to feel that kind of buzz of creative energy around.
Got to chat with Kenya again. She has such a great personality! We said goodbye to Josh. We left Reverb Hard Rock for the airport. so relaxed and happy. We will come back again and again to this hotel! It was a gamble to stay in such a different hotel concept, and we feel like we hit the jackpot.
The ATL airport is a lot of walking and going up and down elevators, and escalators, and taking trains. It’s intense if you aren’t a frequent traveler. Just ask someone if you’re lost. On the train they have maps saying where you get off. The signage is a bit lacking, but don’t panic people were happy to direct us the few times we needed. Seriously ATL airport. . . you shouldn’t have to walk for what feels like miles to grab a lyft or uber. That’s cruel. (and we are relatively young and very able bodied).
Anyway I digress, we headed back for the airport. Syd and I got to go to the delta lounges for the first time. It was a whole new world. The food was nice except there were hardly any vegetarian options or fish options at all. Syd could only eat like a banana and a cookie. Such a bummer. We found a really healthy place in the food court where we could get him a grilled fish sandwich. Our flight was delayed. We were so happy to finally get home and see our neighbors and dog. Sherlock our puppy has been so cuddly since we got back. Missed our fur baby. . .
Follow puppy face here. . . Sherlock
The Adventures of Syd and Meg 