Visiting Family in Atlanta

A couple weeks ago I went home to Atlanta to visit my family for a week. It was a great visit!

I met up with one of my best friends, Calli, for lunch at a Cuban restaurant, Papi's. I had never been there before, and it was delicious! I had a medianoche sandwich (cuban on sweet bread) with some plantains. Mmm, it was so good, but still doesn't quite compare to Flaco's Cuban Bakery in Gainesville. We talked for hours, and I'm pretty sure we drove our waiter crazy!

I got to spend some quality time with my parents and our kitties, including taking my parents' new cat to the vet. He looks so much like my old cat, Bailey! In fact, my parents told me his resemblance to Bailey was part of what convinced them to pick up a stray kitten from the side of the road.

Later that week my brother, David, came into town and we went to an Aerosmith and Cheap Trick concert with my parents. I definitely didn't know a lot of the songs as they were a bit before my time, but it was a packed house and it was pretty neat to sit up in the box seats.

Excuse my devil eyes in this picture...

The next day we played tourists and visited the World of Coca-Cola. I learned a lot about the making of Coca-Cola and got to see the amazing Olympic torch collection. The best part was the Taste Factory at the end, where you could taste Coca-Cola products from all around the world. Most of the drinks were super-sweet and fruity, but I was disgusted by a nasty tasting drink from Italy. Never saw it while I was actually in that country! As you leave, they give you a freshly bottled glass of Coca-Cola, and a little plastic bag, which I may have nicknamed the "barf bag" because I seriously wonder if all those little kids there can actually hold down that many types of soda at one time. We finished the afternoon with an early dinner at Cheesecake Factory and sampling some amazing cheesecakes.

Later that weekend I went to my friend Brittany's wedding shower. It was at a cute little Greek restaurant in Buckhead where we sipped on sangria, munched on appetizers, and I had a delicious fig and goat cheese pizza (wish I had a photo). I even won a door prize - a bottle of wine! I can't wait to celebrate the wedding with them in September.

Since all five of us have summer birthdays, we celebrated with my favorite dessert - cookie cake! We spent the last night in Georgia playing some family games of cards. We played a lengthy game of spades, and then I taught my brothers and dad to play BS. It was a great night.

Like every visit home, this one left me excited for the next trip back, and hopeful for the day when we won't live in four different states from each other!