Goin' Places Single (GPS) with Anne-Marie Woods

Goin’ Places Single (GPS) with Anne-Marie Woods

23 September 2011 7 Comments

Anne-Marie Woods

By Anne-Marie Woods

I have always loved to travel and I think it might be due to the fact that I lived in three different countries Europe, the Caribbean and Canada before I was 5 years old. Then, at the tender age of 8 my mom took me to New York City. When I was 18, I decided that there had to be more to the world so I hopped on a plane to travel from Nova Scotia to the big city of Toronto (where I now reside).

I have been to countless Canadian Provinces, many American States, the Caribbean and Europe. To be honest, I always wanted to go on girlfriend trips, but my girlfriends seemed to take too long to decide where they were going. Rather than wait for them I started my GPS LIFESTYLE.

Atlanta, Georgia

After visiting Atlanta, Georgia for 15 years and rarely doing anything touristy, I decided to book a hotel downtown for three nights and be a tourist in the city for the first time. After careful consideration, I decided to go to Café 290 for a nice evening of live jazz music, take the CNN and the Georgia Aquarium Tours and attend “Mingles Fridays” for grown folks at Mingles Martini Bar and Grill.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts for travel if you ever decide to GPS your way down to Atlanta, Georgia.

GPS DO’S !!!

DO check Trip Advisor before booking hotels because these reviews are the real deal and this site has saved me from making a mistake with a hotel booking on many occasions. Once you have found your hotel, go to the Air Canada site (click on hotels) to book your hotel on line. You will often get better rates than on Expedia and other discount sites, but in CDN dollars and you also get aeroplan points.

Minnie Dowdy cooked an amazing chicken alfredo at the Residence Inn Thursday night social

DO stay at the Residence Inn in downtown Atlanta because I got a room for only $94.00 CDN a night and that included a complimentary breakfast, and they have free dinner socials from Monday – Thursday with home cooked food!

DO go to Café 290 (admission is $10.00) one of the oldest jazz clubs in Atlanta, they have live music, a bar and I ended up being there on big band night with guest jazz singer Theresa Hightower. Or you can try the Juke Joint (a newer spot on Peachtree for great food and live jazz)

DO go on the CNN Tour (admission is $15.00). It’s good and informative, but there is no handout. I learned that: CNN was started in 1980 by Ted Turner, and that the building has existed since the 1970’s as part of the OMNI hotels, and also the very long escalator ride that we took to the top floor – used to be part of the set of the children’s TV Show from the ’70s HR Puff n Stuff (I am old enough to remember that show).

DO go to the Georgia Aquarium, (admission is $24.95), not only is it the largest aquarium in the world, but it is the most fascinating tour I have ever been on. (I went on Jazz Journeys night, which featured a live band called CG and Friends and they played everything from Jazz to Old School music). I saw beluga whales, piranhas, an albino alligator, penguins, otters, and of course a lot of amazing sea life (Penguins, Piranhas and Whales OH MY!) – Thoroughly captivating and awesome!

GPS DON’TS !!!

DON’T stay at the Residence Inn without checking the bathrooms first! I put off going into my bathroom for a bit, as I always clean them anyway, and let’s just say my toilet seat was not clean (eek)…they got me a new room but that bathroom also had some issues with hair (sigh)

DON’T pose for the pictures behind the news desk on the CNN tour when they entice you to do so with their big shiny digital camera… because they actually have a cost which they don’t tell you about until you are leaving the tour conveniently through their gift shop

DON’T expect to have a real healthy dinner at the Georgia Aquarium Jazz Journey. It’s mostly fast and fried foods, so try to have a good dinner beforehand. But if you love burgers, pizza, chicken wings, chicken fingers, deep fried wontons and I could go on and on; you’re set!

DON’T think you are going to see Tyler Perry in downtown Atlanta or think you can book a tour at his studio because his studio tours do not exist.

DON’T go to “Mingles Fridays” at the Mingles Martini Bar and Grill if you are over 40!!! But if you end up there, have something to eat, because their menu is FANTASTIC!

Anne-Marie with Theresa Hightower at Cafe 290

Anne-Marie with CNN Tour Guide Kimberley

CNN Newsroom

Looking spellbound with the Aquarium

Anne-Marie Woods is a writer, actor, spoken word artist and arts educator; she is also one of the featured columnists on afrotoronto.com and has her own company Imani Enterprises www.imanicreativeconsulting.com.