Blues, haints and bayous: snippets from the Deep South: A promising beginning

Our flights to Atlanta were actually enjoyable this trip -- thank you, Virgin and Delta. Great seats and good space -- I had three seats to myself on the longest thirteen hour stretch so spread out over them like a contented cat on comfy cushions. The food was decent, the staff pleasant, and the schedules maintained, or made up pronto. Which is a little different from the last time we flew this direction with Qantas. So, all up, a promising beginning.

Atlanta was practically balmy when we landed, 23˚C, with last week's frigid winter temperatures absent on our arrival. We had no need to put on even a light jacket as we trundled our luggage to the MARTA station at the airport, bought Breeze cards for the duration of our stay, and caught the GOLD train downtown where we located our condo just a short walk from the station, right there in the heart of it all. We have a 19th floor room with a screened balcony overlooking the city lights. The World of Coca Cola neons are flashing barely a block away, and as that's our adventure tomorrow it is great to see the venue so close as it is meant to be wet tomorrow and we didn't bring an umbrella.

After a quick but delicious dinner at a micro-brewery restaurant just steps from our high-rise we hit the king sized pillows and slept solidly till morning. The wonders of a soft thick mattress. Taps of rain on the windows woke us up. Pete melts in the slightest drizzle so he had to break out a waterproof to nip downstairs and bring back some takeout breakfast. My god, we have eaten here only twice: Crusted Southern-fried chicken last night with collards and mash, and this morning, fresh from the oven squared Cinnamon Buns, each the size of four meat pies at home, layered with a thick drizzle of confectioner's sugar. Death by deliciousness, all of it. The flavours intense, the calorie count gigantic, we may not live to see out our planned route.

As the rain was bucketing down when we were heading off to the World of Coke we changed plans and went instead to a smart indoor shopping centre in Buckhead, by MARTA, to sort out effective Sims for phones and iPads with AT&T. Another altogether enjoyable experience. Americans are such masters at hospitality. We had forgotten how skilled they are at it. And: Y'all come back now, y'hear! is becoming a regular refrain. So wonderfully welcoming. Aussie waitstaff could do with a regular dose of whatever these guys have had.

The Coca Cola exhibits in the afternoon were reasonably interesting. I am not a huge Coke fan, and was not all that enthused beforehand I must admit, but Atlanta is the epicentre of the Coke world and this is the top tourist attraction in town as it is where the drink was first invented by a local pharmacist. So, we had to visit. The Coke syrup recipe is secret and has been locked in a vault, so the marketing goes, and remains unique, despite many copyists over the decades trying to unravel the formula -- but to no avail.

We ate southern cuisine again tonight, at the same micro-brewery, which is simply too wonderful to pass up. It is jam packed with hundreds of people every evening, upstairs and down. There are many tables of men here, too, probably business men, late to go home: talking, laughing, drinking, eating, and really enjoying themselves, paying, it was noted, little or no attention to their mobiles. The home brewed beer is magnificent. I have been trying the wheaten ones and am loving the flavours.

We are in awe of the chef, who tonight produced a pork chop that had been brined, smoked, then griddled according to our waitperson who recommended it, and was as tender as eating marshmallow. And it filled a plate. The barbecued rib rack fell off the bone, and the chicken, licked with a fire-breathing marinade, hit the mouth and disappeared, though left its flaming mark. Delicious. To this we added grits whipped with cheese which has fast become a passion for each of us (cheese whipped polenta by any other name), along with a side of fried green tomatoes: crunchy, textured and tart. We were amazed we awoke in the morning. We had expected our hearts to clog up in the night.