Sunday is by far one of my fav days of the week. Whether I’m hiking up Stone Mountain, riding my bike on the Beltline, or hitting the local farmers market, I always try to make time to get out and explore my city. A few weeks ago, I decided to grab my best friend Alec, hop on the MARTA, and spend my Sunday in the Centennial Park District before an Atlanta United game…. and it was awesome. Here’s a look at our day:
First stop? The Center for Civil and Human Rights.
With all of the unrest in our country today surrounding social injustice and racial inequality, this stop wound up having a much greater impact on our day than we had initially expected. I honestly just thought it would be cool place to walk through and visit…. It wound up being a hard and overwhelming look at how divided this country was not so long ago…. and served as a strong reminder of how much further we have left to go. I think everyone, regardless of race, age, or gender, would benefit from a slow and thoughtful walk through this exhibit.
We wound up spending more time at the Center for Civil and Human Rights than we planned, so we were starving by the time we finished and practically ran down the street to our second stop, Ted’s Montana Grill.
Marva was our server and she was THE BEST! When there are so many great things on a menu, Alec and I tend to struggle. Luckily, she couldn’t have been more helpful when were trying to decide what to order. We started by sharing the Grilled Shrimp on Ciabatta Toast which was light and super flavorful. Alec was in the mood for a burger, so he ordered the Bacon Jam and I was more in the mood for Sunday comfort food, so I ordered the Bison Pot Roast with mashed potatoes and carrots. By the end of the meal, Alec was licking bacon jam off his fingers and I was licking mashed potatoes off my plate, so I guess you could say we liked it…. We were both feeling fat, happy, and very excited to get some walking in on the way to our next stop.
We only walked a few blocks, but it felt like we had hopped on an international flight when we walked into Der Biergarten. This authentic German beer garden had the perfect outdoor area for some pregame drinks. They have a ton of German beers, listed here, but we opted for the Bavarian Punch and Moscow Mule. Both were refreshing and perfectly sweet.
If I ever wanted to grab drinks with a group before a sporting event at Mercedes Benz Stadium, I would definitely come back to Der Biergarten. The patio area was huge and had long picnic style tables perfect for groups of 4-8 people.
After a few rounds, we closed our tab and headed toward Mercedes Benz Stadium for the Atlanta United game. I had never been to an Atlanta United game before, so I was pumped to check everything out for the first time. (LADIES: You can only bring in a CLEAR purse/bag otherwise you will have to check your belongings before entering the stadium.)
Our seats were amazing but there honestly wasn’t a bad seat in the house. Mercedes Benz Stadium is one of my favorite venues of all time – it was huge, clean, and easy to navigate. Even the staff looked genuinely happy to be there. And the crowd?! Their energy was infectious. I don’t consider myself to be a huge soccer fan, but after that day – I am definitely an Atlanta United fan.
After winning the game and cheering until we lost our voices, we headed to SkyLounge (on the rooftop at the Glenn Hotel) to celebrate!
I ordered champagne (obviously) and Alec ordered a classic gin and tonic before we made a toast to the perfect day in our beautiful city. It’s so easy to get caught up in our busy, everyday lives that sometimes we forget all of the magnificent things we have to offer right here in our own backyard. I invite all of you to take a piece of your Sunday and start exploring – you won’t regret it!
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