{"id":101,"date":"2013-09-19T20:11:48","date_gmt":"2013-09-19T18:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/?p=101"},"modified":"2016-02-13T09:37:48","modified_gmt":"2016-02-13T07:37:48","slug":"of-fried-chicken-and-peaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/?p=101","title":{"rendered":"Of fried chicken and peaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knoxville, TN was the first stop in a different US, away from the tourists and the big city life. It took almost a full day to get there from DC, with some intense weather along the way. My host had advised me to pack an umbrella, yet rain was still the last thing to come to mind when thinking of the US south. I met some new friends on the bus (hey Michael and Melissa!) and we spent the better half of the coach ride talking. Megabus kept up its track record, actually arriving well ahead of schedule. Tanya, my Couchsurfing host, headed to the bus station as soon as I told her we had arrived, and five minutes later we were off on a scenic drive around town.<\/p>\n

\"Downtown<\/a>
Downtown Knoxville<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My first impression of Knoxville was of a small place; a downtown of a few blocks giving way to green suburbs full of elegant, spacious houses all having large lawns and porches. It was already getting dark by the time we made it to Tanya\u2019s place, and I mostly took it easy for my first night there. Nine hour coach rides tend to drain you of energy, even when all you\u2019re doing is sitting on your ass the entire way. I made plans to meet Kim, a friend from a few years back, the next day. We had worked together for a few months in Switzerland in 2010 and had not met since, so were both really looking forward to it. Apparently it’s not too many foreign friends that make it to Knoxville.<\/p>\n

The following morning started with a walk around Tanya\u2019s neighbourhood and a bus ride into town. I stopped near the university to pay Kim a visit, and eventually hunted her down in her very own personal lab.<\/p>\n

\"Kim<\/a>
Kim working hard (or hardly working?)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rest of the day consisted of a walk around town – I felt I had seen most of it by noon, but then made a few more loops and found plenty of hidden spots which I had missed the first time round.<\/p>\n

\"Welcome<\/a>
Welcome to Tennessee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kim had promised to take me out for a proper Southern dinner, and so that evening we drove to the one and only Cracker Barrel. Somewhat of an interesting mix between ‘the real thing’ (moose and shotgun on the wall, wooden interior, lit by lanterns) and ‘by-the-highway chain restaurant’ (I didn’t know it back then, but they’re everywhere, stretching all the way to New Mexico!).<\/p>\n

While waiting for the food to arrive we both got addicted to the \u2018Cracker Barrel game\u2019, for lack of an actual name. The aim is simple enough \u2013 jump over your own pieces Checkers-style on a triangular board, and finish off with only one piece. Well, easier said than done. Fifteen minutes later, though, I had found the trick. And once you\u2019ve gotten it, you can solve it every time. At least that\u2019s the idea\u2026 right, Kim? The food itself was great \u2013 it was, after all, real southern fried chicken.<\/p>\n

\"Victory<\/a>
Victory at last (oh, and spot the moose!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I didn\u2019t hang around Knoxville for too long. I had no choice, in any case. My relatively short (four hour) trip to Atlanta was booked for the next morning, just about giving me enough time for another short walk round town. A day and a half wasn\u2019t much, but it was enough to see the city. Knoxville may not have been somewhere to spend a week, but it was great visiting nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\"Knoxville<\/a>
Knoxville World’s Fair Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

—<\/p>\n

Country mode really kicked in on the bus ride down to Atlanta. I was practically the only male and only foreigner (i.e. non-Tennessean) there, surrounded by handbag saleswomen off to Atlanta for a company convention. Two of them, Ginny and Abigail, decided that I needed a crash course in being a true southerner.<\/p>\n

And so, the list of interesting and friendly people I\u2019ve met in the US continues to grow. Whether it\u2019s on the bus, waiting in line for your burger, or on the street corner looking lost, you can rest assured that if you\u2019re in the US it\u2019s only going to be a matter of minutes before someone comes up to you and strikes up a conversation. That\u2019s what I like so much about this place. Especially when they find out where I\u2019m from (following the whole geography lesson, of course), that\u2019s subject matter enough to keep the conversation going for a long time.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6271<\/a>
Touchdown in Atlanta with Abigail and Ginny<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Driving into Atlanta, I could instantly feel the return to a big city. One with a high-rise skyline and urban sprawl in all directions. My host Max was waiting at the bus stop with a few friends, and as soon as I tracked them down we headed to his place. Max already had big plans for the night. A party was brewing, and a big one too in typical US college-dorm style. Small taste of what\u2019s to come in a few months\u2019 time. Max\u2019s apartment was pretty spacious, and even then it filled up after an hour or two. It didn\u2019t end there, either. His was just one of several apartments in a student housing block, and if you’d had enough of one party, all you had to do was move down a few doors or up a few floors, and join another. Too bad we didn\u2019t get any photos of the night.<\/p>\n

The next day was my only full one in Atlanta. It was a bit of a late start after the night\u2019s festivities, but a full day nonetheless. Max was also hosting Ann and Marlena, two other Couchsurfers from the US, and I was invited to join them for a drive round some of the city’s sights. First on the list was Little Five Points, a hip artsy district with a real character of its own. Plenty of records stores, thrift stores and small restaurants.<\/p>\n

\"Thrift<\/a>
Thrift shopping<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"IMG_6288\"<\/a> \"IMG_6275\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The next stop was the Martin Luther King Jr. district, where MLK grew up, lived and preached not too long ago. Really interesting place with a lot going on, especially with this year being the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of his famous speech.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The eternal flame<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My newfound friends soon had to head out of Atlanta towards New Orleans, to continue on their road trip which would take them all the way up to Seattle a couple of thousand miles away. It\u2019s incredible when travelling how quickly you meet and get to know people, to the extent that when you part ways you feel as though you\u2019re saying goodbye<\/del> see-you-soon to old friends, rather than to the people you\u2019d met barely 24 hours earlier. And it\u2019s not easy either, having no idea when and where you\u2019ll ever see each other again.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The closest thing we got to a group photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were still a few hours left to my day, and I faced a crucial choice. Coca-Cola and CNN are both headquartered in Atlanta, surprising as it may be. Both offer guided tours for approximately the same price. But both tours also take a while, and there was only time enough for one. Feeling educated and all that, I picked CNN and headed there for an inside studio tour.<\/p>\n

Just seeing the massive complex was already impressive in itself. Getting a close-up view of those newsrooms and backdrops which I\u2019ve seen splattered across TV screens countless number of times was an experience like no other.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The CNN complex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The tour begins with a ride up the world’s longest escalator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Newsroom\"<\/a>
Newsroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Greenscreen<\/a>
Greenscreen in action<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"CNN<\/a>
CNN International studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the whole CNN experience was over, I decided to head back to Max\u2019s place on foot and see some of downtown on the way. There didn\u2019t seem to be too much going on, especially for a city that size. I passed the Georgia State Capitol, but besides that and deserted office buildings there was little to see. It’s proven to be quite characteristic of the US that once office hours are over, downtowns and business districts become quiet, hollow shells. Nice to look at, but otherwise entirely void of any life.<\/p>\n

\"Georgia's<\/a>
Georgia’s State Capitol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The only thing left on my checklist was buying some food for the next day\u2019s long ride down to Orlando. I stocked up on some quality Georgia peaches (’tis the Peach State, after all) and the age-old bread and ham, and was good to go. Next stop \u2013 Florida!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Knoxville, TN was the first stop in a different US, away from the tourists and the big city life. It took almost a full day to get there from DC, with some intense weather along the way. My host had advised me to pack an umbrella, yet rain was still the last thing to come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134,"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions\/134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chris-mercieca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}