CNN Headquarters

I only had limited time in Atlanta so I had to make tough choices. After discussing it with a friend, I have opted to skip the World of Coca-Cola and visit instead the Headquarters of CNN.

CNN was the first news television in the world. It has a truly global reach and its logo is iconic.

In the inner courtyard of the building you can see lots of flags. Actually, I think these are flags of all the countries in the world, in alphabetic order. Except for the US flag, hanging proudly above all the others.

CNN belongs to the Time Warner Group. You can see in Atlanta also some of its sister companies.

How nice to meet some of those jolly good fellows. Though I must admit that this display is surprisingly close to suggesting that Elmo and the Cookie Monster founded a family together, with small furry offspring of blue and red.

But let us return to serious news. We shall take the escalator and go into the large globe we have just seen. This escalator is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest freestanding (supported only at the ends) escalator in the world at 196 feet long. It was built for the theme park that once occupied the building, and it is part of the building's structure and could not be removed.

And finally, were we come to a newsroom. You can feel as if you were the one to give news to the world. Or to be the Anchor, as they call them here.

Do not worry that you do not know what to say. It is enough that you read from the prompter.

Or maybe you prefer something more green? Any idea what this is about?

Still no clue? Then look into the small TV set. Yes, this is actually a weather forecast! Not easy to point in the right direction.

Why the screen is green? Actually this is becuase it was discovered that none of the skin types has in its pigmentation any shade of green. So there is not risk that the host will be overwritten with the weather map. Unless he wears an invisibility cloak, like Harry Potter. Or any green cloth as a matter of fact.

Unfortunately it is not allowed to take pictures in the parts of the CNN Center where real broadcast is shoot. We have a long flight over the Atlantic ahead of us. So I propose that we return to your hotel now.

It is both comfortable and elegant so I hope that you will like it.

Downtown Atlanta

Today, I have one place on my mind.

And by Georgia, I definitely do not mean the beautiful country in Caucasus Mountains. No doubt that we are in USA.

My friends - welcome to Atlanta!

One of the most important place of downtown Atlanta is the Centennial Olympic Park. It was built for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.

It is quite large. Though based on my experience, in most countries parks mean trees, while here it is more a large lawn.

Alright, there is one.

But to be honest, it is just on the edge of the park, next to SkyView Atlanta, the lovely Ferris wheel.

But let's get back to the Centennial Olympic Park. The tall structure represents the Olympic Torch. Though far smaller than the one we have seen in Beijing.

And here comes baron Coubertin that we have already met in Lausanne.

But this is not the only statue in the park. The other one is of John Pemberton, the inventor of coca-cola.

Because coca-cola was borne in Georgia. And it is still headquartered in Atlanta. You can even visit the World of Coca-Cola.

The entrance is not so crowded in case you want to take a look inside.

But if you are not so interested in commercial artefacts, you can choose the Center for Civil and Human Rights instead. It is just next to the World of Coca-Cola.

Those of you who prefer to stay in the sunshine, can follow me for a walk down the large streets of Atlanta. Or actually the interstate Georgia roads.

The buildings are tall.

So to make transfers easier, at times they are connected in surprising places.

Atlanta is the birth town of Martin Luther King who won a Nobel Prize for his pacifist fight with racial discrimination. But the road from laws to reality was long and required Freedom Riders. Literally.

Because a Vision need followers.