Southern Sites of Savannah

Monday we arrived in Savannah, GA, and we had some time to explore the city during the afternoon.  (Side note: Savannah was actually built and established to protect Charleston from the Spanish living in Florida.  Interesting bit of trivia!)

The first two things we did were get lunch at Jimmy John's and then cancel our hotel reservation - not because we didn't want to stay in Savannah, but because we realized our "historic downtown" Comfort Inn was on the outskirts and not within walking distance of much.  We found a four-star boutique hotel right in the heart of everything that was about $100 cheaper, so we of course jumped on the upgrade and savings.  If you ever go to Savannah, you can't go wrong with Planter's Inn - right next to the Olde Pink House restaurant.  They have happy hour with free wine & cheese, warm freshly-baked cookies in the evening, and a delicious complimentary breakfast.  Oh yeah, and the rooms are really nice, too!

Planter's Inn

We spent the first afternoon exploring River Street - a touristy area right on the water - and some of the northernmost squares and streets.

We had dinner at the Olde Pink House Monday night.  This is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Savannah and one of the few to survive a major fire in the area many years ago.  Apparently, it used to be painted white over brick, and the heat from the fire caused brick coloring to seep through the paint and turn it pink.  The food is incredibly delicious.

Historic downtown Savannah is much smaller than it looks on a map, so we were able to cover a good deal of distance on foot the first day.  There's a lot of small town southern charm, and the trees are absolutely gorgeous.  If there's one thing they did right in Savannah, it's preserving all of those incredible "live oaks" and the numerous squares (which were apparently just a precaution against the spread of fires when the city was being built).

Savannah has everything we are looking for in a city - walkable downtown, beautiful, lush neighborhoods closeby, water, a giant park, and a warmer climate.  But as much as we enjoyed visiting, there was something about it that just didn't feel like it could be home.  Perhaps knowing in the back of our minds that the crime rate is above the national average?  Not sure, but so far Charleston and Raleigh feel the best for relocation, and that is the main reason for this leg of our trip.

However, we did have a blast in Savannah and loved touring it!  Tuesday morning, we bought tickets for a trolley tour around the historic district.  It felt a tad strange to be on the other side of this - we'd been so used to seeing the red NYC tour bus riders gawk at us as we lived our daily lives on the Upper West Side, and now we were gawking at the native Savannah folk. :-)

Forsyth Park

City Market

Sweet Melissa's!

The feather in Forrest Gump departed from this church's steeple at the beginning of the movie...

...and landed here where Forrest was sitting on a bench waiting for the bus to Jenny's.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Among other landmarks, we also saw the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, and southern writer Flannery O'Connor's childhood home. After the trolley tour was over, we took a drive out to Tybee beach.  It's a quick 15-20 minutes to the gorgeous, low-key waterfront.  We took a long walk on the beach and then headed back to town.

Tuesday night we had dinner at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady & Sons.  I can't put my finger on why I love her so much, but I do.  I was a tad ridiculous in her gift shop, y'all.  Unfortunately the food was disappointing... guess that's what happens when you're not the one actually making it anymore and your little place has expanded to a three-story Times-Square-esque restaurant.  Sigh... I still love her.

Next post: Greenville, SC

...and I swear Tom is on this trip with me, too.  Now that he's feeling almost 100%, he should be picture-ready soon!