May 2016

Savannah!

Charleston and Savannah have a little brotherly rivalry.  When we told people who live and work in Charleston we were finishing our trip in Savannah they said their city is better.  When we got to Savannah they said the same thing.  Charleston is more sophisticated and "gentlemanly" than Savannah but there's more of a lightheartedness in Savannah.  I loved both cities and would love to visit them again.

Savannah has 22 parklike squares and it's one of the largest national historic landmark districts in the U.S.  

Each square has a uniqeness of it's own.  On most weekends in the warm weather these squares are hot wedding destinations.  Just picture a horse and carriage pulling up, the bride and groom taking their vows and then everyone has cocktails and dinner right here.  

Charleston has the beautiful plantations and Savannah has the beautiful homes and mansions.  This is the Mercer Williams House.  If you read "In the Garden of Good and Evil" you would recognize this house and think of the story as you toured it.

I was anxiously waiting to see the famous statue in the garden but it's not there!  It was in a nearby cemetery until it was deemed unsafe to remain there.  Now it's safe but unfortunately it's where the public can't destroy it.  This is part of the garden in the back of the house.

Here's Paula Deen's restaurant.  

The lines are around the building every night.  We didn't eat here because it's a big fried food restaurant and we were told the food in other restaurants in Savannah is much better.

   This is the Calhoun Mansion.  It's too bad no photos are allowed because it's gorgeous inside!

Down by the Savannah River there's a beautiful statue named "the waving girl".  It was named after Florence Martus who was the unofficial greeter of all of the ships that entered and left the Port of Savannah between 1887 and 1931.  The locals like to tell the story that her love, a sailor, sailed out of the port promising to return and never did.  She waited patiently for his return for 44 years!  

  

Down by the river there's an old town which reminded me of the Old City in Quebec.  

 

There are lots of shops and some good restaurants down by the river.  One we were told which was excellent was Bernie's.  

It was so much fun and the fish was so fresh we ate lunch there 2 days in a row.

Fresh oysters, shrimp in a basket and cole slaw.  I'm still dreaming about those lunches.

Top it off with their famous bloody Mary's with pickled okra garnish and it's just to die for!

 All of the restaurants we ate at were terrific but The Olde Pink House really stood out.  It's just beautiful inside and out.

Elegant with that magical southern charm each room was decorated differently.  It's huge and there's a fun bar in the basement that hops every night.

This is City Market in Savannah.  The first day we arrived we took a carriage tour around the city to get familiar with where everything is.  Once you do that you can easily do all of the mansions and everything else on your own.

It's really crowded here during the day and at night but in the morning you'll find a lot of southern belles out for their early constitutional.  These were a couple of "party poodles" I fell in love with.  When I retire I told my family I'm getting a standard poodle and these black and white beauties are at the top of my list.

Savannah was the home of Johnny Mercer.  

This is the Owens-Thomas House.  This house is one of the finest examples of English Regency architecture in America.  In 1830 this property was purchased by the mayor of Savannah, George Owens for $10,000.  It remained in the family until 1951.   

Like many of these beautiful homes, the stables are the gift shops now.

This is the Davenport House.  It's an 1820 Federal-style house built by Isaiah Davenport for his growing household of wife, children and slaves.  His family owned it until his death in 1827 when his wife converted it into a boarding house.

We were able to take photos.  The inside is gorgeous.

This little room was where the wife, Sarah Clark Davenport spent her precious little alone time.  She darned and looked through patterns like this deciding on her future dresses.

This is one of the daughter's rooms.  The netting on the bed was to keep out mosquitoes.  It's so warm in Savannah in the summer that the only way to cool off the house was to keep the windows open.  Since they didn't have screens they lived with bugs.  Isaiah Davenport died of "Yellow Fever" in this house as well as some of his family.

I think this wallpaper would be just as beautiful in a home today.

Many families kept generations of "Bibles" of hair.

This is the view of the garden from the upstairs porch.

On our last night we had a drink at Churchill's Pub down by the river.

It didn't disappoint!

This summer I'm making these "Bay Street Breezes".  They are the most refreshing and scream summer!

Savannah is full of fun and whimsy.  You can walk along the street and hear music.  There are jazz bands playing in many of the restaurants and bars.  As you walk along City Market you'll see signs popping up in front of shops like this.

And this!  

There's so much more to do in Savannah that I didn't have enough space to write about it all.  If you go these are a few must-sees.  I hope you enjoyed this little trip.  I love sharing my experiences because if you ever go I'd like you to love these destinations as much as I did!

Thanks for visiting and happy summer!  See you soon!!  And thanks as always for visiting!!!