Savannah & Charleston
April 2007
We began our tour in the gracious town of Savannah, Georgia. We got an overview the first day with a mini-bus tour of the historic district that included a visit to one of the lovely homes. The next day we took a hop-on-hop-off trolley tour and strolled through the shops on the Factors' Walk. We did some fine dining in this town, including the Sapphire Grill and the Olde Pink House. The following day we traveled by private mini-bus to Charleston, South Carolina via charming Beaufort. We took a carriage ride--not the one we were expecting but everyone was good-natured about it--and we had lunch near the lovely waterfront. We took a guided historic homes walking tour the next morning that included admission to two of the loveliest houses. That afternoon we were free to do our own thing and we all went in different directions. One of us went on the Tall Ships, one to a museum, one to a low-country cooking class, two to Ft. Sumter and two took pictures. The next day most of us took a Gullah Tour. Gullah is the language spoken by the Low-Country's first Black inhabitants. It was an overview of the city's history as well as a description of the contributions of Black Charlestonians. It culminated in a visit to see famed ironworker Phil Simmons in his home; he was delighted to greet his visitors and happy to have his picture taken with us. That evening we enjoyed a theatre production at Charleston Stage. We spent our last full day at Boone Hall Plantation outside of town. There we toured the mansion and beautiful gardens, saw the former slave cabins and a skit that personified the life of a slave. That night we celebrated our Grand Finale dinner at McCrady's Restaurant. Other restaurants we "hit" in Charleston included 82 Queen, Peninsula Grill and Magnolia's. We were thinking we might nickname ourselves the Gallivanting Gourmets! We came away so impressed with the refined manner in which we were treated (It wasn't all bad being called Ma'm all the time!), the fine regional cuisine and the beautiful weather which prevailed throughout our trip. It was a lovely slice of America.
April 2007
We began our tour in the gracious town of Savannah, Georgia. We got an overview the first day with a mini-bus tour of the historic district that included a visit to one of the lovely homes. The next day we took a hop-on-hop-off trolley tour and strolled through the shops on the Factors' Walk. We did some fine dining in this town, including the Sapphire Grill and the Olde Pink House. The following day we traveled by private mini-bus to Charleston, South Carolina via charming Beaufort. We took a carriage ride--not the one we were expecting but everyone was good-natured about it--and we had lunch near the lovely waterfront. We took a guided historic homes walking tour the next morning that included admission to two of the loveliest houses. That afternoon we were free to do our own thing and we all went in different directions. One of us went on the Tall Ships, one to a museum, one to a low-country cooking class, two to Ft. Sumter and two took pictures. The next day most of us took a Gullah Tour. Gullah is the language spoken by the Low-Country's first Black inhabitants. It was an overview of the city's history as well as a description of the contributions of Black Charlestonians. It culminated in a visit to see famed ironworker Phil Simmons in his home; he was delighted to greet his visitors and happy to have his picture taken with us. That evening we enjoyed a theatre production at Charleston Stage. We spent our last full day at Boone Hall Plantation outside of town. There we toured the mansion and beautiful gardens, saw the former slave cabins and a skit that personified the life of a slave. That night we celebrated our Grand Finale dinner at McCrady's Restaurant. Other restaurants we "hit" in Charleston included 82 Queen, Peninsula Grill and Magnolia's. We were thinking we might nickname ourselves the Gallivanting Gourmets! We came away so impressed with the refined manner in which we were treated (It wasn't all bad being called Ma'm all the time!), the fine regional cuisine and the beautiful weather which prevailed throughout our trip. It was a lovely slice of America.