Savannah, Georgia
When I was a wee little girl my "fancy" grandmother showed be the movie "Gone with the Wind"...from then on I was in love with the South, its culture, the days of whale bone hooped skirts and corsets and knew what I wanted when I grew up-- my very own Rhett Butler. Savannah is part of that culture- sweet tea, y'alls and grits:)
I decided to take time off one January and hit the road from southern Kentucky to travel deeper into the south to the banks of southern Georgia. Suitcase in hand and my puppy dog Gracie-we took the adventure to see what we could find in the marshes of this little gem. I've always heard big talk about this city and everyone always said, "If you love Charleston, you will LOVE Savannah." How on earth could I pass that up?
After checking into my hotel, I searched through all the maps and must sees I had gathered from the lobby to plan my long weekend. Like I have said before, I'm a sucker for the orange and green hop on and off bus tours-so I jumped on one of those to see the most of what this town had to offer along with history and to get an idea of the flow and landmarks I may want to see on my own. January, as one with sense would know, is not a huge tourist season, so I pretty much had the bus to myself!
It was kind of like I expected. Old beautiful trees full of Spanish Moss, old historic homes full of stories (and ghosts), and overflowing with charm and character. As I rode through the streets listening about these ghosts, pirates, slaves and wars-I noticed all these little "squares". It was like every few blocks the neighborhood had its own little square filled with flowers and fountains, restaurants, churches and then the scary part (at least for me--and most annoying) so many homeless men. They would be gathered at these squares with their carts and trash bags and talking and having what seemed a grand time. I did get off and at what seemed a safe place to walk a few of the streets and see the houses--that's when one of these homeless guys decided to follow me for what felt like forever wanting money, change, anything.
So, here I was, in a sweet tea southern city, single girl walking the streets--without my little sweet pit bull---and I have this guy following me. Thinking on my feet I kept an eye out for a public building to duct into and stumbled upon this gorgeous church....My prayers of safety in panic were answered!
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
Holy Mary! This was absolutely a blessing and the most beautiful thing I found there! Golds, reds and a huge display of what I think was Bethlehem and the manger scene...it was amazing and I so glad I was safe and secure. The homeless man did follow me in there, I think he needed a little Jesus that day too!
This church is a must when visiting Savannah to just sit in awe at the art/décor. It was actually highly rated on yelp!
After spending some time in there I ventured out through a side door and jumped back on the tour bus to hit the road again and warm up.
Another very neat thing that I wish I had known about when I was deciding where to go to college was the base of Savannah College of Art and Design. This looks like an amazing place to learn and is highly supported by the city. Classes aren't held on just a boring old college campus but throughout the city in different buildings and old homes and they learn hands on talents to rebuild and remodel the historic homes and buildings they are housed in. Many little museums that showcase student art along with super neat little stores that only sell things the students themselves make! I'm a sucker when it comes the stuff like this. I love one of a kind finds that you just don't see anywhere else. The little store I found was full of paintings/drawings, textiles, jewelry, soaps/lotions, clothing, bags, scarves, just everything you can imagine and not imagine...it was in there! I really could have gone broke in there:)
And then, as some of you know... I have a gypsy soul that I swear is in tune with the sea, because where ever I adventure, I always find myself there. How could I go to the edge and not venture to the ocean to say hi?
Found a pier and walked out on it to take a few pictures and warm up in the sun while the salty breeze kissed and froze my nose. The waves and underwater unknown is the most amazing and calming thing to me and I could sit there forever, alone-just me and the sea. However, I needed to find a place for Gracie to venture out on the sand for the first time! Georgia doesn't seem to allow dogs on the beaches so we headed north into Hilton Head (about and hour drive) to find a path and some sand she could run around in! She LOVED it! I can't wait to take her back. She ran and ran and ran, very happy to finally have some freedom and danced in the cold salty water and chewed on some sticks. She found herself in love the with beach that day too!
My visit to Savannah--was eye opening! I agree, it is a charming neat city but I am in love and fully committed to Charleston and I have to admit that it just doesn't compare or come close to its charm and for me, kind of fell flat. I really think the large homeless population is what ruined it for me. But, go and see for yourself! You may fall in love and find that it is your favorite place on earth!
Make it an adventure...
Wonderful posts!!
ReplyDelete