An Afternoon in Savannah

Good morning and happy Monday, friends. It's not a super fun one because we dropped Rebecca off at the airport to head back to Germany this morning. We really hope to get back over there to see her in the next couple years! This weekend, we tried to squeeze every last minute Lowcountry thing in that we could. We walked along the Battery, looked at all my favorite houses South of Broad, went to the Charleston Tea Plantation, and took a day trip to Savannah. I can't believe it's taken us 2 years to get down there! My family always used to take a ferry there when we vacationed on Hilton Head, but with so much to do here in Charleston, we just hadn't gotten around to making the 2 hour trek. I really didn't remember much about Savannah going in since my last trip there was probably fifteen years ago and a 12 year-old's memories consist of free samples at the Savannah Candy Kitchen, finding bracelets and street signs with my name (spelled correctly) at the Cinnamon Bear, and eating at the Pirates' House.

 We turned the tables and gave Rebecca the task of being our tour guides for the day since we had showed her all around Charleston!

We started the day driving across the Talmadge Memorial Bridge and onto River Street along the Savannah River.  They have a bunch of little parking lots and garages just a couple blocks up, so we parked there and walked along along the cobblestone streets to check out all the shops (and get my favorite - praline samples!).

Then, we headed back up the steps to Bay Street and started on our tour of squares.  All of the green space in Savannah is beautiful.  On a hot day like yesterday, it made for a perfect day.

Obviously, we had to stop in the famous Chippewa Square, where Forrest Gump said that "life is like a box of chocolates."

We continued through the streets, checking out the historical architecture and made our way up to Forsyth Park.

As you can see, it was a full day of walking.  Our last stop before heading back towards the river was in the Historic District.  I'd heard of The Gingerbread House before but never seen it.  The architecture is amazing, and it's definitely worth a stop.  They also have a really cute cafe next door.

Walking back towards the river, we stopped in even more squares and checked out a few beautiful churches.

The last stop on our walking adventure (we deserved it!!) was Leopold's Ice Cream.  They are a staple in Savannah and have been there for 97 years.  Mike and I split a club sandwich and a fresh made chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich filled with chocolate chocolate chip ice cream.  Both were delicious, and Leopold's definitely lived up to its expectation.

The last stop of the day was a short drive to Bonaventure Cemetery.  I know it might sound a little weird to walk around a cemetery, but the architecture and sculpture are just fantastic, and it really epitomizes "Southern Gothic."

We had a fantastic time in Savannah seeing all the beautiful squares and historical homes, but personally (and yes, I know we are biased), we are Charleston fans.  While Savannah is more naturally beautiful and might be considered more walkable to many, I love the more Caribbean-style architecture in Charleston as well as all the food set up of our city market.  Don't get me wrong, I will definitely be back, but I'm happy with my city choice!

My look: sunnies ||| tank ||| necklace ||| shorts