If you take a look at our USA road trip itinerary, you’ll notice we’re slowly moving up the east coast : our stop today is Charleston in South Carolina.

If we compare it with Savannah that we just visited, I’d say it’s a more distinguished and luxurious version : this opulence probably has to do with it’s rather unglorious past, full of slavery and secession war.

Sunset on Murray boulevard

I personally preferred Savannah (weirdly, the ghosts didn’t frighten me away!), but you can’t deny the beauty of Charleston, or not notice it’s number of interests (and the city was actually elected Best city in the world in 2016, that’s right!), so let’s discover it together!

 

The houses in Charleston

This is a little and simple house in Murray bvd

We stayed in Charleston 2 days, and our first contact was King street, this shopping street with art deco facades.

Dolce vita in South Carolina…

The beauty of Charleston resides in it’s architectural multiplicity, even more than for Savannah, but with a rather omnipresent bourgeois atmosphere.

You can easily visit Charleston by foot (or in a horse-drawn carriage, if you want to go all in on the Gone with the Wind theme), which is the best way to enjoy all the facades and different architectures of the city’s houses.

Our big game was to try and find THE prettiest house, but as you can see, there were quite a number of candidates, and just as many to get first prize. It was impossible to find a house without embellishments, everything was grandiose (especially on Murray Blvd).

 

Rainbow row

The most photographed street in Charleston is most certainly East Bay Street, the house with colored houses that may remind you of our rue Crémieux in Paris – it’s quite blogger-friendly.

13 pastel-colored houses in a row, of course the street name is Rainbow row.

 

City Market

The Charleston touristic zone is located around City Market, a long covered market, where you’re bound to find a souvenir for home, even if it’s necessary to sort between the kitsch trinkets and the “I love Charleston” Desigual-inspired tshirts.

The sweetgrass baskets are the town specialty, you’ll find all shapes and sizes here.

I was more tempted by food however (you know me by now), and discovered a great place for breakfast or brunch nearby : ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFE (99 Market Street #4).

You have to sign up on the waiting list, get a beeper (Grey’s anatomy style) and walk around until you’re beeped for a table. On the menu, the famous Shrimp’n Grits (the corn gruel with shrimp that I particularly likedà, with all kinds of omelets and fritter.

Shrimp’n grits and donuts

I may now understand how they invented the Charleston dance in this city – it was probably to burn off all those calories!

 

Waterfront park

Charleston isn’t just about colorful and luxurious real-estate, it’s also a great city for simply enjoying life.

This dock on the harbour was incredibly relaxing – you can even choose to sit in a swing-seat to admire the horizon (the sitting time is however limited, just to make sure you don’t hog the seat all day).

 

Francis Marion Hotel

After my haunted experience, the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston was a wonderful experience (thank you Comptoir des Voyages!).

Dating back to 1924, a “Gatsby” atmosphere everywhere, from the reception to the room … I finally recovered from my sleepless night in Savannah

 

Yummy addresses

We didn’t get to try a whole lot of places : we had to leave pretty quickly – the Matthew hurricane was on it’s way (according to the news report – our trip dates back to last october). We were very lucky : the town was devastated 2 days after our departure. But here are what I would recommend :

 

BON BÁNH MÌ (162 Spring Street)

Not at all local food, since they offer “bánh mì”. But the place is owned by an american who just loved this vietnamese sandwich (and loves Vietnam as well), and wanted to reinterpret it in his own way.

I’ll always prefer the original version with the crunchy baguette, but the place was welcoming, and the filling well seasoned.

 

CHARLESTON CRAB HOUSE (Rainbow Market 41S Market Street)

The perfect place to enjoy seafood while looking down on City Market from its rooftop.

 

Charleston is definitively worth a stop : I would have loved to visit the cotton plantations, but the weather and timing didn’t allow it. Once again, I’ll hope that this post gave you a global view of the city, but there is so much to see that you can’t just limit yourself to what you see in this post.

The next destination will be a bit more nostalgic, since we’re heading to Dawson Leery’s hometown : ♬ I don’t wanna wait ! ♬ (English translation by Marine)

And our USA road-trip continues : we’re back today in the beautiful and mysterious Savannah, GA. Before arriving, I knew nothing of the city. It’s a great way to make every step a discovery … but it also comes with its lot of surprises!

Indeed, I’ll tell you about a rather scary night … but for now, let’s go wandering about in blissful ignorance, under a lovely sun.

 

First steps in Savannah

We stayed 2 nights in Savannah (which seems like a good timeframe to me) and the first contact I had with the city was enchanting. What architecture, lovely streets, public squares, parks and overflowing greenery … who could resist?

The city’s checkerboard mapping is owed to a british general by the name of James Edward Oglethorpe (who arrived in 1733 with english and scottish immigrants). It makes it super easy to locate yourself and the addresses that you want to visit.

 

Greenery and architecture

Jepson Center of arts

Forsyth park

That being said, you can also choose to walk about without any particular destination in mind, which is what we did. We started around Forsyth park and headed to the Savannah river docks by zig-zagging through the streets and around the squares.

“Little” boat on Savannah river

Not much point in fixing an itinerary, just enjoy what the city has to offer and let it come to you.

Saint John Baptist cathedral

When I talked about mysterious Savannah, it’s in part because of the strange greenery that you find in the trees : spanish moss. A sort of parasite that gives a willow-like appearance to hundred year old oak trees. They are everywhere!

Each house in Savannah is more beautiful than the last: forged iron, bricks, colors, every style can be found.

Owens-Thomas House where the Marquis de Lafayette stayed in 1825

 

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Savannah is known for its Art and Design school. The city is so perfect for artistic inspiration that I wasn’t at all surprised by the presence of such a school in the city – it’s a perfect fit.

SCAD Art’s Café

During our walk, we found this café, located in front of the SCAD, operated by students, and where you can buy school-branded merchandise (The boutique/concept store across from the café sells jewelry and decorative objects – it’s also totally worth stopping by).

Salad, panini and açai bowl at SCAD Art’s café

Food wise, I needed a break from my american burger/all you can eat diet, and the salads and açai bowls they were serving was perfect for that. Note that the innovative decoration with this english bus that’s both a kitchen and a bar!

 

Run Forrest run !

Fun fact, the first scene from the movie Forrest Gump (where he’s sitting on a bench and a feather falls to the ground in front of him) was filmed in Savannah, and more precisely in the Chippewa square.

The place was being renovated at the time of our visit, and the bench was moved to one of the city’s museums, but it’s still pretty fun to think that it all happened right here.

Chippewa square

 Laurie’s / Debie’s restaurant’s window

As we walked around, we also found the café (Laurie’s / Debie’s restaurant 10 W State Street) where Jenny is working when she learns that Forrest is running around the world. You can’t really recognize it, but the fresco on the window brings back memories from the movie.

 

A haunted town

GHOOOOOST are you here?

Savannah is known for being one of the most haunted towns in the States (or the world?) and that is one fact I didn’t know before I arrived.

You can even partake in “Ghost Tours”, organized at night, where you’re drived around the city, listening to terrifying stories about Savannah. Let me tell you I steered clear from that option!

Colonial Park cemetery

I don’t really believe in ghosts, but let’s just say I have a very vivid imagination : the slightest disturbing atmosphere can bring about anguishes, and it’s pretty easy for me to summon dancing zombies or serial killers in my mind.

 

A night at 17 HUNDRED 90 INN

The “welcoming” poster in the hotel reception

So here comes the bit about the night (unknowingly or with a hint of sadism?) my SO booked at the 17 Hundred 90 inn. Let me just say my SO took care of all hotel bookings for our road-trip. I was blindly trusting, and maybe I shouldn’t have been! (He said he really didn’t know when he made the reservation : YES OF COURSE NOT!).

If you followed my Instagram Story last fall, you got a taste of the atmosphere in the guest house where we spent the night (and how easily I cringe).

During the check-in, nothing unusual to report, the place is rather old fashioned, but clean. We are welcomed by a very friendly receptionnist (maybe he was smiling too much?? haha!). And then I see this paper pinned on the wall : the hotel is supposed to be haunted by 3 ghosts, most notably “Anna in room 204, who jumped out the window (or was pushed by her husband) following a heartbreak.”

“People have noticed weird occurrences during their stay : sheets that are pulled back during the night, objects change places …” Gaaaaaa! My reason tells me it is just contributing that local beliefs and that these are just legends, but truth be told, I’m terrified.

Especially when we get to our room 402 (204 to 402, it’s just a matter of switching numbers, amiright?!) The victorian style would have been totally nonthreatening HAD I ONLY NOT just read these stories of weird phenomenons.

That being said, mirrors in front and next to the bed (not Feng Shui at all), the curtains that sway slightly because of the air conditioning (or an evil spirit?), a lamp with an unstable light beam, broken WIFI (…a blogger’s nightmare!)…

The friendly and smiling receptionist helps us out with the wifi, but after having toyed with the box, announces that nothing more can be done, still smiling (=the constant smile is getting scary!). I give up on the wifi, but let my SO know that I’m not speding a second alone tonight.

I follow him to the bathroom on every occasion and even follow him under the shower (where I lather him in soap, lest he try to leave me by myself … who is the psychopath here? hahaha!)

I didn’t take any pictures of the bathroom, sorry, but imagine it a soft green color, with a closed shower (scary-yet again!), a bathtub and a direct access to the street through a door with blurred glass (oh so terrifying).

All of this led to me not sleeping a wink during the night (maybe 4 to 5 minutes tops), holding on to my SO for dear life, who was sleeping like a baby (or devil?) beside me. I was awake, but my eyes were shut tight the whole time, to be sure I didn’t come across a vision of some kind in the mirrors or see sheets raising from the bed …. in anycase, saying I was tense would be an understatement, but I somehow survived.

We’re laughing about it now, and the hubby now flaunts that he got me to experience something incredible (meh!) but I would still not recommend this for sensitive or over-imaginative souls.

I know I may have been a tad ridiculous, but it’s clearly not the type of night I want to re-experience! Also, breakfast wasn’t particularly satisfying, if that can weigh in your decision not to book, hahaha!

 

A couple of addresses in Savannah

During the course of this long post, you may have noted a couple of interesting places for food or culture. I’ll list them here with other addresses :

 

FRIEZE shop (1 W Jones Street) a decoration shop where I found my clay birds here.

ART’S Café SCAD (345 Bull Street) Café, boutique (next to the Gryphon café)

SCAD MUSEUM OF ART (601 Turner Blvd) Museum which purpose is to inspire SCAD students and to attract tourists and art lovers

 

JEPSON CENTER OF ARTS (207 W York Street) contemporary art, paintings and sculptures

 

E. SHAVER BOOKSELLER (326 Bull Street) A pretty little library like you could find in Notting Hill : I found a a book with  illustrations about Wes Anderson movies.

 

LEOPOLD’S ICE CREAM (212 E Broughton Street) Best ice cream shop in Savannah, that goes back a whole century. Be prepared to wait.

 

ROCKS ON THE RIVER (102 W Bay Street) : Brunch or breakfast: eggs Benedict with a great shrimp & grits (a south specialty – it’s a sort of oatmeal).

On the other hand, I would not recommend (in my opinion) : Lady & Sons : I had read somewhere it was the perfect place to enjoy some good southern food, grandma/homemade style. But I think our vision of “grandma style food” differs : the buffet was cheap-cafeteria style, and the food too greasy.

I hope you enjoyed this narrative of my Savannah experience. I know I may have been a tad (just a tad) extreme in my haunted hotel experience, but you can’t take the scaredy cat out of me, what can I say!

In any case, I hope it won’t discourage you from visiting the city, which is beautiful, and makes me want to come back. Next time in an un-haunted hotel though!! (English translation by Marine)