Savannah, Georgia On My Mind

January 2010

Savannah_592



Traveling south towards Savannah I watched, fascinated, as the view from the car window slowly changed from the cool green mountain ranges of North Carolina to a warm, semi-tropical lushness that is Georgia. We arrived in Savannah early in the morning, checked into our two rooms, turned on the AC, and decided to venture on into the main historic part of the town. The drive to downtown Savannah was almost as beautiful as the town itself, with large swooping trees, all dressed in Spanish Moss, strewn among gorgeous old southern architecture.

Once we arrived, we set out in a search for ShopSCAD, the official retail store of Savannah’s College of Art and Design. We had two art students along on this girl’s getaway and they wanted to check out the competition. Along the way we popped in and out of several stores and craft shops, most of which seemed to be renovated historic Georgian homes, if not decades old department stores. Though we ended up going in circles, it was immensely worth the walk to see the majority of Savannah’s gorgeous parks and architecture. After visiting the store, we took a rest on one of the parks’ benches and were almost immediately asked to perform as extras in a student film being shot nearby. Not only were we treated to the sights and history of the second oldest city in the United States, we were also given cameos in a student film! Needless to say, we had a good time.


My recommendations for a great girl’s getaway in Savannah:

Shopping:

Paris Market – wonderfully choc full of great home accessories. Be sure to venture downstairs, here you’ll find tons of wonderfully restored antiques and interesting finds from around the globe. I stumbled across an enormous old farm table that made me immediately start calculating the costs of shipping this beast to my house.

ShopSCAD – cool store showcasing cool stuff made by students from Savannah’s College of Art and Design.

Savannah’s Candy Kitchen – candy, lots of candy. Need I say more?

Places to See:

Horse_Drawn_Buggy_250Savannah Parks – a must, especially Forsyth Park. Go, sit, people watch, really look at the architecture that envelopes the city.

Riverboat Tour – I was channelling Gone With the Wind throughout the tour.

River Street – avoid the touristy shops that litter the area and walk along the river. One word – beautiful architecture…ok so that was two words.

City Market – full of charm and lots of other things too. Shopping, art, entertainment, cafes, restaurants choices are plentiful, you’ll find an awesome mix of old Southern charm and eccentric little stores.

Restaurants:

Pink_House_250Mrs Wilkes Dining Room – a must for lunch. Long lines but definitely worth the wait.

Olde Pink House – it’s pink!

Huey’s – one word, beignets, beignets, beignets. Okay, this time it was one word, but repeated often to emphasize the pure delight I experienced in tasting one of these snowy pillows of fried heaven.

Places to Stay

Savannah Inns – when in Savannah you should try out one of these Bed and Breakfasts. Why? Southern style, historic and yes, architecture…my new favorite word.

1895 Inn – pampered perfection. Dudley is a doll of a dog.

Avia – new kid on the block in Savannah, if you want some serious luxury this is the place for it in Georgia. Pure Bliss.

Here’s a great video by Erica Sega, from the Travel Channel, giving us a quick overview of Savannah.

2 thoughts on “Savannah, Georgia On My Mind

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.