March 15, 2009

Savannah...

Mark and I recently visited Savannah, Georgia. To say Savannah is a "charming" city is such an understatement that it could almost be taken as an insult to the city herself.

Savannah is a magical place. You can almost feel the spirit of the many men who gave their lives there as you pass through the tree covered squares draped in Spanish moss.





Street after street is lined with beautiful row houses, historical homes and mansions all built in the 1700 and 1800's. Most of them have their own little plaque stating the year they were built, and in many cases, who they were built for.







We stayed in a gorgeous B & B on Jones Street. Jones Street was named by Southern Living Magazine as the "Most Beautiful Street In America" and it is easy to see why. It is a red brick street that literally is covered it its own canopy of decades-old trees with Spanish moss flowing lazily from their limbs. The trees give the illusion of a tunnel as you take in the length of the street. Horse drawn carriages slowly clop-clop along as tourists take in the sites.




Our room...



I LOVE oysters and, boy oh boy, Savannah is a great place to indulge in them. Too bad I didn't take a few pictures of them. They were the perfect size and very pretty! We also had a nice dinner at a restaurant called Alligator Soul. The food was good, the service was excellent and the room was beautiful.



After dinner we took our own cozy carriage ride. It was very romantic!





On the tour we saw the famed Mercer House from the movie "Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil".



We also saw the house where the scene from the movie "Something To Talk About" was filmed in which Julia Roberts character says, "Yeah, I just want to ask how many people here has NOT had sex with my husband?"! That is one of my all time favorite movie moments and it was fun to see the place it was filmed!

Forsyth Park Fountain...



St John's





And, of course, I had to see The Lady and Son's Restaurant. We didn't eat there (the reviews are just NOT THAT GOOD!) but here is a picture of a line of folks who were waiting to check out that ever famous buffet.



We also took a drive out to Tybee Island.



Tybee Island is like a blast from the past! It is just a little island beach town and we fell in love with its simplicity. There are no high-rise hotels. There are some 3 story condos but mostly it is filled with funky-little-beach houses. Of course, Mark and I are funky-little-beach-house kinds of people so Tybee got us to dreaming about the day that we will have our very own funky-little-beach-house.
Hopefully that day is not so far off.

I've thought a lot about Savannah since I've been home. I've tried in my mind to describe the feel and taste and smell of the air. To write words that accurately depict the architecture, the fountains, the gardens, the iron work. The perfect words did not come. I researched what others have said before me and found what I believe to be the perfect words. They are from The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, Bill Bryson:

"I stood agog in Lafayette Square in Savannah, amid brick paths, trickling fountains and dark trees hung with Spanish moss. Before me rose up a cathedral of linen-fresh whiteness with twin Gothic spires, and around it stood 200-year-old houses of weathered brick, with hurricane shutters that clearly were still used. I did not know that such perfection existed in America."

Given the opportunity, visit Savannah.