The first morning in Savannah found us up early and raring to go. Both Jan and I love this city, and there was much to see!
Along with much history and charm, this city is alive with color- as is obvious by the picture at on the left. If you're like me, the lack of color in the northern winter makes it hard not to ooh and ah when you see something like this!
A young man at the front desk was very helpful and friendly. I can't say enough for the staff at the Country Inn and Suites! I was so impressed with the hospitality!
Jan went to the concierges desk. A woman named Sheron sold us tickets for Old Savannah Trolley Tours, and gave us info about other sites that might be of interest.
Jan called the restaurant "Lady and Sons" (Paula Deen's restaurant) and made reservations for 11:00 a.m.
Our guide for the "Old Savannah Tours" was Stuart Kushner. Funny, personable, and knowledgable, he made the tour a pure delight!
We stopped at an old theatre. Stuart was giving the history of the theatre when on jumps a young man who said, "Hello! I'm Forest. Forest Gump!" He stood next to me- I told him he could sit next to me if he wanted to. He said "Well, that would be a first! Want a chocolate?" His mannerisms and speech were VERY Forest Gump! What a hoot! All at once he jumped up and said he had to go look for Lieutenant Dan, and ran off the bus!
Stuart told us that in 1836 the railroad was an important part of Savannah history, because at that time- cotton was king. A man named Olgelthorp designed the city- with originally four different town squares. (what are parks today). Many of the homes here were built in the 1800's.
I'll spare you all the history I learned about the city, but personally find it fascinating. What a lovely old place!
We departed the tour trolley at the Savannah River, thanking Stuart for his knowledge and humor!
We spent a little bit of time in the park, watching tug boats go by.
We wandered off in the sunshine toward the center of town, since we had reservations for lunch. Passing one of the many parks, we saw a man playing a flute. He gave me permission to take his picture.
The Lucas Theatre is the longest operating theatre in Savannah.
Love the horse drawn carriages!
This is the Hamilton-Turner house. It's an Inn that Jan stayed at a few years ago. She said it was lovely!
Jan ( on the left) and I at one of the many fountains. Our morning walk was filled with sights and sounds of Savannah, along with lots of laughter!
The old church steeples here are beautiful!!
So many of the courtyards have beautiful rod iron gates, many matching the rod iron balconies!
As you can tell, we made it to Paula Deen's restaurant- "Lady and Son's". When we arrived we had a 15 minute wait, then were guided to the third floor and to our table.
Each floor has a wonderful buffet laiden with all sorts of goodies!
Our lovely waitress came with a hoecake and cheese biscuit. Yum!
That's me, foolishly and happily loading up my plate at the food bar! I say "foolishly" because I know for a fact my eyes were bigger than my stomach!
Yep- 2 pieces of fried chicken, 2 pieces of corn, whipped potatoes with horseradish gravy, and for health's sake, a salad! Who was I kidding!? The food plate itself had enough calories to sustain me for two weeks! My mantra was something like this: "I'm on vacation, so it's o.k.! I'm on vacation, so..." Well, you get the idea!
Still smiling! That's because I knew how great it was going to taste! And It Did! It was wonderful!
This is our darling waitress! I've searched my notes over and over, but have lost her name! She was a delight, and a wonderful example of southern hospitality! She's holding one of the many yummy desserts! We chose a banana pudding to split. By now we were beginning to groan! Neither Jan nor I eat fried foods that often, so though our palates were happy, our tummies were aching! However, we would not have missed this place! One can't visit Savannah without a visit to "Lady and Sons"!
We waddled out of the restaurant, joking with the hostess as we passed through that they should provide wheel barrows for those of us too full to walk! Slowly now (because of our very full stomachs) we wandered to one of the many squares (or parks). Music played in the background, coming from the City Market. I loved this place! Two men were playing chess with huge pieces!
Cheer leaders practiced there flips and back flips on the greens.
There was also a splash pond. Little kids ran in and out, trying to fight the streams of water with sticks. They were getting wet, and having a marvelous time!
As we wandered back to our hotel, we made the decision to spend one more day and night in Savannah. We decided to stay at the Hamilton-Turner Inn! It's a beautiful old place, full of history and charm!
Join me tomorrow, as I share a taste of Old Southern Charm and Hospitality! Until then!
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