Savannah

This charming old town never disappoints with its beauty. In spring it flourishes with blooms; in summer, if you can stand the heat, you'll get a taste of what it's really like. You can stay cool under the spanish moss of the oak trees - that was the whole point of original design - to withstand the climate and survive in the surroundings. It's even a place to walk around, like a small city, so you don't have to drive everywhere downtown. Strolling around and gazing at the architecture and design, along with the gorgeous nature, is dreamy and stunning. There will be plenty of good food to eat, places to stop in and take a look at boutiques, get some drinks and simply enjoy. The art school SCAD has really done remarkable work in the last decade - thank goodness for their extra input and bringing more coolness and a global population of influence to this little sphere of delight.

Of course I hope you pass through Charleston too in South Carolina on your way down...almost no Savannah native would say that since the cities are rivals but I love it too and they are similar yet different in many ways.

My favorite things in/about Savannah are the downtown and all the old part of town since I'm a huge fan of architecture and design - the old homes and squares are exquisitely gorgeous with all the old spanish moss hanging down from the oak trees. History lovers like myself also appreciate all the old colonial past remnants there that you can find. You can walk along River Street which has the old cobblestones along the river - it's kind of cheesy and touristy but worth seeing. On St Patrick's Day (March 17) they dye the river green and it's still a big deal as it always was traditionally since the city has a lot of Irish descendants - many families have a formal lunch (called "dinner" down here - they call dinner at evening "supper") that is classic Irish - corned beef with cabbage, you go see the parades and imbibe spirits all day long. The Telfair Art Museum is a lovely old building and collection as well - it's fantastic for a small city like this.

You can visit the SCAD design store in the old part of downtown on Bull St on the way to the astonishingly beautiful Forsyth Park which is so incredibly lovely, green with fountains and the above mentioned trees and moss, surrounded on all sides by stately old houses and buildings. You can also walk down the main street where all the shops are - there are plenty of local ones mixed in even if you see some big chain high street names, don't worry you can pass those and pop in the smaller ones. It's a nice stroll and the architecture has been restored so it has that old fashioned American Main Street USA small town feeling but also the visual beauty and crumbling remnants like all the traditional colonial towns - Key West, St. Augustine, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Alexandria, New York, Boston.

For eating in Savannah, the Olde Pink House is an old favorite. So is Elizabeth's on 37th. I'm sure guide books will mention these but they are classics.  You'll hear of Mrs Wilke's Dining Room too and the Pirate House - I haven't been to those in forever but they are classics so may be worth checking reviews to see how they are lately.

For a long time, those who read the book Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil did their pilgrimage to the town for its intriguingly dark and true story. My friends mother grew up with many of the main characters and remembers them well. Kevin Spacey is fantastic and brilliant but does a terrible southern accent in the movie, although it's definitely worth seeing when you are in the mood for slow, but you might as well get ready because that's the pace. Tourists flocked into town for years after that and Forest Gump to do the tours but it is a bit fun, especially the old antique houses and graveyards and such. In my opinion the beach there is not worth seeing - it's called Tybee island but don't waste your time. There are better ones farther south.

If you drive from the old part of town from the river heading inland, go on the Abercorn Extension and you will pass the old part of town that you should be able to tell was "run down" (meaning decrepit) for many years and still mostly, which was mostly for the poor. You will see the development and how the buildings show the historical periods - from the colonial era to the antebellum period then post Civil War then the 20th C, then the houses get larger and into the early to mid 20th C - even wandering and driving down all of the side streets off the main road in the old part of town and other parts is entirely worth it for the views. Sadly Savannah has always had lots of violence on and off - not to tourists really but among the haves and have nots like anywhere.

I think there's also the oldest Jewish synagogue of the US in Sav if not Charleston - both places had early communities from the 1700s. I forget exactly where it is but somewhere downtown near Forsyth Park. Most of my friends grew up away from downtown - on Skidaway Island and the Isle of Hope. These are mostly residential areas with homes but on the marsh and near islands so therefore beautiful. You'll experience that scenery in the entire low country though if you go through coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

On a side note, one of my oldest friends from college grew up in Beaufort, South Carolina. She grew up in one of those gorgeous homes from 1860 on the marsh with white columns that everyone outside the south think that all southerners live in...Beaufort is incredibly historical as well and both SC and Georgia are home to the island cultures of the Gullah Geechee people who were descended from West African slaves and still speak a patois from the language - the locals up and down the coast - white and black - say that traditionally, the mainland African-Americans were always afraid of the Gullahs because the latter had been more isolated on the islands and therefore still more connected with their traditional customs and in touch with nature, gods, spirits etc. My friend grew up with a Gullah caretake since her birth mother was ill, so she was one of them - she spoke like them and did ceremonies in the woods with dead birds and animals until the cook who was a mainland woman was too scared and told the family so I think that ended her Gullah upbringing. She's always been very into outdoorsy things though, as have I, even though I didn't grow up in the same scenario. I'm diverging here but I thought you'd find it interesting. I've always found this part of the world such a fascinating place more and more as I grew older and since I left home at 17 to go to the university...and my Beaufort friend went to boarding school even sooner, like at 14 or something. But these 'formative' experiences in such a setting left their strong imprint forever.

Hopefully you can experience a low country boil which is a tradition - people throw seafood and corn and other veggies into a big pot and cook it outside for everyone to eat. Also the seafood on the coast is wonderful - I grew up eating it and always love it. We actually grew up eating this type of food more than the other southern cuisine which is called 'soul food' elsewhere - fried chicken, etc. I can even tell you comparisons I've noticed between our southern/African influenced coastal cuisine and that of the Brazilian north (which is like the US south ) - we both eat okra, and we call "hushpuppies"what they call "acaraje." That's only one example of the similarities...