I made it home from Savannah on Sunday after a whirlwind weekend. We were there for only 3 nights, but squeezed the life out of our time!
After being delayed in both Boston and Newark, we arrived in at the Holiday Inn Express on East Bay St. at 2:33 AM on Friday morning. The staff were welcoming and got us right into our clean and comfy room. As Buntha kept saying, "this isn't like any of the Holiday Inns I've ever stayed in." Turns out, she has only stayed in one other! The point is, the hotel was fabulous. The beds were cozy, the linens were soft, and they gave each guest soft and medium pillows. Breakfast was included; my favorite breakfast item was the light and buttery biscuits. However, I did not deny myself the warm cinnamon buns each day (well, the four of us shared 2 each day). We couldn't have asked for a more central location. The hotel is right in the heart of this Historic District, a 3 minute walk to River Street, and right on the St. Patrick's Day Parade route.
Friday morning, being the early bird I am, I woke at 7 and asked the hotel staff for a good running route. She directed me to Forsyth park, and I am certainly glad she did. If you are a runner or walker, I suggest you get up early while traveling in a new place. You get a whole different feel for a place before the rest of the world is up. In this case, I got to run through 4 or 5 of Savannah's famous squares including Ogelthorpe Square. Ogelthorpe founded Savannah in 1733 for King George of England as buffer between Spanish Florida and the British Colonies. The squares at this time of day, were peaceful and shaded beneath the canopy of Spanish-moss covered trees.
When I hit Forsyth Park, I wasn't disappointed. The perimeter of the park is about 3/4 mile. I went around twice, taking in the natural and architectural beauty in and surrounding the park. I could have easily run around again, but headed back as the 2 Guinness and 2 Baileys from the airport the night before were beginning to make themselves known!
When I got back to the room, we all got our acts together and headed out to do "touristy" things for the morning. After walking around for a bit and asking one person about tours, we decided to jump on board The Old Savannah Trolley Tour. Red Sonia, our driver was awesome! She was knowledge about Savannah's history and kept us entertained with her own tidbits on Savannah's most famous sights. I would recommend this tour over other trolley tours in Savannah because it is a locally-owned company and the tours are unscripted. You can also hop on and off all day for only $25.00.
After our tour, we couldn't resist of pull of the festive atmosphere of River St. There were people and vendors out enjoying the gorgeous day. We soaked in the sun and scenery of River St. with a couple of beers before walking to Blowin' Smoke BBQ on MLK Blvd. It was well-worth the 20 minute walk. Buntha, Carolina, Matt and I share 2 Holy Smoke Platters. They were out of this world! The ribs fell of the bone and the jalapeno corn bread melted in my mouth. I also tried my first fried pickle and realized I am so grateful they don't have them up North because I would be in BIG trouble!
At this point in the day, it was only about 5:00 so we rambled back to the hotel to go for a dip in the rooftop pool. It was small, but had fab views of the river and the jacuzzi was totally relaxing.
Showers and change of clothes by all before we made way to our next dining destination. (Ok, I am beginning to realize that we ate a lot on this trip; I promise I am not obsessed with food although Caro pointed out that I plan meals 3 days in advance!) Anyway, we had a 9:15 reservation at The Olde Pink House which was literally around the corner from the hotel. It is an old pink mansion built in 1789 and one of the few buildings that survived the fire of 1796. Each room in the restaurant is small and separate from the others. The service was good, and the food was delicious. Now, I should clarify, shockingly, I didn't eat much. I was WAY OVER stuffed from our BBQ lunch. However, I would go back to there just for the BLT salad. This was the most amazing salad I have ever eaten, and our waitress informed us it is unique to The Olde Pink House. The ingredients were perfectly cooked bacon, scrumptious fried green tomatoes, and lettuce. Seriously, it was AMAZING. I barely touched the flounder that was my main course, but it too was tasty.
By the end of the meal I was definitely reading for bed and luckily we stumbled out the door to our hotel. Day 2 of the trip with photos to follow shortly!
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