Savannah

Well we just got back from our big Savannah adventure. What a great city! It was definitely different than I had imagined- much larger and with more of a downtown area.

First stop: Lady & Sons!

Oh, Paula Deen! I was a little concerned that the restaurant would be too gimmicky, but it really wasn’t. You’re supposed to arrive in the morning and get on a waiting list for later in the day, but we showed up at 11:30 and they sat us immediately. You can either order off of the menu or get the buffet for around $13. We, of course, went for the big ol’ buffet.

 The wait staff was SO friendly. Our waiter saw me pull out my camera to shoot the food and immediately offered to take our photo:

Then a staffer came by and presented us with a garlic-cheese roll (oh my god… so good) and a hoecake. I’d never actually had a hoecake; it tasted like a cornmeal funnel cake. They recommend that you top it with syrup.

Started with a green salad with Vidalia-peppercorn dressing. The best part were the pickled green tomatoes:

And then the “real” food: baked chicken, lasagna mac and cheese, green beans w/ new potatoes, lima beans, yams and black eyed peas.

I knew we had a big day of walking ahead of us and did NOT eat this whole plate. I did sample everything though. The lasagna tasted like cream cheese, which cracked me up. Of course Paula Deen would put cream cheese in lasagna. The sides were definitely the highlight, particularly the yams and macaroni.

 Finally, dessert: Banana pudding for me and chocolate chip gooey butter cake for Brian.

 He won that round. The pudding was good, but the cake was pretty much amazing. I’m going to have to look up the recipe once we get home.

 Next we headed out of the restaurant and down to Broughton Street. First stop was the Savannah Bee Company.

They had honey tastings! How cool is that?

Including fresh honeycomb:

We ended up buying a few jars, including orange blossom, organic acacia, and one creamy version from Finland.

Next we walked down to River Street:

 And then back through downtown, through a ton of old parks, a cemetery, past this gorgeous old church (Cathedral of St. John the Baptist):

 Next stop was the Mercer-Williams House, which you might recognize from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil:

 We thought about taking the tour, but then found out that they didn’t allow photos. Lame. This really makes me want to go back and reread the book… for the third time. We also visited The Book Store- “THE BOOK” being Midnight, of course. It was half retail store, half museum, and the walls were papered all of these great clippings about the individuals from the book. Very interesting. 

 We walked pretty much constantly from 12:30-5:30. I hear Jack sleeps while I’m up and moving, so he’ll probably be up and kicking for the rest of the night. We finally stopped and took a breather in Forsyth Park.

I’ve never seen a city with so many gorgeous parks- probably one every two blocks. It’s a very pedestrian-friendly city, too. Though with so many one-way streets and dead ends, I really wouldn’t want to drive here.

Oh, another cool stop: the Savannah College of Art & Design Store. They had some great artwork, house wares and jewelry. I’m definitely checking out the website once we get home.

So now we’re back in Hilton Head. The vacation is going too fast! Tomorrow we’re taking it easy and just hanging out on the beach, then Thursday is back to Greenville.