We arrived at our hotel the Doubletree Hilton in the Historic District of Savannah around 5:00 pm. The hotel was much more modern than our previous stay at The Francis Marion in Charleston even down to the finest detail. The toilet paper roll was embossed with a custom stamp to indicate it was fresh and to keep it from unrolling; I guess that was the reason. Now a toilet paper roll embosser is an item I do not need to add to my household clutter. I did not even know what to look it up under since I did not find one on Amazon, and Amazon has everything!
We were on our own to rest or explore the City of Savannah. We started out with the Savannah City Market, just a block away from our hotel. As you can see from the blue sky, the night was still young.
Here is my traditional photo of our feet to prove we were there.
The first shop that fascinated me was the Savannah Candy Kitchen. They do not just sell candy; they make it there. It was mesmerizing to watch the taffy pulling machines. I am from New Jersey and that brought back memories of my childhood visits to the boardwalk where the salt water taffy was made and sold.
As we walked in a big overhead TV screen was displaying the curious statement.
Frank roamed the store while I stood in front of that screen transfixed as it cycled though all its messages until I found out the whole story. I learned what a gopher was.
I also became educated in popcorn.
Outside on the esplanade area I posed for a funky picture with John Mercer's debonaire statue. He wrote the song "Moon River" and was a co-founder of Capitol Records.
Mercer won four Academy Awards on eighteen nominations for Best Original Song:
1946: "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"
1951: "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"
1961: "Moon River"
1962: "Days of Wine and Roses"
I learned how Savannah handles its payed parking. There are no unsightly meters that require maintenance and servicing scattered about to pollute the visual appeal of the market. There are parking space numbers tasteful etched on granite.
We walked on down to the riverfront, taking our chances – and absolutely taking our time – on some risky and non-ADA compliant steps.
The river front on the Savannah River was quaint with its cobble stone streets with rail tracks running through.
At City Hall Landing a huge paddle boat, ˆ, was docked. We considered taking it for a three hour dinner cruise but decided instead that we were enjoying our stroll more.
The views along the river front were awesome. Off to our left was the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. It is very similar in construction to the Arthur Ravenel Bridge we experienced near Charleston (post dated 4/2/19) but the Talmadge Memorial has four lanes compared to the eight lanes of the Arthur Ravenel; the Talmadge Memorial also has one foot less vertical clearance than the Arthur Ravenel.
All along the river we were entranced watching the huge, HUGE container ships passing by.
For our dinner we picked an intimate little restaurant on 123 East Broughton Street.
We relaxed with a little bit of wine and a fine meal in a jovial light-hearted atmosphere.
The food was delicious. It was not strictly southern fare but it was very well prepared. Frank had the lamb and I had the chicken. A minor disappointment for Frank was that the restaurant did not have mint jelly. "How can you have lamb and not have mint jelly?" he wondered. I guess in the south they have mint juleps but not mint jelly.
But a little bit of wine made it all better, I think this very well may have been our favorite meal of the trip.
A quick stop in the restroom revealed to me a delightfully cheery and simple decor with the bead board on the walls and the taxi-cab check tiles on the floor. This was a welcome change from all the heavy gold gilt style of many of the mansions and homes we toured.
The following map covers the areas we walked that first night, except for the railroad museum at the lower left corner, which Frank checked out the next morning.
Quilt Shop and Railroad Museum (Thursday 21st morning)
The first item on the agenda was a visit to the quilt shop Sew Much More in Garden City about 10 minutes away, 6 miles from the historic district of Savannah. I addressed the shop visit and my purchases in my Diane Loves2Quilt blog post dated 3/28/19.
Divide and conquer. My husband had other plans while I was buying yet more fabric. Frank walked to the Georgia State Railroad Museum. The Georgia State Railroad Museum is believed to be the largest and most complete Antebellum railroad repair facility still in existence in the world! Of course he took a picture of a rail car with the Georgia name emblazoned on it.
Frank found this structure very interesting because he had never seen anything like it before – and he is a real train buff. Per https://theinkyatlas.com/savannah-railroad-history-georgia-state-railroad-museum/
Another prominent structure within the complex is the 125-foot tall chimney. This tower used underground tunnels to draw smoke and steam away from the blacksmith shop and boiler room. The lower section of the tower also contained privies and showers for the workers
Touring Savannah (Thursday 21st afternoon)
After the quilt shop visit, we were on our own for lunch and were to meet up for a bus tour of Savannah. We had a "step-on guide" who joined our bus and would describe for us what we were passing. I must admit that having a step-on guide was the least productive learning mechanism. She narrate about points of interest as we passed them, but in a big bus, the seat where I was sitting was rarely beside what she was talking about when she was talking about it and, if it was, at least half the time (though it seemed like the majority of the time) I was on the wrong side of the bus to see. It was like watching a movie with closed captions where the words are not in sync with the actor's lips or the text conflicts with the current action in the film. What pictures I took are from when we got out and walked, which happened twice, at the banks of the Savannah River and walking to, from, and within Forsyth Park.
The following map has markers for items we passed I thought worthy of note, but it in no way follows the route of the bus. Humongous kudos go to our bus driver Rick. He managed to serpentine our long tour bus around each of the myriad of square mini-parks (shown as the tiny 3x3 checkered squares on the map), arrayed in a grid in the downtown area. Quilters could think of it as a grid of nine-patches!
On the river front we passed the Olympic Yachting Cauldron from the 1996 Olympics. I was confused. Isn't the Olympic Cauldron usually in a large stadium or coliseum? Besides, the official host city of the 1996 Olympics was not Savannah, but Atlanta, 250 miles or so inland.
I researched and learned the following per Savannah's guide to the 1996 Olympics
Since Atlanta is a landlocked city, Savannah was selected as the city that would host the Olympic Yachting events. Savannah was selected both for its proximity to the water, and its rich Southern history and beauty.
July 19, 1996 – Atlanta Olympic Opening Ceremonies were held.
July 20, 1996 – Savannah hosted its own Opening Ceremonies.
For the first time ever, a city outside of the host city held its own Opening Ceremonies.
August 2, 1996 – Savannah Olympic Closing Ceremonies took place along River Street,
August 4, 1996 – Atlanta Olympic Closing Ceremonies took place.
I ordered a book about her on Amazon and read it. It is a children's book that tells a lovely story accompanied by beautiful water color illustrations. In it her father tells her "We must always be a light for others anyway we can." The front and the back of the book follow.
After this brief walk along the river front we boarded the bus again and were off to Forsyth Park, hearing about some of the sights along the route. "Out of sight, out of mind" is true. I took no pictures of these sights from the bus and therefore have little memory of them. Once in the park however and we were walking about, there were many pleasant vignettes to see. These azaleas were gorgeous but I wondered about the sign "end of pedestrian zone". Why are pedestrians prohibited from the park. Is it a "do not walk on the grass" type issue?
The next sign cleared it up for me. Areas are designated where bicyclists must walk their bikes so as no to interfere with meandering pedestrians.
Forsyth Park contains walking paths, a children's play area, a Fragrant Garden for the blind, a large fountain, tennis courts, basketball courts, areas for soccer and Frisbee. We were told that many movies that have been filmed in Savannah include views of the iconic Forsyth Park Fountain.
- The fountain has aged extremely well – it’s over 150 years old! That’s right. The fountain was erected in 1858.
- Forsyth Park was designed after the French ideal of having a central public garden, and the fountain is said to be the garden’s centerpiece (although it isn’t at the center of the park).
- However beautiful, the fountain is not unique. It was ordered from a catalogue!
- Other cities fancied the catalogue spread, too. Similar fountains exist in New York, Peru and France.
- The Forsyth Park fountain always celebrates in style. Every St. Patrick’s Day, the fountain’s water is dyed green!
Our walk took us down to Pulaski Monument, a tribute to the Polish officer who was instrumental in winning the Revolutionary War against the British.
Heading back to the bus I photographed some intricate railings designs that merited notice.
After a zigzagging bus path around the intimate little park squares laid out systematically throughout the historic district of Savannah, the bus left us off at the birthplace of Juliette Low founder of the Girl Scouts.
Upon entering her home there was a portrait of her on the wall in the foyer and an ornately decorated ceiling above. The little flowers on the ceiling were daisies which was also Juliette Lows nickname. It is probably no coincidence that entry level Girl Scouts grades K-1 are called Daisies.
In the bedrooms were hand crafted quilts and crocheted coverlets.
A library at the end of the house tour had many hands on exhibits for touring scout troops designed especially to offset the fact that the other rooms in the house were for viewing only and not to be touched. That book sculpture above the mantle piece is entirely balanced and not glued in place. The components of it can be rotated and changed out.
The library opened out onto a secluded courtyard with flowering plants, statues, and wrought iron elements.
Dinner (Thursday 21st - evening)
This would be our last night in Savannah. For dinner our group walked back to the historic district to eat at Lady and Sons, a local restaurant boasting Paula Deen's home cooking style. The eating area was boisterous and crowded with a happy throng of customers. The food in the buffet was a bit heavy for my taste; I guess I do not have truly southern girl taste buds. But the company was good and with a help yourself style the service could be quick. I am glad I got to experience such iconic food as touted by Paula Deen, an American TV personality and cooking show host.
A trunk room between bedrooms also showed a sewing machine. Juliette Low was accomplished at hand crafts but she also was an artist, talented at producing high quality paintings and sculptures.
The fabric on the cushions around the fireplace has a book theme.
A silhouetted tree in the corner has notes dangling on it that Girls Scouts have written during or after their tour.
This wrought iron gate was made by Juliette Low for her parents anniversary. She was skilled at iron work and exhibited the strength to heat and bend the metal rods. It is reputed that the sleeves on her evening gowns needed to be let out because her biceps had enlarged so much from the blacksmithing type work.
Frank is helping out by holding up the overhanging portico of the library while I look around.
Once outside the home and gardens, I indulged my penchant for taking pictures of unique signs. This equine oriented one was near where we were waiting for our bus to take us back to the Double Tree Hotel.
This would be our last night in Savannah. For dinner our group walked back to the historic district to eat at Lady and Sons, a local restaurant boasting Paula Deen's home cooking style. The eating area was boisterous and crowded with a happy throng of customers. The food in the buffet was a bit heavy for my taste; I guess I do not have truly southern girl taste buds. But the company was good and with a help yourself style the service could be quick. I am glad I got to experience such iconic food as touted by Paula Deen, an American TV personality and cooking show host.
Having completed the Charleston and Savannah city portions of our Country Heritage Tour, Friday the 22nd we would be heading south for the beach type setting of some of the islands of Georgia.
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