Last month, I went away for a long weekend with my parents in the beautiful town of Savannah, Georgia. From gorgeous town squares full of trees covered in Spanish moss, to open containers freely allowed on the warm streets, to being a necropolis built on the bodies of its dead, it's the epitome of charm.
Arrival & Lodging
Allegiant offers direct flights on certain days from Cleveland to Savannah now at budget prices, so we flew down on a Thursday afternoon and back midday Sunday.
As a post update, I returned for a Tybee wedding four years later and had to fly American connections which did nothing to lessen my hatred for that airline (getting home was a 12 hour debacle).
SAV totally places on the list of cutest airports with this train station themed lobby.
Choosing somewhere to stay was a tough task because there were an overwhelming amount of adorable options. There are tons of inns and guesthouses (many of which are haunted) as well as your typical chain hotels on River Street, but I ended up choosing a historical cabin on Air BnB. It was also haunted, but as our hearse driver told us (I'm so happy I just got to use that in a sentence), you can basically assume everything in Savannah is.
The place is called Laura's Cottage, Laura being the friendly grandmother ghost who still resides there, and it was adorable! (I did note the amount of times I use the word "adorable" in this blog and it's excessive.) Right in the center of town on a path a little back from the road with a kitchen and living area downstairs and master bedroom and bathroom upstairs.
The daybed downstairs where I slept was super comfy. The owner also left a bunch of DVDs that were filmed in Savannah, and my mom and I watched Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil as well as The Conspirator, where our cabin was actually used as a filming location (James McAvoy's character's house).
On my second visit, we chose a cute boutique hotel called The Present. There's no formal reception, so you're sent a code to get in the night before arrival. The rooms are all unique and pretty, and it has great common areas including two balcony patios, a courtyard, and coffee machines on the second floor.
The Sights
River Street
Forsyth Park
The most iconic symbol of Savannah is probably the white fountain in Forsyth Park surrounded by Spanish moss covered trees draping the pathways. It is a very pretty fountain in a large grassy park and a must see, plus you can take a seat in the shade for a bit.
St. John the Baptist Cathedral
This cathedral is gorgeous! Let my photos speak for me so I don't bore you with a paragraph of descriptive terms like "golden detailing" and "exquisite archways".
Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)
There are tons of SCAD campus buildings around the city, and we were invited in to check one out as we were passing on the street. I must say, I'm feeling a little let down by Kent State now. Our campus buildings certainly were not full of in-your-face vivid colors, cozy lounge furniture, and awesome paintings by our students. Come on in especially if you're an artsy type, but you might be jealous.
Owens Thomas House
It's pretty hard to visit the South and ignore the massive elephant in the room, especially when many continue to proudly showcase said elephant with their Civil War monuments and rebel flags glorifying a battle over human enslavement.
Anyway, there are many plantation tours you can take, and I always recommend facing up to history and view it in the same light as taking a tour of a concentration camp, for instance. Human history is ugly even when it's all dressed up as a proper charming Southern mansion.
We took a tour of the Owens Thomas House & Slave Quarters, which is a city house and not a plantation, but they still had dozens of slaves whose names are all written on the wall in the waiting area. We saw the very simple and cramped (for the amount of people who had to sleep there) house for the slaves. The ceiling and windows were painted a light blue color we were told was called "haint" and was meant to keep out spirits.
The owner's house was pretty fancy with colorful walls and patterned floors, studies and a columned staircase as well as a bridge closing the gap between the two ends of the upstairs.
Probably the best part though was our older Southern tour guide who stared at anyone who asked her questions as if they were ignorant scum and answered in the most condescending fashion she could muster. By the end of the tour, people were cutting themselves off just seconds into speaking to avoid her icy wrath.
Oh, also- gardens: super pretty (complete with adorable bengal cat on the premises) and gift shop: super cute (picked up some nice glassware).
Telfair Museum
We also received entry to two art museums with our Owens Thomas tour, but we are not big art people, so we only visited the Telfair Museum where the Bird Girl from the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil was relocated from Bonaventure Cemetery.
Along with her statue, there is plenty of other art including a whole basement of Italian sculpture replications.
Bonaventure Cemetery
I love cemeteries because I'm a morbid bitch, but this one is really beautiful. So many old gravestones surrounded by hanging moss and all right near the water. It's an uber ride away but definitely worth it for a peaceful long walk around for a few hours.
The grave of Little Gracie, one of Savannah's famous ghosts who haunts Reynolds Square
Shops
The city is full of cute shops. Some of my recommendations include the Girl Scout shop in Juliette Gordon Low's birth home (which you can also tour), the candy shops on River Street which offer samples of the best pralines I've ever tried, the Witches Brew perfume shop, the Salt Table full of spices and sauces (with an airport location as well, if you can't bring liquids through security), and E Shaver Booksellers who have three bookshop cats as well as tons of cat-themed merchandise and an attached tea shop. Also, most of the souvenir shops have these little Voodoo Buddy dolls that are absolutely adorable.
Mr. Eliot recommending his favorite literature
Restaurants
We seriously struggled to narrow down our restaurant choices for this trip! Everything sounded too good. The spots we ended up going were:
Kayak Cafe: simple and very veggie friendly spot where I had my favorite meal of the trip- an artichoke crabless cake panini. It was so delicious, and it's so hard to find imitation seafood (the only animal product I ever miss)! I also split the black eyed pea burger with my mom and had a jalapeno margarita.
Collins Quarter: a great brunch spot run by Aussies. Their Vietnamese iced coffee and avocado smash (avocados, heirloom tomatoes, radishes, and a poached egg on really nice bread) were fantastic. I returned here on my second visit.
Sentient Bean: a cool vegetarian cafe where they serve all day breakfast as well as other options. I tried the seitan breakfast sandwich.
Sandfly BBQ: My dad wasn't thrilled about the lack of meat-based restaurants he was subjected to, so we stopped at the Sandfly so he could get some authentic Southern barbecue. The place itself is super cool situated in an old train car with booths inside, dollar bills hung all over the walls, and 80s music on the speakers. I had eaten beforehand but did try some of their side dishes and can vouch for the quality of the mac and cheese.
Huey's on the River: brunch on River Street in one of the inns. We shared some fried green tomatoes and I had a bloody mary with my eggs sardou (similar to eggs florentine) and side of parmesan grits.
The Olde Pink House: There are quite a few very high rated Savannah restaurants with a price tag to match, and we decided to get dressy and try The Olde Pink House on our last night. There are a bunch of separate rooms all with their own decor, and we were in one of the small side rooms with just a few tables. There were not many vegetarian offerings, so I ended up with artichoke goat cheese fritters and a caramelized onion and sweet potato ravioli main. The food was good but I mainly enjoyed the old Southern atmosphere.
And on my second trip - B Matthews Eatery: brunch spot where I had a great bowl of grits and a fried green tomato benedict
Zunzibar: a popular indoor/outdoor patio spot with subs (including vegan options) and cocktails
Fox & Fig: all-vegan cafe with a food menu. I tried the mac & cheese since it was dinner time, but I wish I'd been in the mood for brunch foods because they had some good items
Moon River Brewing: beers were meh, nachos and hush puppies were good
Sea Wolf: This is actually in Tybee, but I absolutely loved their beautiful patio, as well as my cocktail, vegan hot dog, and pickled veggie platter. They also had live music during the day.
Flying Monk Noodle Bar: I came here for hangover food, but I was not disappointed. They have all varieties of Asian noodles on the menu - Thai, Korean, ramen, pho, and more.
Leopold's: the historic ice cream shop is worth waiting in the line out the door. It was so creamy and good, plus the old-school feel of it all (from the old-timey ice cream outfits to jukebox and cinema posters) adds to the experience.
Bars
Rocks on the River & Top Deck Bar: two rooftop bars right beside each other on river street, both with solid drinks and views
Frosty Frog: alcoholic slushies in a huge variety of flavors, all of which can be combined to your liking, and a room with pool tables and games
Abe's on Lincoln: The BEST dive bar, must go here. The walls and ceiling are covered with customer-made drawings of Abe Lincoln, from realistic to cartooney to puns. I asked the bartender for a paper, pen, and tape to contribute my own.
Service Brewing Co: brewery with some solid beers, although the military theme was not up my alley
Churchill's: proper English pub with a rooftop bar
Jen & Friends: bar with a ridiculously extensive cocktail list. These aren't fancy cocktails- most only have a few ingredients- but the presentation is key. The birthday cake martini comes with an actual slice of cake and candle, the sugar cereal martinis have a rim of Captain Crunch or whatever it is you order. I tried the bourbon pecan pie martini and then took a strawberry shortcake martini to go (the strawberry one tasted like a milkshake). The bar itself is basically a dive which is baffling considering how packed it was, so the to-go option was definitely appreciated (walking around the streets with alcohol- one of the highlights of Savannah).
Haunted Tours
Saving the best for last, Savannah is haunted as fuck (or at least that's what they'll tell you). There are many haunted tour options available, but as soon as I discovered that one of them takes place in an actual hearse, I was so sold. To make things even better, we booked it for Friday the 13th. What a dark and glorious night.
The hearse (which was real and had transported many a corpse in its working days) had an upper deck area with open sides where we sat while our driver took us around all the squares, stopping in front of haunted buildings to tell us their history. We saw the Mercer Williams House, location of the Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil murder, the old sanatorium turned hospital (turned hotel, I think?), quite a few haunted inns, and the very old Colonial Park cemetery with graves dating back to the 1700s which my parents and I had walked through earlier. We were told many tales of murder and suicide, learned of some of the more notable ghosts frequently seen in town, and were told that the uneven pavement on the sidewalks is often due to them being built over graves.
Colonial Park Cemetery
Mercer Williams House
We also stopped in front of the Abercorn house, supposedly the most haunted spot in all of Savannah, where a man tied up his daughter to die of heat stroke centuries ago and multiple murders have taken place since. Our guide showed us a photo from his phone he had taken where he thought you could see a girl in the window, so naturally, I walked back the following day to take my own photos to examine later. Well, I thought I might be crazy, but I zoomed in on the below photo I took of the same window, and it is not at all hard to see the collar of a shirt and a shadowy face above it... feel free to confirm or deny my sanity in this matter.
The only Photoshop I did on this was zoom and brightness/contrast
This is the house... zoomed photo above is of the top left window (the side pane)- not this particular picture
I absolutely loved the tour and it gave us a few ideas for spots to revisit the following day, including the most expensive street in town as well as Chippewa Square, where we found out the famous "life is like a box of chocolates" Forrest Gump scene was filmed. They removed the bench due to dumb tourists blocking the road for photos exactly like we did as soon as we found out.
Tybee Beach
My time in Tybee was quick and primarily dominated by a wedding at the Tybee Island Wedding Chapel, but the area is so cute. We rented a little cottage near the beach, and our friends had a larger one a ways down the road.
Tybee Wedding Chapel
The beach itself is pretty and clean, and the water is warm.
It very much gives relaxed holiday vibes. People drive around in golf carts, you can take away your cocktail to stroll down the beach, and there are cute decks everywhere.
There is plenty more to do outside of Savannah if you have time! You can road trip across the South Carolina border to spend a few nights at Hilton Head or further north in Charleston. I'm happy I got to spend a nice weekend in town though with my ever tolerant parents who let me drag them to haunted Air BnBs, vegetarian restaurants, and hearse tours... Don't worry, they got their payback by insisting we arrive to the airport over three hours to our departure time on a domestic flight. Sitting at a check-in desk and waiting for bag drop to open when I should have still been in bed was truly the most horrifying experience of all.
Comments