A Rookie’s Review of Savannah, Georgia

When a friend heard we were headed to Atlanta, he eagerly encouraged us to go discover Savannah while we were in the area.  We didn’t think we’d have time at first, but the airlines changed our minds in that department.  Since we were travelling on points, our points’ company changed the date of our flight time back 6 times prior to our trip! When all was said and done we had a few days extra to explore before heading home.

I would recommend if you are venturing to Savannah that perhaps you do a little research first.  We didn’t…

But, here’s

What We Did in Savannah:

1. Ate in Paul Deen’s restaurant, Lady and Sons. We both were able to try “southern cooking” by sharing a huge portion of shrimp and grits. We were intrigued by the free appetizer we were given ~ a salty pancake and fresh cheese biscuit. They were both delicious, but something we’d certainly never heard of before!  We’re glad we went and experienced the place that has so much hype and promotion, but since I’m giving you an honest review, I probably wouldn’t spend the money to go back again… (The gift store was really cute, though!)

2.  Sauntered through beautiful shops that we’d never been in before ~ including Anthropologie! Although we didn’t buy a thing, it was fun to look at all the pretty things and cleaver decor ideas (much like the Darling Decatur shops).

3. Walked through some of the 25 town squares ~ which were like beautiful, manicured parks. We marveled at the amazing trees with the moss hanging down ~ something we’d never seen before.

 

4. Observed some of the most beautiful buildings and architecture we’ve ever laid eyes on.

The columns,  brick work,  and sheer massiveness of them was something else!

5.  Walked through streets where historic houses were lined up one after the other. We loved this part! The sidewalks were herringbone brick patterned, and it was fascinating to see the details of old southern homes.  We were especially intrigued by the large outdoor porches with ceiling fans ~ I’m sure the perfect place to sit on a hot summer day and drink sweet tea!:)

6. Sipped coffee on a park bench where the famous Forest Gump Bench once was. (The actual bench is now in a museum.) This was also one of our favorite memories.  After all these years, my husband and I quite like sipping coffee together!;)

Having said all that, there are

A Few Things We Wish We Had Known Before Arriving in Savannah.

In the event you ever go, perhaps our mistakes/misconceptions will help prepare you better!:)

1. There will be a LOT of people in Savannah! We had envisioned a nice quiet town where you could stroll and relax.  Nuh uh. Think sidewalks full of people bumping and jostling and saying “excuse me” lots.
2. There is a beautiful river walk that some people raved to us about.  We did go there, but the sheer amount of people on the said river walk made us turn around and high tail it out of there.
3. Remember I mentioned there are 25 town squares in this town? It makes for a very interesting one way road system. We wished we had studied this more on an actual map before we just punched addresses into our GPS.
4. And speaking of GPS, do NOT rely on your phone when you walking through Savannah and trying to get somewhere.  Our GPS would have us walk a block and then tell us to turn around! We did much better with an actual paper map in hand.  (Yes, we should have started with that.)
5. There is free parking on the streets on the weekend. (When we were there.) That’s a nice idea, but driving around and around and around to try to find a parking spot made me want to take a Valium and go home.  We had far better luck just finding those underground parkades and paying up…
6. Research your accommodations carefully prior to arrival. Our hotel claimed to be “conveniently located near downtown Savannah”. It was actually a 20 minute drive on the freeway away.  We spent a lot of our precious time driving ~ definitely not a favorite thing of mine!!:)

I don’t want to give the impression that Savannah was a negative experience for us ~ it wasn’t. We feel grateful and blessed to have been able to go there.  It was however, much different than we had expected.  Keep in mind that my husband and I relax best in a quiet environment. Others find great refreshment in being in a place that’s bustling with people and excitement. That was the atmosphere of Savannah. We did however, discover a place that was perfectly “us”…

Tybee Island…

(More on that to come…)