Savannah in 3 words: Picturesque. Historic. Slow-paced.
Better late than never! I visited Savannah, Georgia in June, and it was my first trip to the American South. One of the major perks of being a west coast transplant living on the east coast is that there are so many new local-ish places to explore, which were difficult to access from across the country. This year, I am prioritizing my travel to visit places within the US that I haven’t seen before (the South).
Anyway, I originally planned to take a long weekend and take the trip alone, but one of my girlfriends from the Bay Area is currently working on a Ph.D in Atlanta (get ’em, Rella!) and drove up to Savannah to join me. We both got to experience the best of what Savannah has to offer.
For me, that was the historic architecture and ‘squares’ (think beautiful and historic mini parks with a sculpture or a fountain), generously sprinkled throughout the city. Savannah is very walkable, especially in the downtown area, and everywhere you turn, you’ll want to take a picture. You don’t even need a map – you could get dropped off anywhere downtown and stroll around with ease.
There are historic looking mansions with ornate metal railing, balconies and, of course, a proper porch upon which you see people sitting and enjoying their tea. As you can see, it’s very GREEN, which is exactly what I love to see when I’m outside. Benches everywhere really encourage you to just sit and enjoy the scene.
**except, mosquitos are really wild out here so make sure you’re prepared with some sort of repellent. Here I was paranoid and tried to cover all skin surfaces because I’m particularly tasty to those mosquito monsters.
What is unique about Savannah is that everywhere you see these trees, called Live Oaks, and on their branches, the hanging fluffy things called Spanish Moss. These trees line many of the quaint streets and pathways to offer much needed shade in the Southern Heat.
Forsyth Park (pronounced for-SYE-th) is Savannah’s biggest and most popular park. The main attraction is this gorgeous fountain surrounded by colorful flowers and trees. So peaceful and amazing. I woke up really early and just sat here before all the tourists arrived. All I heard was the water and the steady buzz of those insects living in the bushes.
There are also tons of outdoor dining options, which we liked to take advantage of until it got so hot and humid that we couldn’t. Food options were plentiful there but, as expected, not the healthiest. I have to say with guilt that my favorite meal was the ‘low country boil’ – which is basically a variety of seafood they pull out of the swamp and boil. Surprisingly cheap and causing me considerable mouth watering just thinking about it.
An unexpected perk of exploring this city with my friend is that she drove, and we were able to go to Tybee Island! There is a super cute beach that I wouldn’t have visited without car access, and I’m so glad because it was the first time in almost 8 months that I had been to the beach, in a bikini. I was soooo vitamin D deficient and pasty.
Living my best life.
There were a few angels who contributed to my wonderful time in the South. A special thanks to my friends Abbye and Tariq, who love Savannah and gave me the BEST suggestions on what to see, do, eat, etc… Also, on the first day, I was a solo traveller, and I befriended two young homegrown American boys who were in airforce school, and who were kind enough to show me around / take my pictures, AND bring me along with them to watch Incredibles 2. Finally, what a joy it was to spend time with my friend Rella in a totally new place. I know it will be a matter of time before I go to Atlanta to see her – it will be a trip I make next year and I am just building a library of relevant song lyrics (THERE ARE SO MANY!!).
xoxo
Trace
Trace in the Place 