“I live here in this house with my wife.” He pointed to one in a few doors down. ”Twenty years ago we were livin’ in the city. We both had prominent jobs and lived in a shoebox apartment. We came to Savannah on vacation and decided we must stay. Savannah offered us the lifestyle we always dreamed of – we could still take advantage of city perks like walking to restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, yet we could enjoy the slow pace of a small town. Because of the art school [Savannah School of Art and Design] this otherwise sleepy Southern town is always fresh and youthful. So we bought this house and have been fixin’ it up ever since. We found jobs that we can walk to and meet friends for brunch on the weekends…”
As he talked my mind started wandering, he was describing a life I once dreamed about – and still do from time to time. How nice it would be to have the best of both the country and the city, to have a relaxed pace but still make a living, or to have a house but also walk to the store. How exciting to go on vacation and then become so inspired that you make a choice like that and change your life!
Gman asked him questions here and there, and I just smiled and nodded. We greeted the other neighbors as they walked by, some even stopped to briefly catch up. Then we changed our mind from “just looking” and said, “We do like the house, but it’s out of our budget.” He smiled. I half expected our new friend to invite us in for coffee and biscuits, but we said our good-byes and thanked him for his time.
It was in that moment I was hooked on Savannah.
Our friends were waiting for us and we hurried to meet up with them then continued our explorations. We came here with the same couple years before, and stayed in the same Bed & Breakfast, the Eliza Thompson House. What makes Savannah unique is a mix of historic Southern town, college party town, and a healthy dose of hospitality. Each time we come here our goal is to recharge our batteries.
If you only have 36 hours in Savannah, spend most of your day walking the streets and checking out the architecture, parks, the historic cemetery and Cathedral of St John the Baptist. Grab some coffee from Gallery Espresso for a mid-morning pick-me-up. Then go to Shop SCAD to pick up some affordable original artwork created by the students as a souvenir. You might try Mellow Mushroom {pizza} or Six Pence Pub {English pub grub} for lunch. If you prefer brunch I recommend J Christopher’s.
Although it can be filled with tourists {who cares, you are one}, go down to the waterfront to do some people watching. Grab a beer to go if you’d like as you can drink in the streets here. This is a novelty that will never get old.
Go back to your room to refresh and perhaps squeeze in a nap; then head to Crystal Beer Parlor for an authentic local Savannah experience and meal. After dinner walk over to Savannah Smiles for dueling pianos. The fun part here is that it’s a mix of locals and tourists, and you can pay to have a message written on huge mirrors behind the stage. People get really into it around football playoff season. Be warned that they will write just about anything so this is not for the faint of heart. If you like to be scared, Savannah is also known for being haunted and many visitors love to go on a haunted pub-crawl.
See the original article and additional images on High Heeled Traveler here: http://highheeledtraveler.blogspot.com/2012/01/destination-savannah-georgia.html