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Post date: Feb 16, 2015 4:44:15 PM
This will always be one of my favorite cities. Not only does it have beautiful 18th and 19th-century homes, still lived-in and immaculate (Victorian, Georgian, Italianate styles all mixed together), but also there are no less than 22 beautiful oak-shaded squares, a charming riverfront district, terrific food and some of the most charming people I will ever meet. See photos on Photo Gallery (3). Warning: As soon as the good citizens of Savannah get behind the wheel, a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde transition takes place and they are just as likely to run down pedestrians as to stop for them. Crosswalks mean nothing. There is so much to see and do that it was hard to decide on a "plan of attack" for the time that we would be there. Fortunately, there are trolleys that give a narrated tour of the historic district, which you can catch at any one of 15 stops. We pretty much rode around town on the first day and by the second day, knew where we wanted to get off and explore on foot.
Two highlights of our explorations were the Mercer-Williams house (have you read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"?) and the gorgeous fountain in Forsythe Square. Another interesting house was where General ("March to Atlanta") Sherman stayed at Christmas 1865. He sent a message to Lincoln that Savannah agreed to offer the town of Savannah, its cotton and armaments as a "Christmas Present," in return for not burning it down. That saved them. We also took a paddle-wheel tour of the Savannah harbor, industrial but interesting, complete with dolphin escorts and had delicious pulled-pork sandwiches at Angel's Barbecue .
It turns out that other people have discovered the charms of Savannah, though. We were there on a combination of Valentine's Day and Presidents' week-end and it was jammed! But that was nothing compared to the upcoming Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day. There are only 170,000 inhabitants, but Savannah will be flooded with people on both days, two big celebrations in a relatively small town. We were happy we managed to duck both of those bullets! I'd love to return to Savannah someday.
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