We rented a 5-bedroom/2.5 bath house in the historic district of Charleston (we found it on the HomeAway app). This enabled us to walk to everything we wanted to see and do during our stay. Last year we stayed in a hotel, but it was very convenient to have a full kitchen and the large living room. All of the bedrooms were large with ceiling fans (1 one first floor, 2 more on both the second and third floors).
Our first night we had a great home-cooked meal (thanks to Amy for the awesome pasta sauce!) and cocktails. We caught up with each other and listened to great tunes of our youth. From left to right is Cynthia, Amy, Betsy and Marsha.
My friends can do some serious shopping, so we spent time checking out the many unique shops on King Street. I even bought some stuff, too!
The beautiful Belmond Charleston Place hotel (https://www.belmond.com/hotels/north-america/usa/sc/charleston/belmond-charleston-place/) is also here with many upscale shops accessible from the lobby.
The Market has almost anything you could ever want. This is where we spent the most time shopping as there are so many interesting shops with many unique items.
Cynthia bought this beautiful painting of a crab (love it) and Marsha found two smaller pictures of pigs that were fantastic! Sweetgrass baskets are sold everywhere here. This coiled basketweaving has been passed down through generations of African Americans who originally brought the technique to the US in the 1700s. They range in size from tiny baskets that cost $20 to elaborate large ones that cost $600.
We had a fantastic lunch at the Lowcountry Bistro (www.lowcountrybistro.com) right next to the Market.
Many musicians (of all ages) can be seen (and heard) in the area around the Market.
After lunch we walked to Riverfront Park to see the two fountains there, including the iconic Pineapple Fountain. The breeze coming off the water was a respite from the 90 degree weather!
We walked along beautiful Rainbow Row on our way back to the house. Thirteen historic houses here are the longest cluster of intact Georgian row houses in the US. The earliest structures were built in 1680. The buildings fell into disrepair over the years but were restored in the 1930s and 1940s. It is one of the most photographed streets in Charleston.
This gallery had unique mosaic works of art...so creative.
On Saturday we continued our walking tour of the historic area of Charleston. After more shopping (you never know what you might see walking down the street here), we went to Fleet Landing (fleetlanding.net) for a late lunch.
The restaurant was very crowded so, we had some cocktails on the deck while waiting for a table inside.
There are great views of Charleston Harbor (including Fort Sumter) from here as well as the Custom House where boat captains had to check in before loading or unloading their cargo.
Our food here was excellent as was the service.
We enjoyed seeing the many historic homes and picturesque alleys here during our walk back towards the house.
The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon is a museum of Charleston history during the Colonial and Revolutionary War. The basement prison was used during the Revolutionary War. Slaves were sold next to the building and the Declaration of Independence of was read from the balcony...what a contrast in philosophies.
We enjoyed our last night at the house feeling grateful that we have all reconnected after so many years! Check out time was 11 am, so we packed up and went our separate ways again. Cheers, ladies! It was a blast.
That's a great summary of our time together! I’ll emphasize one thing: we laughed and laughed and laughed! Until next year.........♥️
ReplyDeleteEspecially after a few glasses of wine and a couple of your special cocktails!
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