The first thing that hits you about the coastal town of Savannah, Georgia is the heat.
It’s a sultry, sexy kind of heat. It caresses you and slows you down to a languid pace of life that can’t help but make you smile. A leisurely, knowing smile that means you’re just going to take it easy from now on. Air conditioning is on offer everywhere but to be outside and wandering through the beautiful garden squares that this city is built around is a damp and sticky affair. You can try to find shade underneath the enormous oak trees with their dripping spanish moss but the heat will always seek you out and make it’s presence known to you….and your crotch.
{whitaker street around forsyth park}
The second thing that hits you is the beauty of the place. It is a city that has been so well protected that it feels like you’re walking onto a film set. {Forest Gump was filmed here as well as the real life tale of Midnight in the garden of good & evil} The old style architecture that has been painstakingly preserved and the garden grid system with it’s tree lined streets are exactly what you want to see when you book a trip ‘To the South’. It almost feels like a secret the rest of America doesn’t know about yet but Savannahians continue to keep with ease and contentment. The visual impact of this stunning physical environment mixed with the beauty of real life Southern hospitality is any movie lovers dream. Everyone talks to you…everyone. Most people in America talk to you but in the South, that Southern hospitality is a part of everyone you meet. Whether it’s calling out good evening to you from their porches or greeting you good morning as you pass them wandering around Forsyth Park, Savannahians are interested in you. They want to know whether you’ve had a good day, what you’re up to, where you’re from and in our case whether or not we’d been to ‘that’ wedding. It’s not pushy, it’s not fake it’s really good hospitality.
{whitaker street, forsyth park, SCAD’s magnolia hall}
Savannah is beautifully historical and the right amount of old fashioned but that’s not to say it’s not cool. It was on my list of places to see because I have followed the career of photographer Jaime Beck for years now and her go-to to get away from NYC has always been Savannah. She’s been visiting since she was a child but now, in her 30’s, wants to rest and recoup there as well as sometimes teach at the art school. SCAD {Savannah college of art and design} has a very big presence all over the city with it’s students as well as it’s campuses and has restored numerous buildings to their former glory. Alongside the artistic students comes the cool bars and the even cooler restaurants. We drank contemporary cocktails in a gold gilded bar and discussed farm to table menus in a renovated Greyhound bus station. Savannah may look like a place that has frozen in time but it’s slowly moving forward in it’s own unique way.
{zunzi’s, gryphon tearoom, artillary}
My travel buddies and I only spent the equivalent of a long weekend in this beautiful city but that’s all we needed. We were able to soak up the steamy, Southern atmosphere through our damp skin and came away with a well kept secret. A secret that I’m spilling because Savannah, Georgia needs to be seen to be believed….Go discover her.
For drinking ~
Artillery ~ https://www.artillerybar.com/
Perch ~ http://www.local11ten.com/perch
The Olde Pink House ~ https://www.plantersinnsavannah.com/olde-pink-house-restaurant
For eating ~
Zunzi’s ~ https://www.zunzis.com/
Gryphon Tearoom ~ http://www.scadgryphon.com/
The Grey Inn ~ http://thegreyrestaurant.com/
For shopping ~
Civvies ~ https://www.civviesonbroughton.com/
The Paris market ~ https://theparismarket.com/