Savannah, Y'all!

Y'all, if you haven't been to Savannah, Georgia yet, YOU MUST GO!  This was Josh and my second time going together and I had been a couple times before with my family on vacation.  I have to say that everytime I go, I fall more in love with the city.  Every street has a gorgeous park in the center accompanied by hundred year old oak trees with hanging moss, monuments and fountains and stunning, perfectly preserved houses dating back to the 1800s.  The restaurants are next to none.  Delicious southern cuisine at every restaraunt with impeccable service.  The shops are all filled with unique pieces, a lot of which are handmade from the students at SCAD (The Savannah College of Art and Design).  I could go on and on for hours but I thought I would highlight some of our favorite parts of our quick, mid-week getaway to give you some ideas if you decide to visit this beautiful city.  

First, when we got to town our first night, we went later in the day because Josh had to work, we went into town and went to Jazz'd, a tapas style restaurant.  I highly recommend the Baked Cheese Terra Cotta Plate.  OHH MY YUM!  This was delicious.  I literally could have just gotten 5 of these and been a happy camper.  The Georgia Peach martini was also very yummy.  The best part of Savannah is that you can take your alcoholic drinks to go!  After dinner, Josh and I took our drinks and walked around the city enjoying live music.  We also walked down to the Riverwalk area and sat watching the large cargo ships come in.  It's definitely cool to see.  These ships are HUGE!

The next morning, we decided we wanted to walk and explore the city more in the daylight.  We laced up our tennis shoes and headed out.  We walked to Forsyth Park, which is a stunning, huge park that is definitely a must see if you visit.

We grabbed a coffee and a ham and cheese croissant from a local coffee shop and wandered around for miles.  Savannah is a very walkable city. After we freshened up at the hotel, we headed back out for lunch.  We went to The Public Kitchen and Bar and sat outside to enjoy the perfect weather.  I ordered the Ham and Brie melt with pasta salad and it was so delicious, I didn't leave a single bite.  Josh ordered the Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich which was also great, just a little messy.  

We walked around several cute stores and boutiques and stopped at The World Of Beer for a mid-afternoon drink because, you know, when in Rome!  They have over 60 beers on tap that again. you can take it to go in a plastic cup if you want.  

We took ours and headed to the macaron shop, Marche' de Macarons.  We got 6 different macarons to try and each one was better than the last.  They were delish!  We got the chocolate ganache, vanilla bean, turtle, hazelnut. salted caramel, and confetti.  Definitely worth the calories! 

For dinner, we got reservations for The Olde Pink House.  We wanted to go to a special dinner for Josh's birthday and it did not disappoint.  Y'all,  So. Good. I cannot begin to express how impressed we were with this restaurant.  It ran like a well-oiled machine.  We went to dinner a little earlier than our reservation because we wanted to get a drink at the bar.  There are two bar areas in the house, we went to the one on the first floor but we were told the basement bar is really neat to see as well.  Josh got a beer and I got a "Pink Lady"...oh my!  It was delicious.  Here's a tip: they were out of the raspberry liquor when we ordered so I got mine with peach instead and I liked it way more.  If the bartender lets you change it, I highly recommend it!  

We went a little crazy at dinner and ordered way too much food, but it was all great.  We started with the Shrimp and Grits which they offered to split for us onto two plates which we appreciated.  The grits were breaded and fried so they aren't like your typical shrimp and grits, they are even better if you can believe it!  Next, we each got a cup of the she crab soup (a must if you are visiting any city along the coast).  We were both impressed with that as well.  For our entrees, Josh ordered the Scallop and Shrimp Fettucini which he loved, the scallops were to die for.  I got the Sweet Potato Ravioli, also wonderful.  For dessert, we got a slice of the Pecan Pie which was so decadent and rich.  It came out warm like it was straight from he oven.  After dinner, our waiter encouraged us to explore the house which we loved because we are both history buffs and love architecture.  Every employee was incredibly knowledgable of the history of the house and was more than happy to share with us.  Overall, we loved our experience there and will definitely be back on a future visit, just make sure to make a reservation!  It fills up quickly. 

For our last day, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, The Collin's Quarter.  It's a really eclectic, farm-to-table restaurant and coffee shop complete with an adorable walk up window if you just want to grab a coffee to go.  I recommend the Vietnamese Iced Coffee, it was so yummy!  For brunch, I ordered the Biscuits and Gravy which is a more modern, less dense version of the southern classic.  Josh ordered the Short Rib Hash complete with a large portion of shirt rib and a fabulous chimichurri sauce.  You seriously cannot go wrong with this place.  Only thing we learned the hard way (because we tried to go the day before) is that on Tuesday's the restaurant is closed.  You can however, still get coffee from the walk up window, just no food.  

We ended our trip with a tour to the Andrew Low House.  The tour is about 30 minutes long and is $10/person ($9/person if you are a AAA member-don't forget to ask!).  The tour was incredibly informative and our tour guide was great.  It was neat to see the inside of one of these perfectly preserved southern mansions.  

I hope this helps if you have already planned a trip to Savannah and if you're not, maybe it will encourage you to plan a trip.  There is something for everyone in this city and it has easily become one our favorite vacation spots.  Happy Traveling!