I had the pleasure of visiting Savannah, Georgia, for the first time for 5 days and 4 nights while attending the 2019 UCDA Summit. It was warm and breezy with daily coolings-off from brief rain showers.
The first thing I noticed when riding to Savannah from the airport were the Southern Live Oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss.
Easy to navigate with a lovely atrium that reminded me of a really nice train station. There is a Leopold's ice cream stand in case you missed it in the city. Twenty minutes by car to Savannah.
Great hotel in a perfect location on the Savannah River. It has a huge atrium for a lobby so you can see everything that is going on. Floor to ceiling windows over the river let you witness river boats and container ships floating by.
This turned out to be a great find on our first night. It was in an open square lined with patios, restaurants and shops that turns into a huge outdoor party at the weekend. We dined outside under the awning, and didn't even need to move when the rain swept through.
Lively and cobbled main drag, protected from the rest of the city by being set down low on the river. The amount of tourists didn't matter. Boats, trolleys, bars, restaurants, fun.
One lunch, sitting out front with my colleagues, I had a muffuletta (New Orleans style sandwich) filled with marinated olive salad and fried green tomatoes.
About a mile-long walk from hotel and you get to pass many other squares, monuments and fascinating architecture along the way. Each square is lovelier than the next. And the Live Oak trees with dripping Spanish moss never get old.
We planned to go on a spooky tour. Savannah is America's spookiest city. Wish we had stuck with our original idea of the ghost tour in a hearse. At least we would have been in a hearse. This tour was dreadful.
The ghost tour allowed entrance and tour of this house at night.
Jonathan is a great guide and gives a lively informative 2 hour walking tour. He knows everything about Savannah and is a SCAD graduate of architecture. Well worth every penny.
One of the houses we learned about on the architectural tour.
We made it to one of the 3 Telfair museums. (Entrance fee includes all 3 museums over several days if you have the time.) This particular museum can be completed in under 1 hour.
The 2-hour sunset cruise with Christine was perfect. Our enthusiastic bartender Philip was excited to make our cocktails. There was a disco on the top deck.
We saw this great view from the boat ride.
I want to return in March some year. April was already getting a little hot for all the walking we did. Next trip will include Tybee Island, swamp tours, and a number of spots that we didn't have time to see.
