Savannah…Frankly Rebecca, I don’t give a damn

Ok, so a lot of people have been a little curious as to our more obscure destinations. They are a result of one of two things – sport or books. We went to New Orleans because I had read a book years ago set there (can’t remember anything about it now really except for the fact it was set in New Orleans). We also went to this next destination because of another book – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. If you like reading and if you like a good story, read this one. It’s great.

However, I’ll be honest. Although New Orleans lived up to my expectations, exceeded it in fact, Savannah was a little disappointing. It just seemed so much more….grand…I dunno, just bigger in my mind. But, it was a very pretty city and it was a relatively relaxing time after New Orleans. Here’s what we got up to….

We got up nice and early from New Orleans and caught the enlightening E2 bus again to the airport. We left our bags at the hotel to save ourselves some grief and then drove back to pick them up before we headed to Savannah. We had a domestic within about 2 seconds after getting in the car (but don’t worry it was over just as fast), but then proceeded to find our way without getting lost! Amazing! Anyway, the trip went well until we decided to take a scenic detour. We didn’t get lost, but honestly it was a waste of time! It was supposed to be a coastal road, but there were a whole bunch of houses in the way (not sure if Lonely Planet is out of date or what), however, we did visit a tiny town called Seaside – it was where The Truman Show was filmed, yep that’s right, it wasn’t a set, it was a real life place. It was actually kinda freaky. All the houses had a sign out front with its name and the names of people who lived there. Riiight.

So we finally got to Jacksonville where we crashed for the night.

The next morning we drove the 2 hours to Savannah (after a fabulous continental breakfast – not a doughnut in sight!). After checking in we headed downtown to explore. Not much to report here, just that we wandered down the main streets with all the Squares. Not sure if you know, but that’s what Savannah is famous for, it has like 12 Squares in the middle of two of it’s main streets which make for a very pretty place, but a pain in the bugt to drive. And the cars have right of way, not the pedestrians. These Squares are full of statues, memorials, fountains, trees etc etc. For dinner we had fried chicken from the shopping centre – YUMMY!

One thing we noticed on our trip were that there were a fair few Confederate flags being flown. Mike’s favourite comment became “don’t these guys know they lost the war?”

So the next day we headed to the Forsyth Park which was pretty impressive in winter, so it would be amazing in summer. The main feature is a massive ole’ fountain and sends water flying left right and centre (don’t think it was designed this way). Then we did a bus tour and got our bearings and a little local history. Afterwards we went for a tour of the Mencer House – the one and only from the book. I guess you guys really need photos to appreciate this don’t you? Sorry about that! The rest of the day was spent wandering around and checking out other monuments and parks and shops etc. Another thing to note about Savannah is that it’s covered in azaleas – they had only just started to bloom when we were there but by now (March) they should be in full bloom.

Well according to our photos, most of our last day was spent wandering around the Bonaventure Cemetery. This is the cemetery that has a lot of people buried that are significant in Savannah’s history. It has a lot of very ornate graves and used to have the “bird girl” in it who is the statue on the front of the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She has now been moved to a museum – stupid tourists! For our final dinner in Savannah, we went to a pub – The Exchange Tavern - along River street, the main tourist drag.

The next day we drove back to Jacksonville to catch our flight to New York. We had to fly from here, and not Jacksonville, because it was cheaper for our car hire. Anyway, we were on the road on time, had brekky with ample time but then got distracted by a Target – ours is good, but theirs is a 1000 times better! Anyways, we finally got on the road (late) and then got lost. Not happy jan! Anyway, we finally asked for directions and found our way back. The traffic got heavy and we started to freak out. It was fine, we made it with plenty of time. However, we got there and our flight had been cancelled and they didn’t tell us. So….we ended up flying with another company on a flight an hour or so later (so no need to speed after all that!) and it went direct to New York! Hence, when I started the New Olreans blog, it had been one hell of a morning!

So enough for now. I will go and try and write something for New York. And try and find you all some pics!

Love ya

Bec & Mike
xoxo