Our itinerary (March 30, 2016 - March 31, 2016)
Wednesday, March 30
We got on the road as soon as we were ready and arrived in Charleston in time for a late breakfast/early lunch. Not expecting our B&B to be ready for us, we parked in a public garage and made our way down Meeting Street to Toast! While en route we passed a place I thought looked decent but we were determined to get to Toast! because of its high acclaim. Not surprisingly, there was a line and a 30 minute wait. We added our names to the list but while waiting decided to google the place we had passed earlier. We quickly realized that they were part of the same restaurant group, the menu looked great, and best of all, NO LINE. We removed ourselves from the waiting list at Toast! and made our way back to Eli's Table.
It was hands down the best meal of the entire trip, inclusive of what we ate in Savannah. I had the best crab cakes of my life with house-made remoulade sauce. Evan got a pretty generic breakfast plate but he really enjoyed it. We also split some sweet potato pancakes as an appetizer/dessert. I'd go to Charleston again just to have another meal at Eli's Table.
After our meal we figured we'd give the King George IV Inn a try and see if they were ready for us. They were so we parked the car and dropped our things off. The hosts were great and we enjoyed our gigantic room and comfortable bed. What we didn't like were the breakfast offerings (buffet-style generic fare) and the bathroom, which was tired and in need of renovation. The location was excellent, however, so it made it really easy to walk everywhere. Unlike our Inn in Savannah, King George IV was more reasonably priced.
We set out early afternoon to join Therese of Two Sister Tours for a walking introduction of Charleston. I found that Therese had more pep in her step than our guide in Savannah. She held my attention and I enjoyed the stories she shared. For instance, we learned the difference between a "beenya" and a "comeya". A beenya is a native or someone whose family has lived in Charleston for many generations. As a fitting antonym, a comeya is a newer member of the community.
Charleston is called the "Holy City" and there are churches of all denominations on almost every block. We learned that the church congregation senselessly attacked by a racist gunman last summer has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rainbow Row:
We learned that Stephen Colbert grew up in a house not far from Rainbow Row across from the water. Bill Murray also lives somewhere on that stretch.
Therese is a seventh generation Charlestonian and she talked about seeing "the hat man" growing up. The adjoining shop doesn't exist anymore but the natives fought to preserve this last remnant, which looks like something out of a Stephen King book turned movie.
Since I love all things Gone With the Wind, I was especially attentive when Therese mentioned that the woman who played India Wilkes in the movie was a Charlestonian artist. She also said that Rhett Butler was based on a real Charlestonian.
We took our own walking tour afterward and explored some more.
The Charleston City Market:
Last but not least we strolled through the beautiful main campus of the College of Charleston just a couple blocks from our Inn.
We had a light dinner from Taziki's and ate it in a park next to the college. Yes, it's a chain, but it was yummy and way better than the non-chain food we had the following day.
We ended the night on a sweet note with Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. I had churro while Evan had mint and sweet cream with a house-made waffle cone.
Thursday, March 31
We started our day off with a lackluster breakfast and that theme carried through for the rest of our meals that day.
Evan's really into tea so we paid a visit to the Charleston Tea Plantation - the only one in America!
The factory tour was really lame because none of the machinery was running nor was anyone working and the information was conveyed by a short series of videos. Snoozefest. The trolley tour was an improvement because we got to see the tea gardens and the greenhouse where they grow new plants from cuttings of the "old" plants.
When we got back to Charleston proper we went for a fairly dismal lunch at Chick's Fry House. I was really disappointed because it's a casual/fast food offshoot of Hominy Grill, which is a very known and popular restaurant in town, and it didn't deliver. I got fried catfish, which was good but my side of mac & cheese was half breadcrumbs and they weren't even crispy. It was like eating "raw" breadcrumbs. Evan hated his fried chicken. He said it was dry and stringy. I was hoping to have a friendly competition between Chick's and Rocky's (see Asheville blog) but as it turns out, they're not even in the same league. No comparison can be made!
To make up for that, on the way to the Nathaniel Russell House, we stopped at Peace Pie for a quick pick-me-up. The guy who helped us out (pictured below) was really cool and he gave us each a free taster of the chocolate mousse he was whipping up. It was amazing or as he called it "heaven". Speaking of (H)Evan, he didn't want anything but I got the chocolate chip cookie. It was very rich so I couldn't finish it all but it definitely hit my sweet spot.
From there we went to the Nathaniel Russell House (as previously referenced) for a docent-led tour. Therese had swung by there on our walk the day before and I made a mental note to return. I'm so glad we did. The history buff in me absolutely loved it. If we return in the future I'd like to visit more house museums.
It's an exquisite home with wonderful examples of the architectural craftsmanship, furniture, and luxuries of the 1800s Charleston elite. Nathaniel Russell made his wealth as a merchant. He was married to a woman who had her own wealth prior to their union. She must've been one of the earliest feminists because not only was she 36 when they married (that's an advanced age even by today's standards) but she devised a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets. They had two daughters. Their family of four had fourteen, I believe, slaves to attend to their needs. What a repugnant period in American history.
From there we made our way to Waterfront Park, passing by other beautiful homes and gardens.
Therese explained that these plaques recognize historical preservation:
Wisteria!
Finally, we reached Waterfront Park, which has a hard-to-miss landmark in the form of a pineapple fountain. The pineapple signifies hospitality.
Last and least, we had dinner at Monza. We were both hopeful and excited because it got good ratings and we were in the mood for Italian. Evan got a pizza and I got carbonara. We were both extremely disappointed. Evan's pizza was not light and airy the way a Neapolitan pizza should be and I don't even know what they did to my pasta. It tasted like someone knocked a salt shaker over into my dish. Ick. Needless to say, we wouldn't recommend it.
...
We had a good time in Charleston. I was able to bounce back emotionally though I was still distracted. There was a part of me that was ready to go home from days before but that had nothing to do with Charleston. It's a shame but I really couldn't relax on this trip. Now that we're back home, I'm feeling more like myself. Maybe five years from now we'll go again and third time will be the charm? Haha.
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