Savannah.

Usually frequent travelers will have blog posts with beautiful artsy photos, and can tell you travel stories to rival a Frommer's guide but I had a 4 year old, a box of spinach dip, and narrow sidewalks to navigate last night. Also, did anyone sober make it out of the pirate pub crawl last night? I've never heard so many drunk aaaarrrggghhh's in my life!

This post however, is my love letter to my favorite city in the entire world Savannah, GA.

A little background about me, I was born in Georgia about 20 minutes northwest in a little town called Marietta. We lived in GA off and on when I was a little wee one, and I always have a soft place in my heart spaces for it. Honestly, when I come here it always feels like home!

Downtown Savannah was my NYC when I was a little girl, and in many ways I think it's sort of that kind of place in the South. First of all, the city culture is brilliant!

Bars.
Live music.
Street performers.
Art.
Diversity, (there's literally a little bit of every culture here).
Food!!!!!!!
Cool knick-knacky places that will make your inner homebody do pirouettes. (This is mostly for the Mom's and crafty people!)

I just lllllooovvvvveeee this town!

Last night we had dinner at a restaurant called Tubby's Seafood. It is on the second floor in an old cotton exchange factory about midway down River St. It's done up in the interior like the inside of a boat with dark hardwood everywhere, and a little bar. We sat inside, because it's August, and it's HOT here but they do have outdoor dining if you're feeling like a little al fresco jaunt is for you. They also had a HUGE bar outside, and they were serving to-go GA Peach flavored Sangria for the grown-ups. YUM!

I am a seafood fan, so I got a surf and turf burger with shrimp on it. It was delicious! If I wouldn't have ordered the spinach dip then it would have been a cheap meal as well, because I spent well under what I was anticipating especially for a place that's technically on the water. Their menu also had specialty things for kids in the seafood department, but also basic things like hot dogs for picky eaters. There are more expensive/fancy dining places along the river, but I try to stay away from those places right now while Hunter's still little and prone to getting up when he's done eating. Of course, I don't want to be that Mom and let him wander around everywhere, but he's 4. What can I say? Family dining for us, (sometimes to my detriment), is still the way to go!

The little stores along the river are fantastic if you just want something to take home as a souvenir, are an antiquer, or if you like homeware type things.

Some of my favorites;

River Street Market Place- (East End)
Lots of shops here, but my favorite was the monogram shop. Good gravy, let's monogram all the things!

Bob's Your Uncle/Fannie's Your Aunt- They have the cutest t-shirts in this store, and I love all the kids options. They literally had the best stock of novelty Savannah t-shirts.

Savannah's Candy Kitchen- Perfect place to take a curious kid! Watch them make saltwater taffy, candy apples, and literally walk around the Bill's Candy Shop of old town Savannah. (Bonus points if you get that reference!)

A Christmas On the River- Everything is Christmas here, and they make no apologies for it. She even had the music on! I love this store, it was by far the best maintained shop we went it and easy to navigate even with a little one. Hunter loved the little village of Southern/Savannah inspired Christmas things in the back right corner of the store!

Five and Dime General Store- This place had a little of everything, and a lot of choices. It's huge, and if you need to get out of the heat for a bit it's a great place to catch your breath or grab some water.

Ellis Square- This is off River St. Perfect place to get away when it's hot! At night you can hear live music from the bars and the park has a little mini splash pad for kids. It's not soft or anything, but Hunter loved it just be careful because it's a bit slippery! (On W Bryan St., and Barnard St. Also there's also a Savannah Visitor's bureau there where you can get city info and public restrooms with changing tables.)

Jere's Antiques- (Off of Jefferson St.) This store has the most impressive and reasonable antiques in old town Savannah. The store is meticulously curated, and they even recreate custom antique bespoke pieces! The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. It's my favorite pick out of all the places I've been around town.

Don't forget to take the free DOT trolley rides up and down River St. Also remember you're in the South, ask for directions if you need them! People are super friendly here, and they give great tips if you're polite. :)

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Savannah I encourage you to go, and explore it. It's such a beautiful place, and people are truly friendly. If I had to pick a place to represent the south that I know, and what I grew up with, this would be the place! It's just perfect.

xo,

C