Charming Charleston - Day 1

Good Afternoon!

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I just got back from a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. I had such an incredible time there that I knew I wanted to write a few blogs about it! Much like the city itself, its impossible to fit all my adventures into one post (or day), so I'm breaking it down into a couple posts.

After a 14 hour drive from Miami, we finally made it at about 7:00 p.m. to our hotel in Downtown Charleston. Our first priority after checking in was to eat, so we walked to Lowcountry Bistro for dinner.

I woke up early Saturday morning to make sure I had enough time to get ready, then walked across the courtyard of the Hilton to grab breakfast at 7:30. I filled up on plenty of fruit, oatmeal, and cinnamon streusel bread (guilty pleasure food!) and geared up for the day. We were meeting up with a big group of family members at 11:00, so we decided to kill some time by exploring the area around the hotel for a while.

The first thing I noticed about Downtown Charleston is the architecture and style of the city. Brick buildings, windows with cute shutters, window boxes, and cobblestone roads. There's even horse-drawn carriage tours constantly going up and down the streets. It's a totally different atmosphere than South Florida.

My main goal this morning was to essentially get lost. Which was a really good idea because I ended up finding a park! (Google maps helped us get back home lol)

Our walking tour with Tommy Dew started at 11:00 a.m. He filled us in on a bunch of history about Charleston, as well as explaining the landmarks we passed on the way. One thing that stood out to me was of course Rainbow Row. A street lined with old buildings that they painted in pretty pastel colors.

The tour ended at The Battery. Where we walked the defensive seawall along the lower Eastern stretch of Charleston. On one side you have great view of the Charleston Harbor, and on the other a long row of antebellum homes.

Lunch was at High Cotton, where I ate delicious Brioche French Toast. Though I have a confession, I did not eat the bacon! I know, I know, its super weird but I'm one of the few people in the world who does not like the taste and texture of bacon...

On the way to our next stop we stumbled across the White Point Garden. I loved how the sun was peaking through the tree branches, creating cool shapes and shadows on the grass.

From there we went to the Calhoun Mansion. It's a huge Italianate House Museum filled to the brim with collectibles, artifacts, and artworks from all over the world. (They don't allow photography so this is the only shot I got!)

We ended the night with drinks at TBonz Gill & Grill, then dinner at the Oyster House.

It was a great first day exploring the charming city of Downtown Charleston. And although I was exhausted from non-stop walking all day, I was also really excited for the other fun things we had planned!

Check out what I did on my second day here.

xx

-Lala