Savannah

Ah, Savannah...where to start?  We had a grand time at QuiltCon and touring Savannah.  The weather was perfect and the city delightful.  I guess the easiest way to share our experience is chronological.  We arrived around noon on Thursday and checked into our hotel.  We had decided ahead of time that we would spend  Friday and Saturday at QuiltCon, and use the rest of the time for sightseeing.  So after some lunch and a visit to the concierge to inquire about tickets for the trolley tour, we set off to explore. 

Old Town Trolley tours took us all around the historic city - there are 15 stops where you can hop on and off the trolley for sightseeing.  They stop every 15 minutes up until 5 PM, so it is easy to take in the sights you want to see.  Our focus this day was the birthplace of Juliet Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts.  This was a bucket list site for Elizabeth, so we went for the tour, and just rode the trolley the rest of the route to get a "lay of the land".

The tour was very educational - we learned a lot about Savannah and its history. The Cotton Exchange building below was completed in 1887 when Savannah ranked first in Atlantic cotton seaports and 2nd in the world.  Cotton prices for the world were set here.  Over 2 million bales a year moved through Savannah!

The Cotton Exchange and other buildings known as Factor's Row are built above River St. where the ships came into port.  Consequently there are numerous stairways and cobblestone streets down to the lower level, as you can see in the picture of the steps below.

We enjoyed exploring the shops and restaurants along River Street as well.  All these buildings were originally warehouses that were abandoned.  They were renovated in the late 20th century to create the  lively atmosphere that exists today.

Since the weather was so unusually warm, the azaleas and other flowers were blooming, and the live oaks with their Spanish moss create an otherworldly effect.

It's a wonderful city with so much to see that it begs for another visit!