Savannah - Feb 28th Part 2

Nourish... our last stop before heading out of Savannah... 

This amazing shop has everything you could ask for in the soap.candle.bath related department... From the very second you walk in through the front door your nose is amazed by all the wonderful smells... your eyes take in the beauty of all that surrounds you... and your wallet reaches out and slaps you on the face...

Check out some of the amazing things Nourish has to offer... and hint, hint... they have a website... so don't let the fact that you aren't currently in Savannah stop you... I haven't left you an excuses...
    

Left: Since when has pizza been the only thing that you can buy by the slice... Don't want a whole bar of soap? Well you can buy soap by the slice... 

May I suggest the Georgia Peach?

Right: May I offer you a plate of sandwiches... er... soap?

Left: Sponge anyone?

Right: Room with a view... what a display of scented lovelies...

Left: So scents aren't your thing... but you still want to walk out of the store with something that is gonna make you skin sing... why not try the unscented oatmeal soap?

Below: Candles always make bath time better...

                                                                                                          

Savannah - Feb 28th Part 1

Our final morning in Savannah... We got up early... and then the wait began for the breakfast to be sent up to our room...

When it arrived we were not disappointed... I had strawberry pancakes (shared some with mum) and mom had the goat cheese omelet (I stole a bite... with permission...)

After sitting the tray outside we called for the baggage to be carried down... I went down with the first load and then took up arranging duty...

Above Left:                                                       

Papillote... the french eatery in Savannah... A place that will always be in my culinary dreams... 

Right: A picture of the front window... beautiful work... so impressed and I haven't even stepped foot in through the front door.

The display case had all sort of yummy options... macroons... sandwhiches, goat cheese tarts... and that is just the beginning...

Check out the pictures below...

                                                                         Left:  The daily menu written on one of the windows outside... Not sure if you can read it all... but trust me it's impressive...

Below: Some of the artwork/photography that they decorated the place with...

Eiffel Tower

Left: Here's some of the tasty desserts they have... mom picked up some Fig Preserves...

Right: The Tables...

Left: Food case... They've just removed the wrapped sandwiches from the top case... because that's what we decided to get for our lunch on the go... 

Here are the details on the sandwiches... French bread, rolled turkey with bacon, fresh field greens, tomato and aioli.

Left: The view from the counter

Save something for later... on the trip back we took a few minutes to set back and enjoy our sandwiches...

Left: Steering wheel meet sandwich... and no you can't have any...

Right: Dessert anyone?

We waited till we got home to let these french macaroons out of the bag.

Savannah - Feb 27th Part 2

The Jepson Center... You can't tell much from the outside picture but when you step foot inside you are shocked with stark white... The gloom outside has nothing on this museum...  

While there weren't a lot of displays... the sculptures they did have were impressive... unfortunately no pictures were allowed... he.. hem...

Left: I had to take a picture of this little guy... (well he's bigger in person... but you get the idea)

This ingenious creation was made using pretty much anything you could find from hubcaps to mixers... you name it... they put it to it's new second use...

On our way out we stopped by the store... and were almost immediately ensnared by the large umbrellas they had on display... now one would ask... why get another umbrella if you already have one? 

Well not only were these umbrellas larger than the ones we had... but that they were much brighter and happier... 

Did someone say photo shoot?

Right: This is me in Forsyth Park, stylin' and profiln' with mom's umbrella... It wasn't raining much then... but what's the harm in pretending... you got it... flaunt it... in the 'rain'  =)

We got to Forsyth Park just at the right time... parked where we did when we saw the Grand Bohemian Gallery (across the street) and started walking towards the fountain... Art students sketch and paint throughout the park, tourists and locals walk along the paths gathering inspiration from the beauty surrounding them... ah....

I took lots of pictures while walking around... but here are a few of the magnificent fountain that sits/stands in the center of the park... it really was quite impressive...

Enjoy...

Savannah - Feb 27th Part 1

8:30a  Breakfast Time... and we have... wait for it... Banana Nut Pancakes (yeah I know I'm not a banana fan, but these were good...)


Left: This is how our breakfast try looked each morning... The orange juices on the side, mugs on the right... the main course in the middle and the extra muffins/scones on the top...

10:00a Left the Gastonian (in the pouring rain) for the SCAD store (Savannah College of Art and Design) There were lots of interesting things to see in the SCAD store... most of them items that had been created by current or former students who had/do attend the School. SCAD owned buildings etc are all around the city.

After visiting the store.... we went onto the E.Shaver Booksellers where I purchased postcards, a sketchbook/watercolor book of Savannah (the pictures inside were done by none other than SCAD students) and met the
new shop dog. A rescue Shih tzu named Cookie... who was intent on trying to get out the door any chance she got.                               

After feeding the meter we went into the SCAD Administration building where we got to see this massive metal bee... So cool...

Amazing right?                                                                                                                                      We still had time to 'kill' and with the rain clearing up a bit we walked across the square to one of the many churches in  Savannah.       Stain-glass windows lined the walls, wooden pews stood in two wide rows leading up to the front of the church...                                              After checking the time, we walked back to our lunch destination for the day... and waited patiently for the door be opened... 

 Hello Gryphon.... This charming restaurant was once an apothecary... and still has the stained glass mortar and pastel above the bar... The walls are lined with books, and coupled with the design of the interior you really feel like you have revisited the 1920's 1930's era... my kind of restaurant...                                                                       

Left: Here I am trying to decide just what I'm going to get for lunch. I finally decided on what I like to call a Caesar Salad on a sandwich... How did I come up with that you ask? Well the sandwich consists of French bread, grilled chicken, Romaine lettuce, shaved Parmesan and Caesar dressing.                   

The end result? Culinary bliss... 

But wait... there's more... Wait till you hear/read about what my mom had. To say that it was a goat cheese salad doesn't even give it justice... I'm going to paint a picture for you here.... are you ready?

Imagine this... Fresh field greens, silvered almonds, cranberries, sliced pears... now add to that a goat cheese that had been sliced, rolled in a breadcrumb and herb mixture and then baked to perfection....   Are you drooling yet?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                              
You didn't think I was going to tell you all about it and not show you a picture of it did you... That would just be unnecessarily cruel....      

                                                                                 Left: Now if you're not originally from the south... you always have one fear when you order Tea... will be it be so sweet that you feel like you've consumed your sugar quota for the entire year?                                                    Well the folks at Gryphon have that covered. You just order your tea and they bring you out what is known as 'Simple Syrup' allowing you to sweeten your tea to suit your own taste buds. 

Check please.....

Brilliant right?

                                                                                   

Savannah- Feb 26th Part 3

 

 

Let me tell you a little bit about our carriage ride... first it was freezing outside... and I'm not talking a little chilly... I'm talking so cold that you just want to go back to your hotel and snuggle under the covers cold...

None the less into the breech we went=) Armed with fleece blankets and a resolve to enjoy ourselves we were off...

Our carriage driver had alot of interesting              
information to share with us...  and I'm
going to share some of it with you...

Henry Ford... the man responsible for
the putting the automotive industry
on the map... during a time when the
price of cotton was going decided that
the abundant moss (that was freely hanging
on all the trees would do) So he went
to stuffing them... unaware of the fact
that Spanish moss is full of what we know
as 'bed bugs'... Thus the first Ford recall
and the coining of the phrase... 'working
the bugs out'.

Another interesting fact... there once
were two sisters... who had to have 
everything alike. So when it came to 
their homes, their father... thinking he could get ahead of the game... had them designed exactly alike... You think they would have been happy right? No they had a knockout dragout right there  in the street... 

 Other interesting facts:


 - The Oglethorpe Club- a men only club had where all members had to be third gen. to be allowed in. Well there was the man (not sure of his name) who was bound and determined to be part of the club... but there was one 'small' problem. He wasn't third generation... so what is a guy to do?

Build a house right across the street and plan parties within ten minutes of a club party... leaving no room for the guests (of the O. club) anywhere to park! 

Genius right?

      If you travel around the streets of Savannah long enough you are bound to notice this particular architectural detail.  There are plenty of balconies... but instead of doors going out onto them... there are windows instead...

The reason for this is that there was a tax on on doors... so the ingenious residence of Savannah had tall windows put in instead... allowing them to walk out onto the balcony through the open window...

Talking about working around something right?

As some of you who have visited Savannah may know... the entire city is laid out in military style... which means there are lots of parks and squares... 

Originally the squares were meant to be completely fenced in so should the city ever come under attack the people from the surrounding houses/buildings could go to the square and be protected...                                                                                    
Now... since this blog is supposed to be 'happy' and not at all morbid I won't post any pictures of the Colonial graveyard... after all we only just rode past it without actually going in it...

It's not an overly ornate graveyard... except for the front gate... but we did learn some interesting facts about it... During the Civil War when Sherman's troops were cutting their way through the south... they made a notable stop in the city of Savannah. The houses across from the graveyard were used by the officers while the graveyard was reserved for those who let's just say were more 'green' than the rest.

        Now as you know... when teenagers are bored and have nothing worth while to do (I sound so old when I'm saying this...) the get into trouble... So many of the young officers used their bayonets to deface the headstones making some people born before they died or vice versa... and some of them were marked to have lived hundreds of years...

The Olde Pink House

Moving onto dinner.... no trip to Savannah is complete without a trip to 'The Olde Pink House'  on 23 Abercorn Street. This stately house was once a family home, then lawyers office, a bookstore before finally in 1991 it became the restaurant that it is today.


We dropped mom off at the house and then drove quite literally around the corner and found a parking garage... for which my feet were incredibility grateful....


Upon walking in we were escorted up a set of extremely narrow stairs (don't worry there was an elevator if needed) and up to the second level... two rooms later we were seated at our table and within twenty minutes I entered into the world of culinary bliss. The Salmon on a bed of sauteed spinach was the best I had ever tasted... and arguably one of the best meals we had while in Savannah...
 
                                                                                       


               

Savannah - Feb. 26th Part 2

After a failed attempt to go to the French Market (it's not open till 11a on Mondays) we decided to walk a few shops down to the The Spice and Tea Exchange... and we were not disappointed. From the very second you step through the door you feel like you've entered another world. The smell was heavenly... and the choices were limitless...

This is the view from just inside the door. Awesome right?

There are rows and rows of these jars...

There are rows and rows of apothecary jars filled with spices, teas rubs salt, pepper sugars, flowers for sachets and all sort of wonderful things...

So how do you choose you ask? Well after a lot of thought I selected two of the flavored sugars Raspberry and Tangerine (I nearly got the lemon instead... but given my recent enjoyment of orange flavored things... I went with the tangerine) The other options (at least those that I can remember... were Lemon, Lime, Strawberry, Cocoa, Coconut... All of them sound delicious don't you think?

My final purchase from the shop was loose Darjeeling Tea... which even though I've been back home for three days now... I still haven't tried... but I already know it's going to be delicious... b/c it's one of my favorite teas besides English Breakfast and Constant Comment.

I contemplated some Basil and a glass jar to put my favorite herb in... but decided against it in the end... as the time for our lunch reservations was fast approaching.

So we call Jane (she was circling with the car due and extreme lack of available parking spaces!!!) and headed for our lunch destination... Vics on the River.

We were lucky to get there just in time to secure a

seat next to a window overlooking the river...

Left: There's my sister looking lovely as always... I wish I could be so photogenic... but alas when I see a camera pointed at my face I'm like a deer in headlights...

So moving on... After careful consideration about just what I wanted to get for lunch... I settled on the Crobb salad... 

I know... I know.... you're thinking it should be Cobb Salad right? Well in the case it is Crobb... b/c this salad as crab on it! And not just crab... there is bacon, cucumber, tomato, pineapple and goat cheese.

Check it out...

Crobb Salad

Are you attempting to reach your hand through your computer screen right now to get a tasty bite of this salad?

Yes? 

Well then my photographic work is done=) 

The salad was delicious.. although as you can see it's much to large for anyone person... so I did the best I could with it... and packed up the rest...

The Paris Market

From the moment you step into the Paris Market you feel like you have been transported to another place... another time... 

It's filled with everything you would hope a Parisian shop to be filled with and more... Beautiful jewelry, scented candles, and soaps... shells of every shape in apothecary jars...

Chocolate... books on travel, architecture and culinary desserts. 

The large shell display...

You want them.. you know you do.

 I regret not being able to purchase any of the lovely shells and a few of the other things in the store... but alas the time for our carriage ride was fast approaching....