Sweating in Savannah, Part Two

August 19, 2011

When we last left our heroine, she was raving about The Olde Pink House. Let’s see what happened next....

Day 2
We started the day by joining a one-and-a-half hour trolley tour of the historic district. We figured it would give us a good overview and we could choose areas we’d like to go back to. The tour itself was forgettable, but we did spot several places we wanted to visit, such as:


When Oglethorpe and his fellow colonists arrived in Georgia in 1733, they set up an experimental garden in this area, called the Trustees Garden. In 1734, the Herb House was erected to house the gardener for the Trustees Garden. The Pirates’ House was built around the Herb House and is now a restaurant, but it began as an inn for seafarers when it opened in 1753. The Pirates’ House is said to be haunted by several ghosts. We chose to sample the buffet of southern food specialties—thumbs up to the macaroni and cheese and barbecued pork, thumbs down to fried okra (I just had to try it—you can’t live in the south and not have tried okra). Savannah is Paula Deen country, but her restaurant, The Lady and Sons, is always packed, so we chose another place to sample southern cooking.

After lunch, we took our time walking down Bull Street, the main street of the historic district. We took pictures, popped into shops (bless you, air conditioning) and checked out the shady squares, each of which is slightly different in character. There’s even a Johnson Square!



After dinner, we met our tour guide for our ghost tour…at the gate to Colonial Cemetery! There are several tour companies offering ghost tours, which are really walking history tours with an emphasis on unusual, scary or tragic tales. Sadly, the Haunted Irish Pub and Ghost Tour was completely booked, so we had to have our boos without booze. The American Institute of Parapsychology has named Savannah “America’s Most Haunted City,” and our tour guide told us that Savannah is a “city of the dead” because so many people have been buried outside of cemeteries, beneath the streets, on the grounds of the older homes, and so on. As our group walked through the darkened, nearly empty streets, it was easy to imagine Savannah’s historical denizens walking with us.

Gravestones the Yankees displaced during the Civil War

Haunted hotel
After our spooky—and let us not forget, sweaty—tour, we stopped for ice cream at Leopold’s,


another Savannah tradition. Leopold’s makes all its flavors of ice cream one batch at a time on the premises, from secret recipes handed down by the original Leopold brothers. The original ice cream parlor closed in 1969, but was reopened in 2004 by Stratton Leopold and his wife, Mary, at a new location, using many of the fixtures from his father’s and uncles’ original shop.

Day 3
On our last half-day in Savannah, we chose to visit Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace. Ms. Low founded the Girl Scouts of America. Having never been a Girl Scout, I did not know anything about her, but she was quite an interesting lady, and I’d like to learn more. She was an artist and animal lover, so I felt a kinship with her. The home itself contains many pieces of original family furniture and Ms. Low’s art work. (We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, or I’d show you examples.)

Exterior of house


We also strolled through Forsythe Park,

Fountain in Forsythe Park
saw the exterior of the house where there events recounted in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil took place,


grabbed a quick lunch at Zunzi’s and, finally, returned to City Market to purchase freshly-made pralines.

Why, yes, I'll try a sample...
I spent just enough time in Savannah to intrigue me. I hope to go back one day and sample more of the history, charm and delicious food.

But not in August.


Where have you been this summer? Would you like to go back?

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10 comments

  1. I remember the squares in Savannah from our visit several years ago. And I also remember seeing the house from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; in fact, I decided to read the book after seeing it.

    We went to cool Colorado this summer, and a week was NOT long enough. Especially since we came home to over 100 degree heat! So yes, I'd love to go back. In fact, I'd like to spend the whole summer there.

    I've enjoyed seeing Savannah again through your eyes.

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  2. Cheryl--Thank you--I'm glad you've enjoyed the mini-travelogue.

    Lucky you--I love Colorado, and it's a great place to escape the summer heat.

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  3. ...we love Savannah...and it's Matty's favorite city. I recognize all those places (especially the candy shop!). I want to go back!

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  4. Thanks for all the info. and pictures from Savannah. I have often thought of visiting. Enjoy!

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  5. Kelly--I'm surprised it's Matty's favorite city. My son would be bored to tears by it--all that history and walking... He would like the candy shop, however!

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  6. Pamela--Glad you enjoyed the mini-travelogue!

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  7. Hi Kathy,

    Oh, that all looks like so much fun! Thank you so much for taking us around on your tour. I do have a copy of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil that I have not read yet ... I'm going to need to get too that soon, now that you have told me it really happened?

    I truly enjoyed this post and can't wait to see what you have in store for us next.

    Take care,

    Kathy M.

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  8. Kathy--Glad you enjoyed the virtual visit to Savannah. It's a fun place. If you follow the link to Tara Tours, you can see their photo gallery with lots of orb photos--thought you might be interested in that...

    Also, Johnny Damon had an awesome game yesterday! I thought of you :)

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  9. I've not been anywhere--unless you count places in books (thank goodness for reading). I am three payments away from being credit card debt-free and then will start saving in earnest. I would love to visit Savannah--looks so pretty, though not in the middle of summer. I have a feeling their winters are probably right up my alley! :) Don't those houses ooze Southern gentility?

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  10. Danielle--Congratulations on being nearly debt free! That's an accomplishment to be proud of, and worth sacrificing a little bit of travel. Thanks goodness for books that can take us anywhere!

    Savannah would be wonderful to visit during the cooler months as you could really have fun strolling the streets and enjoying the buildings and squares.

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