Southern Trip: Charleston

Well, we've been trying to go to Charleston for a few years and we finally made it! We both loved the history, David loved the southern food, and I loved the beauty. 

We were amazed seeing street after street filled with gorgeous mansions. Walking through these streets was probably my favorite thing we did on the trip. Most were built in the 1700s. 

At first I was confused as to why the balconies faced sideways instead of facing the street- our tour guide pointed out that they face the sea to take advantage of the breeze.

Here's me pretending I live there. I would happily take the pink house.

I peeked through a lot of fences to see the cute alleyways and elaborate gardens attached to the multi-million dollar houses.

Another part of the charm of Charleston is that it's on the water. I think we walked along the water every night. What can I say- oceans are exotic to Midwesterners. 

You can't tell from this picture, but this beautiful park White Point Garden is also right on the water.

One of the first things we did was check out the market. It extends for several blocks. We got some souvenirs and homemade biscuits. The picture on the bottom right is from after it closed at night- everything gets packed up at 5pm!

I rolled my eyes at this because, you know, I used to hang out in Jerusalem... but I guess a nickname for Charleston is "the holy city" because they have so many churches. We were there on a Sunday and one thing that surprised me was how many people actually attended all of them. I'm not used to seeing people actually use historic churches.

Last but not least, we took a boat to visit Fort Sumter. This is where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. We learned that it was never actually finished, and was mostly destroyed later in the war.

We spent 4 days in Charleston and absolutely didn't want to leave.

Next up: Savannah!