georgia on my mind - part 3

monday was our only full day in savannah, so we tried to pack a lot into it.  first we went down to breakfast, which was the only disappointing thing in our entire stay.  we stay at a lot of holiday inn expresses and places that offer a pretty extensive continental breakfast in the mornings.  this consisted of the usual stuff: cereals, yogurt, danishes, juice, coffee, tea, etc.  oh, and instead of oatmeal they had instant grits packets.  the only hot food they had were biscuits (which were freaking amazing, especially with butter and drizzled honey on top, omg) and then sausage patties and bacon.  none of the usual breakfast stars were there, like eggs, waffles, etc.  both mornings i had a couple biscuits, yogurt, and a piece or two of bacon or sausage.  it was good, just not what we expected.  afterwards, we headed back to the room to shower and get dressed.  while there, i decided to take a few pictures of the room, cuz it was really neat.  it was 2 levels, with just the bedroom upstairs.  there were skylights in the bedroom that let a lot of pretty light in.

from the entrance

up the stairs to the bedroom

the living room

looking up to the bedroom from the living room

while matt was showering, i heard more commotion outside and went out on the balcony to see what all the noise was.  the singapore tall ship crew was out in full dress getting ready to set sail.  it was kind of a disorganized mess, unlike what you would expect to see with drills and straight lines and stuff like that.

when we were ready to go, we decided to ask about the trolley tours in the city.  there are about a million different companies that offer trolley tours, so we asked the front desk if they recommend a company.  she told us to take the oglethorpe tour, and offered to call a shuttle to come pick us up right at the hotel.  that worked for us, so we got picked up and taken over to the actual trolley.  the tour was a 1 1/2 hour long ride around the city that you don't get off of.  after the tour is over, you can utilize the shuttles and/or trolleys as you please.  there were certain stops where you could stand and if the driver saw you with your oglethorpe sticker on, they would stop and take you to wherever you wanted to go next - either one of their stops or your hotel.  it was pretty convenient!

they drove us all over the historical district of savannah.  savannah was where the state of georgia started.  for several months (years?) the state of georgia existed as a single square in savannah.  that's it.  just one square.  like, 200 square feet, or something crazy like that.  now, there are 22 squares within the historical district.  it's really a beautiful city with all those squares.  you literally can't walk more than 3 blocks in one direction without having to walk through or around a square.

right outside our hotel, waiting for the shuttle

the whistle stop cafe, at the old savannah train station

first georgia bank - pure georgian marble

right in front of the sign is where forrest gump sat waiting for the bus to jenny's house

one of the squares

homes on the square

jonny mercer's house

georgia's first hospital

old police cars.  for $1500, you can be arrested in one

as you can see, it started to rain during our trolley tour.  by the time we got to the hospital and the police station, we had the flaps down and it was absolutely pouring.  luckily, we were just about done with the tour.  the tour ended at city market, which is a strip of shops, bars, and restaurants, so we ducked into the wild wing cafe and had lunch.  it stopped raining while we were in there, but i was getting tired so we headed back to the hotel to rest.  it started pouring again while we were there, so we sat down and put on a movie and both ended up napping for about an hour.  when we woke up, the rain had stopped, so we decided to go check out one of the house-museums we'd seen on the trolley tour.  on our walk, we wandered through several parks and took our time getting there.  it was really lovely.

a backyard courtyard garden

ain't he handsome?

first synagogue

clary's diner, from midnight in the garden of good and evil

city market

we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house-museum, so that's why i don't have any.  after wards, we walked over to rocks on the river for a yummy dinner on the riverfront, then headed over to johnson square to meet our haunted tour guide.  in part 4, i'll tell you about our creepy haunted tour and our trip out to the beautiful bonaventure cemetery.  i know, it sounds totally weird to take a drive out to a cemetery, but it is such a beautiful place.  you'll see...