You can tell how much my group of friends and I need our girls trips by how much we daydream about them ahead of time, individually and in our constantly going group chat. I know I spent a ton of time Savannah daydreaming in the weeks leading up to our girls trip to Savannah.
2019 was meant to be a less expensive trip after our cruise to Key West and Cuba last year and it really was. I paid off my credit card the day after returning from the trip, that's how not expensive this one was! To start out, we did splurge on a really nice Airbnb, a penthouse apartment overlooking River Street. The closest intersection is W. Bay and Jefferson, making this truly the perfect little pad for a small group!
We had a great view of the river and the massive cargo ships that came to and from port. I saw at least five of these ships but I'm sure even more came and went when I wasn't looking. Can you imagine all of the stuff in those containers?!
Our plans for the weekend were not to have any plans, though I did make two dinner reservations at some more popular places to eat on the weekend. But beyond that — nothing was scheduled. It made for a very chill trip where we could venture out as a group, or split up as desired. And we did spend a good amount of time enjoying the luxuries of our Airbnb, including turning the AC down to 69 degrees because it was quite humid that weekend! Friday we did want to go to Tybee Island for a beach day but a threat of rain all weekend derailed that idea.
We started out with a late lunch at Treylor Park, which was within mere blocks of our place. This was my pick of the trip and it was packed, and for good reason. We had to eat outside if we didn't want a wait so we braved the thicc wet air and immediately ordered drinks. I started with a cherry cola cocktail and avocado fries. That cocktail — WOW. I loved it, and the avocado fries too! I'm not usually one for eating hunks of avo, but breaded and dipped in a slightly spicy aioli were the perfect way to consume them in a world that (at the time) was wondering if we'd lose our avos to tariff nonsense.
Being lightly drenched in sweat, we didn't walk too much further and went back to our apartment to rest and turn the air conditioner down low until dinner, which was unplanned since we had planned to go to Tybee Island and eat on the beach. A Google map search showed that a cute Italian place called Corleone's was very nearby so we walked but it started to downpour. We made it in right as the loudest crack of thunder ever scared us and nearly caused us to get wet in another way. Despite being waterlogged, it was an excellent little Italian dinner place that filled up quickly during the time we were there.
Of course the rain let up quickly as it does during afternoons in the South during the summer and we walked around a bit to orient ourselves with where we were and decided on post-dinner plans. We saw one of those tacky hearse ghost tours riding by and I declared that I was fine with a ghost tour but would not do a hearse one. We went for the much classier trolley one. It was a good way to see a lot of the historic area and learn a little about the buildings. I didn't care for the ghost part, especially the last part of the Old Town Trolley tour where they close the group in a freezing cold room for some ridiculous ghost stories complete with flashing lights and loud bangs. Either way, I liked the trolley breeze and seeing the old homes and buildings around the city in the waning light of day.
The first morning, I established a little routine for myself: get up before everyone else and walk to get a coffee and then trek a few miles through the different squares closest to the apartment. I saw a lot of the area without getting too humidity-logged too soon and caffeinated up before the others even rose.
Saturday we strolled around the historic area more, stopping in shops and getting bites to eat along the way. From there we did a hop on hop off trolley tour and got to see much much more of the city and learn more history. We transferred trolleys three times and by the end, Kara and I hopped off at Forsyth Park and walked the 1.8 miles back, stopping in shops along the way for some air conditioning.
After refreshingly chilly showers, we all cleaned up and it started raining as we were getting ready to leave for dinner... again. We called for a Lyft and rode up to Local 11ten, near Forsyth Park again, and enjoyed a pretty classy dinner there. I honestly didn't research this place too much but it ended up being a nice little meal. It was too dark in there for photos so I have none from there but I do recommend it if you're looking for a romantic, well-done dinner with great cocktails. Try their version of the Aviation.
Sunday began like Saturday, with me trekking around a bit, then everyone else waking up to join. We stopped for breakfast at Pie Society, right across the street from our apartment (right up from Club One) for British pasties! I loved the cheese, onion, and potato pasty I had and have been trying to recreate it at home since. MMM.
We had a late lunch at Lil Duck Diner after seeing them on Instagram (so millennial of us), especially this cocktail.
It's a lavender bellini, complete with egg white foam and a tiny lil rubber duckie! We probably took pictures for five minutes before we drank our drinks. This meal also was really good and I had a hard time deciding what to get, but I ended up with a salad so large I swear it would never end. Besides that, I had the arancini and devoured those creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside little balls of carbohydrates to fortify myself against the next day.
Following the late lunch, we split up and some of us wanted naps, and some of us wanted sweets from River Street Sweets, THE candy shop of Savannah. I'd been going ham on Rae's chocolate covered pecans so I felt like I needed my own bag. After several souvenir stores I too, got tired of existing and went back to the nap cave for a 68 degree refresh. Dinner that night was scheduled for The Collins Quarter, a fancy-hip little spot on Bull Street that we could walk to. We commandeered the large wooden high top table there and began an ordering spree that went on for hours.
The Collins Quarter cheese tray was our favorite of the trip, just nearly overflowing with a lush assortment of cheeses, nuts, pickles, mustards, breads, fruits... truly a treat to behold. We cleaned that thing UP, only leaving a small trace of mustard left as evidence that there was ever anything on it.
I enjoyed the Moroccan couscous vegetable platter for dinner, with a side of whipped potatoes. Despite so much food, I still needed a sweet to end the evening. We split a chocolate eclair, the perfect one bite per person sweet ending to a lovely meal. I was obsessed with making their Instagram counter move and found that it only works for grid mentions, not stories. We did make it move before we left!
This is where you find out that we are kind of lame sometimes. I really wanted to go out on this trip, and we stopped by the Rocks on the River at the top of the Grand Bohemian, a mere block or two from our apartment. But it was loud, crowded, and indoors only, so we took our drinks to go and drank them on the walk back home. I love that aspect of Savannah in that if you hate a place, you don't have to stay and drink at it, you just bring that drink to the next best spot!
We ended up back at home and took up residence on our penthouse roof where we watched a couple fight for an hour and nine minutes. It started as me watching because he seemed aggressive, like it might just throw her in the river. A friend of theirs came out to mediate, though the argument kept going on, where we learned that she was "NOT YOUR EX-WIFE, BRAD!" and that she wanted to better herself. We entertained ourselves filling in the details we couldn't hear about them while still keeping a watchful eye on this poor woman who didn't know what an awful person she was with. By the end they kissed and made up, literally, and I couldn't help but boo the situation. Ladies, don't settle for trash because he has nice arms in a tank top.
Monday morning brought a coffee-walk for me, and a late breakfast for all of us at Maple Street Biscuit Company, at Valerie's request. This brunch-breakfast-lunch place is all about the biscuit but I got the three-layer cake, a mound of hashbrowns with sausage gravy and a fried egg on top. It filled and fortified me for the drive back. Their fresh squeezed orange juice is also some of the best I've ever had in my life. Maple Street Biscuit, if you're reading this, Columbia, SC wants you.
Leaving Savannah on a Monday morning meant traffic was barely anything, so we sailed up the interstate, though not before stopping at mecca the Le Creuset Factory Outlet Store!! I got myself a little souveiner and my first piece of Le Creuset. And almost as exciting, we set tentative plans for our next trip, London in fall of 2020!
As a group of prolific travelers, we've been all over the place, including Cuba, Key West, Washington DC, Rhode Island, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Bryson City and Asheville, and have many more trips in the future. Good thing that science has proven that girls trips are a necessary and positive life experience. Find your travel tribe and hit the road!
