Savannah (ooh nah nah)

Savannah ooh nah nah

It’s a new twist on the song Havana (ooh nah nah).  If you don’t know it then - lucky you! - It will not be automatically stuck in your head for the rest of the day.  If you do know it then it already is and you if you don’t know it but want to – here you go! 

Already on a tangent! Back to Savannah. It’s magical. Charming Victorian style homes, lush, green park squares every other block, brick lined streets, trolleys, horse drawn carriages, history you can feel, and, my personal favorite, picturesque trees draped with Spanish moss shading you as you stroll through this city that is just one of those places that you instantly don’t want to leave.

I arrived to my Airbnb on Anderson Street that was one of those charming Victorian style homes – huge, 7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, with creaky wood floors that speak to you as you walk, crystal doorknobs, fireplaces in each room, and bay window seats large enough to sprawl out and take a nap in.  I had yet to even wander into the city but was already enjoying my stay just by having arrived.

 

I did wander though and my first stop was Zunzi’s – a small but bright sandwich shop with South African flair.  My Enterprise rental car guy had highly recommended it and it didn’t disappoint.  They let me sample all of the meats (chicken, South African beef sausage and pork sausage) with their signature ‘Shit Yeah!’ sauce before making my sandwich selection. I liked all of the meats as well as the sauce so I decided on The Godfather that included a little of each.  Zunzi’s isn’t a sit down venue, though, so I took my sandwich to go and wandered the streets of downtown in search of place to sit and savor my meal.  I ended up on a semi-dry (after the afternoon downpour) park bench in Johnson Square eating by way of the park lamps and people watching.  My sandwich, though less than healthy, was absolutely delicious. (A messy delicious – you’ll need lot of napkins and maybe an actual table rather than using your lap).  Highly recommend Zunzi’s! It was about 9 o’clock by this time and I can’t say that I’ve ever previously eaten alone on a park bench at night – here’s to trying new things – South African sandwiches and park bench dining after dark!

Naturally, after a giant South African chicken and sausage sandwich you’re going to have a craving for something sweet so I wandered from my park bench to the World Famous Leopold’s Ice Cream Parlor (Am I the only one that thought 'if you give a mouse a cookie' after reading that?).  They also give free samples – lots of free sample to be had in Savannah.  I chose the Chocolate Chewies and Cream – vanilla ice cream with Georgia pecans and chewy, chocolate cookies. Delish – perfect dessert to a South African sandwich dinner!

The next day, after a fabulous and fitful sleep in my new shared Savannah palace (my Airbnb was a shared house but it honestly felt like mine all mine), my Savannah adventure continued with a walking tour through the Historic District courtesy of Free Savannah tours and our guide, Chuck.  In Chuck’s words – ‘we are going to walk right up Bull street, straight through history.’ And that’s what we did. We started in Johnson Square (right next to the park bench that was my dining table the night before) and made our way from square to square, passing the famous cathedral and Chippewa square of the Forrest Gump movie, the Mercer House, one of many buildings belonging to the Savannah College of Art & Design, ending at Forsyth Park.

Some fun facts I gathered from this tour:

-James Oglethorpe’s idea to set up a colony in Savannah was going to give those headed to debtor’s prison in England an alternative! Skip debtor’s prison and help colonize what would become Savannah!

-Before leaving England for future Savannah, five rules of the new colony were established. They were: 

1. No spirits (wine & beer would be enough).

2. No Catholics (they would be too similar to the Spanish that were colonizing Florida).

3. No Jews (this rule was abolished when the only doctor on board the ship across the Atlantic died and the first doctor they met upon arrival to the colony just so happened to be a Jew).

4. No lawyers (can’t remember the significance of this one.... that may, in fact, be the significance).

5. No slavery (obviously this changed and paved way for a dark period in American history).

-The famed fountain in Forsyth Park was purchased from an 1859 mail order catalog for the price of $2,200.

-Savannah’s cemeteries were placed on the southern edge of town. As Savannah grew, cemeteries were plowed over and built directly on top of – Savannah is basically one very large cemetery and known as one of, if not the most, haunted cities in America.

 I mean how could you not get enough of the trees when they look as perfect as this?

 The William Mercer House

Can't you just see me riding this scooter? Me too.

After a good 2 hours of history (my four fun facts don’t even cut it), I was hungry (I’m always hungry) and I headed to the Flying Monk Noodle Bar.  Located on the popular shopping and dining street by the name of Broughton, the Flying Monk offers a narrow, close-quarters dining space. I got a table for one and ordered the Angkor Wat – grilled chicken, cucumbers, carrots, peanuts, cilantro and chili sauce on a bed of noodles, lettuce, and bean sprouts. Appropriately, it reminded me of a noodle dish that I used to get near the Russian Market in Phnom Penh.  I’d say the Flying Monk is a solid food option if you’re craving noodles in downtown Savannah.

I strolled the streets for a couple of hours more, making my way through the city market area and River Street, in and out of boutique clothing establishments and Savannah’s famed candy stores (free pralines!). 

My plan for that night had been to join in the Cupid is Stupid pub crawl (in celebration of Valentine's Day) or one of Savannah’s well known Haunted pub crawls in an effort to meet others and enjoy a bit of Savannah’s night life.  However, my week of 5-6 hours of sleep per night and 12+ hour days traveling from university to university caught up with me and I found myself asleep (in my bay window seat, my new Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil book alongside me) at the late, late hour of about 6pm.  I decided I wasn’t going to be crawling anywhere except into bed.

The next day I was feeling refreshed and a little bummed that I had to leave. But before I said goodbye to Savannah, I headed to the Foxy Loxy for their Sunday brunch. This is a place that I could see myself hanging out if I lived in Savannah (also see myself riding that scooter from earlier). It’s on the south side of Forsyth park, further from tourist central downtown, they have front sidewalk seating, indoor seating, or a wonderful patio out back with brick walls covered in vines, a water fountain, and seating with big umbrellas for shade. I had a very good Horchata Latte (horchata = Mexican sweet milk with cinnamon) and The Desert Fox salad.  I’m not by any means a coffee connoisseur, but I can confidently say the Horchata latte was on point. The salad was, too. 

My stay in Savannah was over but not quite ready for the work week, I took my time getting out of town and by that I mean a few hours.  I drove to the Bonaventure Cemetery and wandered with no destination in particular beneath the moss covered branches. Bonaventure Cemetery is one of the most famous in the U.S. and it’s the final resting spot of Johnny Mercer and Gracie – you can read more about its historyhere.  I wouldn’t want to be there at night but during the day it felt quite peaceful.

I continued my drive out to Oatland Island Wildlife Center. Oatland Island Wildlife Center is home to animals that were not able to be rehabilitated back into the wild, including owls, a cougar named Shanti, bobcats, wolves, foxes, crocodiles, and other animals of the area.

From Oatland Island I ventured out to Tybee Island.  The temperature dropped some on the beach making it cooler than I expected but I’ll be back at some point to sit on this swing…

And that was my weekend in Savannah…ooh nah nah – I’ll be back one day – Savannah ooh nah nah…

P.S. Schnook Schnook (the alligator) travels with me everywhere and he made a friend that lived in our home in Savannah. We named her Bird Bird. Very original.