We recently stayed on Tybee Island, Georgia. I love the beach, but wanted to visit Savannah as much as possible. For that reason, I wanted to go to Savannah on bad weather days and most evenings. Our first full day was spent on Tybee. The second day started off cloudy and the forecast said mostly cloudy all day. I figured this would be the best “long” Savannah day. My husband was wanting to do some shopping and a Google search revealed East Broughton Street had the most shops and was considered “The Main Street of Savannah.”
Leopold’s
Our timing was perfect. After parking, we discovered we were close to Leopolds just as they were opening at 11:00. The lines at this hotspot are infamous.Ice cream sandwich with mint chocolate chip icecream. It was good ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but not any better than other homemade ice-cream places I have been to.
Old Savannah Trolley Tours
Afterwards, we came to a souvenir shop where you can buy tickets to the trolley. Unquestionably, this is the best way to travel the city and was one of the things I was hoping to do. It took us a bit to find the nearest trolley stop. (From Broughton it is close to The Olde Pink House and John Wesley statue).
John Wesley: Founder of Methodism Trolley Tourists. We loved hearing the history and being able to hop on and off at the various stops. It does get busier after 3 and it took longer waiting for the next trolley so I would recommend making your trolley day early.
Cathedral Basilica of St. John the BaptistAs beautiful inside as it is outside. We loved listening to the history. I learned that Kentucky has two cathedrals. I also learned the difference between a church, a cathedral and a basilica cathedral. The two windows and painting that survived the fire of the original building.
Next stop: Zunzi’s
One of the things I had thought about doing was a food tour. One of the tours I considered included a stop to this restaurant, Zunzi’s. This seemed to be a favorite for most food tour patrons so when the ice cream wore off I was pleased to see it was close to our next trolley stop.
Cute, casual, open-air atmosphere in an old gas station Robbie’s Conquistador Sandwich was voted best sandwich in America. I disagree. I got the Godfeather which was similar but also included sausage and it was better. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Descriptions of each sandwich. Not your average sub shop with these South African inspired flavors.
Next Stop: Forsyth Park
Savannah is famous for these live oak trees and old houses. It is the most beautiful city I’ve been to.
Last stop: Broughton and City Market for more shopping.
After riding the trolley all the way through, we stopped again on Broughton but closer to City Market. City Market is the place to go if you want to shop local art. At this point we were really hot (definitely not mostly cloudy as the forecast had said) and shopped out. We got some pie and headed back to the car.
I also saw this stop on one of the food tours. Eh. It’s just pie. Apple ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Mixed berry ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Historic River Walk
The next day I had booked a 7:00 ghost tour. After some beach time and before our tour we headed to a stop I wanted to make from the trolley tour: the Historic River Walk. This was my favorite stop for shopping during our trip.
Located right on the Savannah River Cobblestone streets. River City Market had handcrafted goods. Reminded me of a flea market. Flying girl statue. We learned during our trolley tour the day before that she simply waved to all the ships out of boredom. One of my favorite shops we visited. Thankful I can still order online: https://nourishsavannah.com/White Tea and Ginger that smells just like Bath and Body Works but all natural. At Savannah Bee Company, we did a mead taste testing. I had never had mead before and learned it’s the world’s oldest alcohol. I liked them all so they were hard to rank. It was like wine meets hard cider. Now I will be looking for meaderies everywhere we go. Taking the top 2 bottles home with me. Another product I loved from Savannah Bee Company. At Savannah Candy Kitchen I tried the praline and chocolate praline. I preferred the chocolate. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We hopped back on the trolley for The Grave Encounters Ghost Tour. Three different actors boarded the trolley to explain why they were ghosts. They drove you past some of the most haunted places and explained why each one was haunted. Then we headed to The Pirates House for dinner. This is where we ate and we had a limited menu to choose from. I got the famous Honey Pecan Fried Chicken and it was delicious. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mashed sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, side salad and homemade biscuits were also good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I also had the CAP drink which is the signature drink of Savannah. It was like a Long Island Iced Tea but fruitier. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Then we headed down into the cellar for the rest of the tour.The reason I chose this tour was because of the exclusive cellar tour and dinner. For two of us dinner and the tour it was $124.30. Can’t beat that.This picture shows the tunnels the pirates used. They would get sailors passed out drunk, then steal all of their stuff and take them back out to sea through these tunnels. There they either killed them or forced them to become pirates. They told us to take lots of photos and look for orbs which signify the presence of spirits. Here is one on that man’s shoulder. Another on that lady’s leg. Maybe another one outside in the trees?
So beautiful from the outside that I was beginning to regret making reservations for the basement. No regrets: definitely cooler (both literally and figuratively) and more romantic down here. I reserved down here due to the live music which is 7:30 nightly. Planters Punch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️BLT Salad made famous by The Food Network. Delicious. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The Tavern BarRobbie’s fried porkchop and mac and cheese. He is more generous than me and gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. My rating was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️. I got the special which was a stuffed flounder over mashed potatoes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Green beans ⭐️. I ate Robbie’s collard greens instead. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Pink Lady cocktail recommended by our server. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This peanut butter mousse dessert was the highlight of the meal. Possibly one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Note to self: next time make reservations for the wine cellar. The couple that came out were on their honeymoon. He said he booked 6 months in advance. Our server told us the cellar was an old bank vault.
The server also told us more about the hauntings in the house. The basement is the most haunted area. The most common haunting is being locked in the bathroom. Thankfully that didn’t happen to me.
Next time…
Visit some of the other most haunted restaurants and houses turned museums mentioned on our tour:
Not haunted but after listening about the pirates and Al Capone using those tunnels to bootleg alcohol during the Prohibition I would also like to visit the Prohibition Museum
Read and watch Midnight in the Garden of Evil and do all the things related to it: go to Telfair Museum to see the statue, eat at Clary’s and visit Bonaventure Cemetery.
Of course, I will read the book before we watch the movie. We drove past Bonaventure and like the rest of Savannah it looks hauntingly beautiful.
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