Charleston Part Deux

Great Escape Close To Home

We recently enjoyed a short trip to Charleston and LOVED every minute!

Upon our arrival to the area, we opted to head over to Sullivan’s Island. Friends suggested we have lunch at Obstinate Daughter. We were pleasantly surprised that we were able to get a table upstairs across from the bar. There were so many items on the menu that sounded yummy that it was hard to decide what to order.

The hubs ordered the lobster roll and it was served with the most delicious polenta fries. Neither of us had these fries before, but found them to be crunchy and a perfect accompaniment to the lobster roll. I had the local lettuce salad with grilled chicken. It was fresh and crisp and just what I was craving.

We shared a bowl of the frog more chowder and it was amazing!

Exploring The Surrounding Areas

Now, a little exploring of the area. After driving around Sullivan’s Island, we headed to Mount Pleasant. This is such a charming area with large homes, wrap around porches and the Old Village Historic District.

The Post House is such a lovely inn and they serve lunch and dinner  most days. Just a few doors down from The Post House is Out of Hand. This shop features unique housewares and a whole section of “beachy” clothing, accessories and some wonderful scented candles.

Our Home Away From Home

Our home for the next couple of days is The Fulton Lane Inn that was perfectly located right on King Street. Just walk out the door and you are in the middle of everything. The shopping options were endless!

Although it was beginning to get a little hot in the Holy City, we loved seeing all of the spring flowers in full bloom. Throughout the city, you can see flower boxes overflowing with the most beautiful blooms.

Historical Walking Tour

We took a historic walking tour the next morning after enjoying a delicious breakfast delivered to our room. Prior to leaving on our trip, we reached out to our “walking gals” group for recommendations. Two Sisters Tours was recommended by a couple of the members of the group.

The tour lasted a little over 2 hours and our guide Therese was full of great information regarding the city, its history, architecture and a few fun stories along the way. Therese’s family dates from 1793 and she and her sister can give you an “insiders guide” to this incredible city.

A nice walk took us back to the Fulton Lane Inn for a “regroup”.

Lunch Anyone?

Now, where to “lunch”? So many great options and too little time. We decided to go to one of our favorites and walked on over to Magnolias. They are famous for their fried green tomatoes, and they definitely did not disappoint. The hubs had seafood chowder and grilled oysters. Everything was yummy!

Small Plates And A “Dine Around”

For dinner we decided to do a “dine around”. We could not decide on one restaurant, so decided to just have small plates and cocktails at a few places. Our stops included Frannie & The Fox, Little Palm Bar and Swim Club and Church and Union. One of favorite things to do is to explore new places and these were all interesting and offered a variety of choices.

Our last night, we had dinner at Lenoir which was just steps from our inn. We have been fans of Vivian Howard’s PBS show and wanted to try her restaurant while here in Charleston. The vibe is very “clubby” with a large circular bar in the middle of the restaurant. There are banquettes around the perimeter and a few tables adjacent to the bar.

The food was incredible!

We shared the asparagus salad with smoked trout – Oh My! Then, the hubs had the NY strip with mushroom conserve and a small skillet cornbread. My entree was so amazing! The combination of seared scallops with miso butter, with fennel and apple salad was a great combination of sweet and savory.

Our short trip was coming to an end, but that did not stop us from taking in a little shopping and a walk through town. The city was relatively quiet and we opted to take a walk to one of the most special and tranquil areas in the city. Mrs. Whaley’s Garden. Check out a previous post featuring this incredible garden here.

Beautiful Gardens Everywhere

We could spend hours upon hours just viewing all of the beautiful gardens in Charleston. Now, we need to get going to add some plantings to our yard. Not too sure if we can even attempt to replicate anything we saw, but perhaps a few flowering bushes and some added color surrounding our bird baths in the front and back garden area.

Coming Up Next…

How fortunate to live only 2 hours from such a special place. Next month there is an interesting outing coming up in Summerville, South Carolina that is only a short drive from Charleston. Porch Stroll on the Sweet Tea Trail. The tour includes visits to historic porches and gardens in the Birthplace of Sweet Tea….how Southern is that? Stay tuned for our review of this tour.

Enjoy your summer and thank you to all of you that follow our Luxe du Jour lifestyle.