Well, I've officially been in Charleston for seven weeks, and I still don't really love it. But I'm trying to learn to like it. My family (dad & sister) came to visit me this weekend, and I took the opportunity to actually get out, see some sights and learn some history.
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The Charleston Open Air Market (not my picture)
This is the front of it, and you go in what looks like a tunnel, and it's four blocks of crafts, goods, food0- it's great local shopping. There's no shortage of palmetto weavers, plus tons of other cute things. My family is into yard sales, craft fairs, art fairs, flea markets, and that sort of thing, and this definitely fit the bill for something we enjoy. This is also where I got Jamie's birthday gift- a beer bottle turned into a candle.
Then, about a three-ish block distance from the open air mark, is the famous King Street shopping. The closest thing I can compare it to, to my Philly friends is South Street, because there's a bunch of boutiques and food places, but there are also higher end stores, too. Everything from F21 to Brook's Brothers, from Gap to Lacoste. I. Love. Shopping. So yeah, This was a good find for me.
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Folly Beach - OKay, this isn't a new find really, it's the beach my husband and I go to all the time. Up until now it's been the one place here that I don't freaking hate. It's a small beach, not really very touristy, and just a few small beach shops, but I like it. a lot. A good beach to really enjoy both the ocean and the sand. I'm not a HUGE beach person, but I'm learning to love it, and I'm glad I have a not very large, tourist filled beach to learn on.. Also, it is a FANTASTIC sand castle beach, which we learned a couple weeks ago.
-The Charleston History And Homes Tour - The website describes this as the "Definitive tour of historic Charleston" We had a fantastic guide who gave us a history of Charleston from colonization through the Civil War and then to present day, we saw some historic churches, and learned a lot about the local architecture, walked down the Bay, learned about Fort Sumter, and then took a tour of an old Mansion, the Edmonston-Alston house,. right off the bay. He also gave some prices of the historic houses- holy crap, there are some expensive properties down here. It was a really great tour, with a really informative guide, and not too expensive, $24 a person for a 2+hr tour, plus free admission to the Edmonston-Alston house, which is usually $12, and another hour tour.
It was really just beautiful, which is something I haven't really thought about Charleston since I've been here. It was nice to see that, since I'm used to Philadelphia and it's beautiful history. Also, I'm a huge history nerd, so hearing about the Civil war from the southern side was an interesting change to my Yankee perspective.
So yeah, Philadelphia is still the place that has my heart, but I definitely got a good, fun view of the city this weekend.
