The Top 5 Reasons You Need to Visit Charleston, South Carolina
Many of you know of my obsession with the city of Charleston. It has a unique style and character that I have come to love. Here are some of the reasons I urge you to visit:
1. #1 Place to Visit - Travel & Leisure has named it the top U.S. and Canada travel destination. Check out this video from the Today Show:
http://www.today.com/video/today/52374027#52374027
2. The restaurant scene - Some of the nationally acclaimed places to dine. One of the most popular, Husk, is located on a peaceful street centrally located in historic downtown.
Blu Restaurant and Bar located on Folly Beach. The food is not only delicious, the presentation is amazing!!
And my favorite, Poogan's Porch (which just so happens to be right next door to Husk) is a farm to table restaurant specializing in Low Country Cuisine. The house that is now Poogan's Porch was built in 1848.
Aside from it being a great restaurant, there is an interesting ghost story about this place. You can read about it here. Apparently “Poogan” was actually a dog that claimed the porch as his own when the restaurant was established in 1976 and would greet restaurant patrons. A memorial to little Poogan is located right inside the gate of the restaurant property.
My lunch that day was very low calorie - fried chicken and waffles :)
3. The shopping - King Streets is loaded with antique stores, art galleries, book shops, boutiques and stores like Lilly Pullitzer, the Apple Store and The Charleston Shoe Company (one of my favorites).
Another unique shopping experience is the historic Charleston City Market, four blocks of open air buildings with a wide assortment of vendors selling high quality products including paintings, pottery, Charleston's famous sweetgrass baskets, clothing, collectibles and jewelry.
4. The Attractions & Things To Do - Fort Sumter, The South Carolina Aquarium, Carriage Rides, Ghost Tours, Rainbow Row (the name for a series of colorful historic homes), and Spoleto, the world's largest performing arts festival in late Spring, early Summer . For me, my favorite things to do is walk along the palm and moss draped tree lined streets and check out the hundreds of well preserved historic homes.
5. The Charleston Beaches - Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Seabrook Island and Sullivan Island - Each of these five beautiful beach towns, have their own distinctive character. Varied in size and vibe, every Charleston beach is an open invitation to slow down, sit back, and savor a life that's just a little bit sweeter.
While visiting I slipped away to check out the 2013 Coastal Living Showhouse on Daniel Island, a 20 minute drive from Charleston. It is amazing! So serene, comfortable and very livable.
This was one of my favorite rooms:
This is the eating area off of the kitchen. I love the blue ceiling, gorgeous glass chandelier and the colorful sunbrella fabric chairs, not to mention, the view is to die for!!
One of the other things I thought was so great was this countertop created by using sea glass and oyster shells!
There were so many fascinating elements to this house - the color palette, the cabinetry, countertops, tile designs, furnishings and the view, I could go on and on but I don't want to spoil it. This showhouse will be open for tours through October 20th. This would be worth a weekend trip!!
photo credits: Charleston City Paper, Blu Restaurant & Bar, opentable.com, Classic Carriage Works, Kandrac & Kole
Joann