That Time I Fell in Love with Charleston Part 1

I've been to Charleston once before a few years ago. It was on a trip where I basically just passed through and went to one dinner at the Mellow Mushroom. I thought Charleston was nice, but you know I didn't *get* it.

This past weekend I went with one of my best friends from college again for the weekend. I don't know if it was being with her, the weather, or what but man I fell in love with the Holy City. I'm already imagining going back and all of the fun things I want to do.

Saturday morning I got up and headed to the Charleston Airport to pick my friend Kate up! Before that I of course stopped at Chick-fil-a. There are none where she lives so it's a real treat for her! She said it was the best biscuit ever ;) Might have partially been due to the fact that she had been up since 4, haha.

Right away we started the fun! We dropped the car off at the hotel and headed downtown. We used the free trolley. Which is awesome in that it is free. However, it takes a loooong time to get anywhere. But, you know once again it's free. We got off at Marion Square and headed to the Farmer's Market. Oh my gosh the produce. The produce was gorgeous and the market was packed full of awesome things. Food, crafts, etc. I enjoyed walking around so much.

(photo credit to my friend Kate :))

Then we decided to head down to the Straw Market. If you've never been it's basically a block long market full of everything and anything Charleston. Kate picked up some benne wafers, which you can read more about here. Over all we just enjoyed peeking at all the fun finds and enjoying the gorgeous weather!

(photo credit to my friend Kate :))

After the market we headed to a late lunch at the Pavillion Hotel's Roof Top Bar. So, we definitely could not afford this place as a hotel, but for appetizers and beer it was perfect. We had a great view, great conversation, and great food. We drank the two best Blue Moons we've ever had. They were crisp and citrusy and served with the prettiest orange slice. We opted for the duck nachos for lunch. Blue corn chips were topped with crispy duck and a spicy queso. We lingered over the nachos and beer for a while. It was really the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

Then it was time for the Carriage Ride. If you go to Charleston, take a carriage ride! We learned a lot about the city and it was just fun. Our horse's name was Ashepoo or 'AP' for short. The Ashepoo are a local Native American tribe and now river! We went through Downtown, along Rainbow Row, saw the Battery, famous houses and it was perfect. 

Then we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and it was time for dinner! We chose Henry's because they too had a roof top bar! I got the fried green tomato blt, yup JUST as good as you just imagined it to be in your head and Kate got the pulled pork. The blt had a good portion of crispy friend bacon, fresh romaine and about 6 slices of fried green tomatoes served between two slices of what tasted like homemade wheat bread and a light spread of mayonnaise. I highly recommend that dish! We enjoyed the view and chatting and then headed to a local brewery, South End Brewery, and each had a flight of beers before calling it a night. 

(photo credit to my friend Kate :))

Our first day in Charleston was definitely a success! This is really long already so I'll do day 2 next!