Ah, Savannah, what a magnificent example of The South, steeped in history and incredible architecture.  The oldest city in Georgia, was founded by General James Oglethorpe in 1733.  His design for the city streets was based on the square, creating parks as the grid repeated, now known as the Oglethorpe Plan.  The square/parks often had a center statue (the history below is remarkable), but always cool shade and an occasional 600 year old tree.  The most famous park is Chippewa Square, featured in the movie “Forrest Gump”; remember the iconic bench scene?  Oddly “the bench” was a Hollywood prop, never existed in the square or anywhere else in Savannah; now exists in the Tourist Center Museum.  The city must be one of the most widely used backdrops for Hollywood, based on the amount of movies that have been shot here; too many to list.

We walked and toured, taking in as much as we could and will rely on pictures and historical plaques (below) to tell most of the story.

Mercer Williams House, home to singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer; co-founder of Capital Records and writer of many favorites, such as “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) and “That Old Black Magic”.

Noble Hardee House is the only unrestored mansion in the city; the rusting window frames offering amazing patina.

The City Hall with it’s famous 23 carat gold leaf dome.

The “first” designation is contested but the claim is to be derived from the first black Baptist congregation in North American; first or second it is quite remarkable.

Churches abound in Savannah, but there is but one Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

But our favorite story is of the Cotton Exchange. Planation cotton trucks would pull up, merchants from their tall windows above would pick their product below and prices always fluctuated.  And much like our modern day stock exchange, a bell would ring to indicate the end of the work day.

We strolled the streets on the way to dinner, stopping at Churchill’s for Happy Hour.  Apparently, Duckie had been enjoying a bit of libation, while we were sightseeing.  Drinks and music were so good, we stayed for dinner, an amazing Arugula Salad with fresh mozzarella and a pickled peach dressing and then amazing Paella. With a bit of red wine left, we finished the dinner and the wine with dessert.

With all that we ate, we took the long way back to our room.  Which included steep steps down (and up) to the river, for a beautiful sunset and a bit more sightseeing.  Highly recommend Savannah for a visit.

More pictures of the city below.