A few of you have heard how much I loved Charleston, but allow me to write a few words about this lovely town. What a completely charming place! I am declaring it my favorite place we have visited so far on our trip. I felt GOOD there. I was talking with K. about moving to Charleston when we are done traveling within two hours of arriving, I fell so instantly in love with the place. Perhaps I was seduced, even, by the sheer beauty. For starters, there are gorgeous live oaks gracing every corner of the city, with their large sensuous branches curving out in all directions. Then there are the roses flirting with you from behind ornate wrought iron fences, beckoning you to courtyards filled with fountains and fine green plants. And the porches! Two and three story porches that go along the entire length of the houses, with grand columns and entrances and elegant colonial architecture. The whole package of the city is delightful. We walked and walked and walked, taking in the town.
A a gardener, I was completely enthralled by the huge variety of plants that can grow in this climate zone. Palm trees right next to Japanese maples in blazing fall color, next to rosemary bushes and blooming roses…..and wonderful trees that I’m not familiar enough with to even know their names, such as the one in the photo here, which has beautiful smooth bark. Suffice it to say that I was in plant heaven, and we didn’t even get to visit the plantation gardens.
Our major errands in town were groceries and other supplies, which turned out to be a good distance from our boat. Charleston is a flat town full of pedicabs, which we were happy to see as previous pedicab drivers/bikers ourselves. For the first time, WE were the passengers on the back, after we loaded up with so many bags of groceries we couldn’t bear to carry them all the way across town. Here’s a little video of our pedicab ride:
The people were friendly (I love it when supermarket clerks call me “honey”), the town had a progressive air, it was clean and easy to navigate by foot. Awesome in every way.
It is a strange irony, though, how so much of the world’s most beautiful architecture and cities would not be there if it weren’t for slave labor. This fact was not lost on us as we pondered the great mansions built for what were wealthy slave owners.