The Carriage House

Our recent trip to Charleston, Asheville, and Savannah sparked my creative juices.  There were so many opportunities for photographing beautiful architecture and nature.  

In Charleston, we stayed at the Rutledge Avenue Inn which was barely in the historical district, and north of Broad.  If you know anything about Charleston, "north of Broad" was considered less than the best, not the upper crust, "the other side of the tracks", socially unacceptable.  Anyway, we were north and we were still happy.

North or south, this charming Carriage House was our residence for four nights and it was delightful.   Built in the 1800's, it is a lovely cottage, perfectly appointed, totally updated, and comfortable.  We enjoyed our stay with our friends, John and Linda.  

This was our first visit to Charleston, S.C. and what an eye opener it was.  I knew of the beautiful antibellum architecture from magazines and books, but the surprise to me was the abundance of beautiful homes and their magnificence.  Knowing that just a few miles out in the country lay their other beautiful home at the plantation, for some of these, at least, was astounding.  There are a few of the "town" houses with square footages of over 10,000 feet. 

We took a horse carriage ride through the historical district whose tour route is determined daily by lottery from a basket of colored balls.  This way the routes don't get cluttered with all the tours.  So, you wait in line in your carriage behind the other carriages, until your turn at the twirling basket of balls.   Your route will be determined by the color of ball that pops out.  The wait is quick. The tour is very interesting, historically informative, and entertaining.  Highly recommend!

Oh! the tastes of the south!!  We so much enjoyed all the fabulous food as we ate our way across the south.   My husband compiled a list of all the restaurants we tried and presented it to the four of us to rate.  It was unanimous that the whole group's favorite restaurant was Magnolia in Charleston.  Delightful, luscious food.  My very favorite dish (which wasn't even mine...I just had a taste) was the fried green tomato appetizer, in such a way I cannot even accurately describe except they were fried to perfection and drizzled with this yummy sweet sauce, and, I believe, there were goat cheese crumbles on top.  Wonderful ambiance at Magnolia with a modern decor and "up a notch" southern cuisine.  

I could go on and on and on, but will stop before I bore all to death.  Too much of a good thing...

There's nothing like the south in so many ways.  If you're looking to take a trip that will delight all the senses, this one will do it!

My painting for this entry is my version of the Rutledge Carriage House, our cozy and comfortable "Home Away".  (rented through VRBO)  It is a 16 X 20 oil on canvas.