Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for returning to my blog. Today's post is all about Charleston, which is a historical city in South Carolina (USA) that I visited recently. It is the largest and oldest city in South Carolina and it is also an extremely beautiful place.
On our first evening in Charleston, my family and I headed into the busy high street to see what the city looked like. None of us had ever come before and so we had a great time shopping and looking at everything on the main street. After an hour of window shopping, my family and I decided to go around a house tour. If you have read my Washington D.C. post then you will know that we were trying to look around several historical sites for my sister as it would be helpful for her history course.
The house we first visited was called the 'Nathaniel - Russell House' and is recognised by America as one of its most important neoclassical houses. It was built by the wealthy merchant (Nathaniel) in 1808 and his family lived in it with him. We were toured by a volunteer who gave us some fantastic details about the Nathaniel- Russell home and we visited several rooms downstairs and upstairs. We did not go to the third floor. I found it interesting to learn about the lives of the families that lived there. I would really recommend going.
As it was late in the evening, we immediately went to eat. We ate at TBonz Gill and Grill which we thought was excellent! It is not too pricey and it is perfect if you want a burger or steak. The desserts next door to the restaurant from 'Kaminsky's' were superb! We enjoyed a cookie sundae and chocolate sundae for a very good price and they were very big and delicious. Perfect to share one or two among the family! After dinner, we went back to our accommodation and went to sleep. We then enjoyed two more full days in Charleston. Here is what we did on our first day:
DAY 1:
In the morning we set off early to get some tickets to go to Fort Sumter. The boat trip to Fort Sumter was 30 minutes long and we enjoyed looking out of the window at the beautiful views of Charleston. We even saw a dolphin! After arriving at Fort Sumter, we had an hour and a bit to look around the impressive historical grounds where the first shot in the American Civil War was received. The war was about the abolition of slavery and it was against the North and South. I enjoyed watching the Rangers put the American flag up and also by holding a speech about the importance of the Nation. I then went into the museum to read more about Fort Sumter's importance in the Civil War. Eventually, the boat left and we arrived back in Charleston for lunch time.
After lunch at 'Caviar and bananas' which is honestly the best place for freshly made sandwiches and salads. My family and I went to the Aiken-Rhett house which I thought was extremely good! Although self-guided, the tour shows you eighteen rooms of the immense house, as well as the courtyard and slave quarters. I learned so much about the families and how they would have lived. I would really recommend going to this house.
Later in the afternoon, we visited the battery which is where the mansions are located, beside the sea. I enjoyed walking along the coast and taking pictures out at sea. We then went shopping for an hour at the great clothes shops that Charleston has. After this, we ate and then went to sleep.
OUR FINAL DAY:
We started our final day by visiting the Charleston Museum. This museum is renowned for being America's first museum! The museum displays were amazing and the collections were impressive. I enjoyed looking around and everything was so fascinating that I would really recommend going!
We then went to the Edmonston - Alston house which is a historical house located in the East Battery. The house is large and is a very beautiful pink shade. It had a large piazza, much like the Aiken - Rhett house. In this house, we had a guided tour and I enjoyed learning more history about the wealthy families living in Charleston.
Finally, to end our day, we visited the Slave Market, which was Charleston's main slave mart. Charleston was one of the main places were slaves would have been sold. Almost 40% of the 4 million slaves sold in America, would have passed through the Charleston Port. The market place today is now a museum where you can learn a lot about the slave trade. The museum includes a lot of information on how young the slaves were and how they were priced. As well, it focused on the lives that the slaves would have to endure. The long hours and terrible working conditions. Some of the children were luckier than their parents as they would be sent to people's homes where they would work as servers. It was horrid how they would be split up and their parents may work in plantation fields where they would be doing terrible labour and treated in an inhumane manner. I couldn't believe how badly they had been treated. This museum was extremely detailed and you could even listen to interviews with some survivors of slavery, after the abolition. I would recommend going.
After our busy day, we went to eat at Hank's which is a renowned restaurant in Charleston for its seafood. It was really good and I enjoyed my meal before packing my suitcase to leave for LA! If you would like to read that blog post then please check out my Instagram to see updates on when it will be posted! Also, if you have not yet read my Washington D.C. blog then you can check it out here. Thank you for reading this. Please like, share or comment if you enjoyed it. Thank you!
Beth Lucy