Charleston...Made me love 'The Notebook' even more
Trip Start
Jul 02, 2011
1
11
36
Trip End
Sep 26, 2011
Where I stayed
Charleston, South Carolina
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
So following on from my awesome time in the lovely New Orleans city, I was back in my favourite part of America one last time, the Carolina's. As you know I love North Carolina not just because of Dawson’s Creek or One Tree Hill but because the state itself is just so beautiful and relaxing and if I could live anywhere in this country the Carolina’s would be it, preferably by the beach. So I knew that Charleston, South Carolina would be just as lovely as Wilmington. As I said in the last blog, I arrived late at night to Charleston and stayed at a best western hotel which was cheap and all I needed for a sleep and temporary stay until the next morning when I would head into Charleston itself.
I was up and out of the hotel by 9am after I had breakfast and I caught a taxi to the next hotel which wasn’t too far. I left my bags with the hotel as it was too early to check in which I expected and was happy to do, as I had a lot of sightseeing to do and wanted to get started. It was raining quite heavy and pretty constantly so I decided to go visit places where I would be inside. I made my way a few blocks down to a mansion I was excited to see for one specific reason...The Notebook. Charleston for those who don’t know is the location where The Notebook was filmed. They used many areas in the city itself as well as surrounding areas so there were a lot of places I could see which was very exciting.
Another thing about Charleston is that it is very old and historic. There is a lot of Civil War history here and many famous people who had a hand in making America what it is today were from here. It is a very beautiful city, a lot of churches and old buildings, especially historic homes which I saw a few of in my time here. Like New Orleans, there are a lot of Plantations here and as I only had a limited time here I could only go to one, but it was the best one I couldn’t have gone to for so many reasons.
So Charleston was an exciting city to be in. As I said before, I visited a mansion a few blocks away which is called the Calhoun Mansion. This mansion still has people living in it!! It is open everyday for a few hours and at night and on weekends, a family live here so it’s amazing when you go inside and see what looks like a museum of old artefacts and people actually live here. You wouldn’t want to spill a soda or anything on the carpet would you?
Anyway, I couldn’t take photos in here but I took photos of photos I have so you have an idea of what it was like and what I saw. This mansion has 3 levels, and 35 rooms. It has been around since the late 1800s and the man who built it was a sea merchant so there is quite a lot of rope design here to show this. The house had many occupants over the last 100 years, and in the 70s it was actually condemned until a man from Charleston who was a millionaire spent $5 million restoring it back to its initial glory. The main reason I wanted to see this place was because it was used in the Notebook as the interior of the house Allie’s, (Rachel McAdams) family lived in during the summer. The exterior was another location which I also saw but will talk about later. So we had a tour inside and I saw the stairs Rachel McAdams runs down in the film which were gorgeous stairs, very detailed and wooden and the nicest past of each level of the house. We walked up to the second floor and saw the rooms, bedrooms, offices and the dining room, which is used for special events. The dining room was also the same one used in The Notebook, different furniture but similar and the same room so that was cool to see. The gardens were also very lovely in the Mansion so it was just a really lovely place to visit inside and outside and it was part of The Notebook so it was overall just awesome!
I then walked along the Bay area which was lovely and it had stopped raining by now. I sat and ate lunch on a park bench looking out at the Bay and Creeks that were below and it was just lovely. I also saw the houses which were part of Rainbow Row and are just a famous street here but very pretty. I then walked along King St which is the shopping Street of Charleston and I saw 2 Notebook locations. The road Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling lay on and dance on in the film, and the cinema where they have their first date. So it was really cool to see these as I have watched this film so many times, I love it and seeing it in a city like this made me love the film even more.
It was about 3pm so I could now check into my hotel. It was a fancy hotel in the French Quarter and I had Champagne on arrival which was nice. The room was fantastic. I had a huge bed and a computer area even though I had my laptop, but it was still nice and I had a balcony which not everyone did and it was even better as I was on the top floor and the view was awesome. I could see the Arthur Ravenal Bridge out in the distance and on the other side I had a view of 2 churches (the top half of them) so it was really pretty seeing both of these from my room. I was very glad I was staying here and knew it would be nice. The hotel was full of Southern charm and was really beautiful even from the lobby so it would be a very good 2 nights here.
I relaxed for an hour or so as I had been walking around all day since 10am so it was good to have a little bit of a rest. I was hungry by about 5.30pm and decided I wanted a nice meal for once since it had been a few days since I had eaten at a restaurant. I went to an Italian restaurant on the next street and had Spaghetti and Meatballs all freshly made. It was a very lovely meal and there was even a jazz band playing so it was a great atmosphere and a lovely meal. So I had a wonderful dinner in a wonderful town, and Charleston was starting out fantastically. The hotel also had milk and homemade cookies for us so I had some of those at 8.30pm which were divine. How good is the Southern hospitality???
The next day I woke up hoping for a clear sunny day because of where I was going today. Luckily for me, I got my wish. It was a beautiful day and I had a relaxing morning so I had a little sleep in and had breakfast which in a hotel like this, there was a lot of selection on what to have. I had organised a shuttle with a local company called SC BarCar for 10am. They were fantastic!!! They are just a local shuttle service that take people to Plantations, Beaches, Football/Baseball Games, Hens nights etc. They are 50% cheaper than taxi’s and will drop you off at a certain time and pick you up at a certain time. So it’s all done excellent really as a lot of nice places are 30 minutes outside Charleston so they give you the option to do these things. I booked the 10am shuttle to Boone Hall Plantation which was in Mount Pleasant about 20 minutes away, and would be picked up at 1.15pm, so it’s a stress free way to sightsee. Also, the guy who owns it was my driver and he was really nice, you actually had a conversation unlike with a lot of taxi’s. It was $25 return so a taxi would have been atleast $40 each way, so you can see how much value for money there is with them.
There was a couple in my shuttle who were going to the Isle of Palm beach so as we dropped them off first I was able to see that area which was fun to see even just to drive through. I was then dropped off at Boone Hall Plantation which right from the entrance it is unbelievable!!! The driveway entrance is similar to Oak Alley in Louisiana that I visited a few days before, however if you thought Oak Alley was beautiful with that pathway this was so much more beautiful. It is a longer driveway and leads up to the house but the Oak trees are more fuller here and there is a lot hanging Spanish moss so it is just beautiful!!! Plus being a sunny day it was the best day to see it, as the sun streamed through the trees. I walked up and down this driveway twice it was so captivating to see and relaxing. I took heaps of pictures here so there will be plenty of different angles for you to see. I did the house tour there which was fantastic, and learnt the history of the Plantation which was interesting just like the other Plantations I have visited.
The most important thing to know about this Plantation is that the driveway of Oaks is the most photographed in the world. It is that good!!! And my main reason for visiting was that the exterior of this Plantation house had been used in The Notebook. Calhoun Mansion was the interior that was Rachel McAdams summer house in the film, and Boone Hall was the exterior and quite a bit of filming took place here outside so it was wonderful to see it for that, but also because it is just so beautiful a house as well.
On a side note, other productions have also filmed here over the years. The mini-series North and South with Patrick Swayze was filmed at this Plantation many years ago which is cool, as well as Forrest Gump. For anyone who has seen this film, the running scene where Forrest gets tormented by bullies and runs away from them in many scenes with the leg braces on was filmed right on this Oak Alley driveway. It’s little wonder why they chose to use this in the film.
Boone Hall is an actual residence still so again during the day they give tours. They also still grow things here mainly fruit and vegetables but back in the day they were producing cotton. The owners who live there have been here since the 50s and opened it up to the public since then. But this plantation has been around since the 1800s after the trees were planted and was a major part of Charleston history as a result.
After the Plantation visit, which included the House, backyard and Creeks surrounding it, Slave Cabins and the Oak Alley of course, I was picked up by SC BarCar as arranged and taken back to my hotel. I still had the entire afternoon so I wasn’t done yet. I walked not far from my hotel and shopped at the market which they have in Charleston every day. I bought a book on historic homes, so the places I visited that I couldn’t take photos in, I have some pictures of the inside instead of nothing. I also bought 2 other books since they were percentage off and just basically shopped around.
After that I went to the College of Charleston University Campus. This campus was also used in the Notebook when the fantastic James Marsden waits at his car for Rachel McAdams, so I enjoyed seeing that as it is a really beautiful campus and historic place in the city, so it is a must stop destination here. After I left here there were fire trucks everywhere and fire men all over the street near the College. As I walked towards where they were, it appeared they were looking at the Pottery Barn store, which is a homeware store. There wasn’t any smoke so I’m not sure exactly what was going on there, but there were people everywhere and trucks everywhere so it must have been something. It was too hot to stay standing on the sidewalk so I left and walked along King Street again and then relaxed in the hotel for a little bit as it was a hot day and my legs were sore. After an hour or so I left the hotel and walked to the Bay area which was very nice and the breeze was cool. However the Mosquito’s were out in force and I was bitten everywhere from my legs to my chest it was crazy!!! I am still itchy now on some bites so that wasn’t fun. But being on the breeze meant the bugs would be out so what can you do?
I walked back to the area my hotel was in and bought some souvenirs including a really cute 'The South' shirt which I took a photo of the back so you can see it. I decided to go out for dinner again that night too, I guess the town is just so pretty that you want to be out enjoying it and not holed up in a hotel room. So I went to another Italian restaurant called Bacci’s and I had Gnocci pasta and Bolognese. It was very nice, better than the night before’s meal of spaghetti and meatballs. The oil you dip your bread into is divine!!! Rather than pretty up the bread like most do they have standard bread but the oil has garlic and herbs etc it was beautiful!!! I really enjoyed my meal there from start to finish and since I was on my own, my waiter was attentive and got things out quickly so I wasn’t waiting around for too long. It was a great place so if you ever visit Charleston you must eat here!!! I relaxed that night after dinner, packed and was ready to hit the town one last time the next morning before my 2pm flight to Washington D.C.
It was another beautiful day the next morning which was fantastic! It also made me not want to leave it, just like Wilmington when Paul and I were there. I love the Carolina's. They are just so beautiful, coastal, scenic and historic. I really didn’t want to leave Charleston, especially since I wouldn’t be in the South again on this trip. It was really hard to leave!!!
I checked out and left my bags at the hotel and then walked to both of the churches I could see from my lovely balcony. I then went and did the tour of the Nathaniel Russell House. It was magnificent this house!!! You couldn’t take photos inside so I will include photos of the postcards I bought, but this house was awesome!!! It is 2 stories and has 9 rooms, each floor has different shaped rooms but the same on each floor, rectangle, oval and square. The staircase is beautiful and is free standing, even back then it was. The house is just beautiful and was built in the early 1800s by him. He was a shipping merchant like the builders of the Calhoun Mansion so shipping was huge here back then, with a lot of wealthy people. The family of Nathaniel Russell was also important in American history, as his daughter married a man whose uncle had signed the Declaration of Independence after the Civil War in 1776. So the history going on here and in Charleston is just incredible!!!
After the house tour, I just walked back towards the hotel area and took photos of the standard Charleston houses. Many of the houses you see in this city are side on so the houses don’t face the street. They do however have balconies which face the back of the next house. They are just beautiful houses and I like that they are side on. It would be lovely to sit in the shade on the balcony looking out at the street on a hot day. I can’t even describe how nice it is here, but it’s just as Southern as you would expect, so you can’t not love just walking around the streets.
I then ended my time in Charleston with a walk along the pier on the Bay. It was beautiful and warm but so lovely to just sit and bask in the sun here one last time. It was just a beautiful sight to see and hopefully the pictures show you that.
I arranged for the guy at SC BarCar who took me to Boone Hall to take me to the airport as well, as they do airport runs too, so I got to the airport in plenty of time. I just used the internet and relaxed for an hour at the airport and then my flight boarded. It was only a 1 and a half hour flight so I made it to D.C by 3.30pm. I got my bags and waited for the shuttle. I was the first off the shuttle which was good, and then I settled into my hotel for the next 2 nights which was nice and had a lounge area and kitchenette.
It was boiling in D.C, it had been for weeks. Even though it was 4pm at this point it was so hot!!! I went shopping at the Georgetown area shops as this is where my hotel was. Georgetown is a college area for George Washington University. It is a very nice area and only 15 minutes from the White House if you walk which is central to everything. I got some dvd’s which was exciting. Found National Velvet, the classic Elizabeth Taylor film for $6 which you can’t even get in Australia so that was a great find!!!
After shopping, I walked back to my hotel and saw a large group outside the hotel across the street. People had cameras and everything...so i am thinking Celebrity right? Well kinda. The Barcelona soccer team were in town and they were leaving the hotel for the game. People were going crazy. I saw a lot of Messi shirts so when he came out everyone was screaming. I was like who cares? I don't even know these people, or care so I walked off after that and I just relaxed in the hotel and had a relaxing dinner just watching tv. I then did my laundry as it had been 2 weeks since the last load and that took me about 2 hours at least, so atleast that got done which was good. I could relax for the remainder of my D.C trip and just see the sights now. D.C was going to be great!!!
Love to you all,
Toni xo
Comments
another fine blog toni . now i've caught up with all . look forward and reverse for your next exhilarating extended verse.
Hi ton glad you really enjoyed your self ...Photos are great..........