top of page

Charleston For Not Long Enough

Writer's picture: LaineLaine

My good friend, Laurel, had the brilliant idea of capitalizing on a JetBlue fare sale and going to Charleston, SC. So we did! Laurel got in a bit before me and grabbed a drink at the hotel bar to wait for me. We were staying at the beautiful Francis Marion Hotel and the bartender recommended we go to Coast Bar and Grill for dinner. Coast was only a few blocks away from the hotel on King Street and it had the most amazing puffer fish lamps.


Coast Bar and Grill's lamps

The seafood was good and it was a nice, not too crowded spot. We grabbed a bottle of wine and caught up in our fancy hotel room to round out the night.

Charleston is on a peninsula between two rivers, which means there's a lot of beautiful waterfront running. We slept in and then went for a run along the water checking out the beautiful architecture and historic markers.


Battery Park

We had lunch reservations at 1:45pm, so we needed a small bite after our run (and I needed coffee!). We popped into a cute boutique where Laurel checked out some colorful dresses and the shop owner suggested Cafe Framboise. It was a few blocks away in what used to be the "red light district" and speakeasy area of Charleston. We had some really tasty quiche and the coffee was just okay.

One of the highlights of the trip was lunch at Husk.


Oh. My. Goodness. This was a truly amazing meal and the service was phenomenal. I ordered shrimp and grits, which is not something I usually order but had to try in the south. I wanted to eat everything on this menu because the food was so delicious. Call and make reservations in advance - we were lucky that we were able to get a 1:45pm lunch reservation on a Thursday. We continued to walk around downtown Charleston and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Next we went on a quest to find a rooftop bar and ended up at Stars. While we were enjoying our cocktails in the nice weather, Laurel noticed some ladies over our shoulder trying to take a selfie (man, I hate that word!). Laurel, social and friendly as always, popped up to offer to take their photo. This is how we met Deenie and Kaki. We ended up sitting down with them and chatting about Charleston. Deenie was visiting her brother (Dick, Kaki’s husband) and Kaki from Iowa. They were lovely and we all decided to relocate to Charleston Place in Hotel Belmond. Charleston Place has an amazing horse fountain in front, and the hotel had a gorgeous chandelier, Christmas train display and Christmas tree in the lobby.

Laurel. Loves. Christmas. I think she just was very pleased! Dick joined us for a cocktail and then we relocated to dinner at The Macintosh , where we had added them to our reservation. I had the rabbit and it was yet another amazing meal. Here’s a photo of us with our new friends, just before (or after?) I fell asleep sitting up at the table. Typical Laine move :)


Laine, Laurel, Kaki, Dick, Deenie at The Macintosh

Laurel had another glass of champagne back at our beautiful hotel while I fell asleep, because I have no night stamina. We slept in (such a rare luxury for us both!), then when we got up and went for a run around town, and eventually across “the bridge” over to Sullivan's Island.

The run across the bridge was gorgeous and overlooked the harbor, the ships and downtown Charleston. I highly recommend at least walking over the bridge if you have a nice day. I liked the clearly defined bike and walking lanes!


The clever bike lanes on the bridge.

We made it to the other side and were picked up by Deenie and Kaki, who showed us around Sullivan's Island. The houses are beautiful, with what you'd expect of southern charm. We went for a long walk along the almost deserted beach and then met up with Dick at Obstinate Daughter for lunch. This was a really cute restaurant, but it was probably the worst meal I had on this trip. The shrimp appetizer was undercooked, and the flatbread pizza was fine but nothing special. The atmosphere was great, so I'd be willing to give it another try to see if that just happened to be a bum meal.

After lunch we went to Kaki & Dick's house on Isle of Palms, which is the next island over. Their house was a block or two in from the water and had a great yard with several outdoor and screened in porches, plus plenty of trees obscuring the view to their neighbor's houses. Very cute! We learned that Deenie is a masterful quilter and Dick and Kaki's home was littered with her beautiful works of art.

Next we went back to downtown Charleston and partook in happy hour at The Market Pavillion rooftop bar. Grill 225, apparently one of the best steakhouses in Charleston, is here as well. We may have to try that next time!

Laurel and I had made dinner reservations and my friend Kelli's favorite restaurant, Hank’s Oyster Bar.


Hank's Oyster Bar

Laurel and I both ordered the soup special, sweet potato crab soup, which was unreal. I ordered a platter or freshly caught, cooked, amazing seafood with no sauces. Just beautifully cooked fish, shrimp and scallops. It was a perfect meal.

We filled our bellies and then wandered through the holiday shopping in the city market. This place reminded me of Quincy Market in Fanuiel Hall in Boston, except that all of the vendors were artisans. I bought myself a coaster and got Kelli a Hank's coaster as a Christmas gift and thank you for the excellent recommendation. A little more wandering and then back we went to the gorgeous Francis Marion Hotel. We found some couches in the lofted part of the lobby and chatted for a bit before heading to bed.

Our last, short day in Charleston we decided to take a carriage tour with Palmetto Carriage. The tours are directed to different districts, and we got sent to District 3. The history in Charleston is astounding and I cannot do it justice. I definitely want to take another carriage tour and check out the other districts. I liked how much attention the tour companies paid to the horses and ensured that they were getting sufficient rest, water and food.

With very little time left before I had to head to the airport, we stopped in to High Cotton to listen to some live bluegrass. I had an Irish coffee and Laurel and I split a sticky, overly sweet cinnamon roll. High Cotton was cute and I'd like to try it some time other than a snack at the bar during brunch hours.

We hiked it back to the Francis Marion Hotel and I immediately caught an Uber for the short ride to the airport. It was an easy flight home, and I definitely want to come back!

7 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page