Our Home and Garden Tour in Charleston

The rest of our lovely spring afternoon in Charleston was just as wonderful as the first part.    We did not get tickets to the Home and Garden tour for this visit as we decided to do our own.   The flowers were out in full force, adding color and lightness at every corner. 

I have fallen a little bit in love with this black and cream house with contrasting grey wall.   I love how the budding tree adds a little bit of an Asian feel to this historic property.    The subtle pops of yellow and green are so fresh against the stone background.

John and I were planning to avoid lunch as we had a big breakfast and were anticipating my birthday dinner at FIG later that night.    But, all that walking and the promise of she crab soup led us to 82 Queen for some time off our feet.    I had been here several years earlier with my mother and as we had done at the time, John and I sat in the gorgeous little spring garden in the back at our own little private table for two.   I love their sweet butterfly chairs and twinkling lights.   We could have sat here all afternoon and the she crab soup was every bit as wonderful as I remembered!

After our rest, we wandered around Charleston some more, heading back to our inn to get ready for dinner.     We were sidetracked every few minutes by a stop in one of the little shops.    Love this antique shop with the dogs in the window!    We made it back just in time as the skies grew increasingly darker as we walked.      As we stepped inside, the rain started pouring.    

Is it spring yet where you are?   Are you enjoying the weather?    We're looking at temperatures heading into the 80s again later this week... can't wait!

Walk, Shop, Eat Some More and Sleep

I warned John prior to our trip that in addition to eating in Charleston, the shopping isn't bad either.   Lucky me, I can get away with a little bit of selfish indulgence on birthday weekends.

With time to kill post cooking class and pre check in, we wandered down to the old city market area.   I rarely buy anything, but like to poke around and do a little people watching.   I love the structure of the market with the white post beams and iron lighting.   The seagrass weaving artisans are always fun to watch too.

Apparently that's a blow fish in the photo above.   John says they actually look like that, but I'm not convinced that have that evil smile naturally.  

My favorite stop outside of the market was a gorgeous little spice shop.    I have a slight addiction to spice mixes lately after discovering that Penzey's moved to town.    But that's another story...

Left the market area and headed home to Church Street to check in.    Was feeling pretty icky from the sun and food and looking forward to relaxing a bit on the porch before dinner.

We stayed at 15 Church Street in an extremely charming home down by the waterfront park.    Annelise greeted us at the front door and walked us through front hall to the wrap around porch where she gave us a historical overview of Charleston and their beautiful home.   John and I stayed in the carriage house with our own separate entrance.    After getting ready for dinner we went back out to the porch to meet our fellow guests (and puppy) and enjoy some wine, music and conversation.  

(Truth be told, I was feeling a little anxious at the time as we were about to miss the UNC v. Marquette game.    I went to Marquette and John finished his residency at UNC so it was bound to be an exciting game with a good outcome either way.   (I felt a little better that we missed it when we heard the half time score was something like 40 to 15.  Yikes.   Was expecting a little more of a fight.))

I was super excited about dinner though.   We were dining at Husk, a relatively new restaurant in Charleston with a James Beard award winning chef at the helm.   They are all about the local ingredients.   Yup, I'm a bit of a food nerd.  

Ignore the horrendous pictures above, I wanted to give you an idea because that simple looking pork rib dish in the lower left corner was seriously the best thing I've ever had.    Charred, fatty, smoky, sweet meaty heaven.    I am seriously considering going vegetarian again after that dish because I don't think it will ever get better.

Go to Husk if you are in Charleston.   Reserve in advance as its pretty popular.   Ask for a table in one of the smaller rooms upstairs.    Swing by the bar in the building next door for a drink before or after.   Its very charming.   And the service is some of the best we've ever had.     Love this place.

After dinner, the short walk home through the gas lamp lit streets to our cozy little room.    Life is good.

Date Night in Paris - Part One

I've never been one of those people who were super comfortable going out by myself for an evening on the town.    I've managed it once in awhile, but really only when necessary.  

 
I had to get over this pretty quickly when traveling by myself through Europe.    Because, really, there wasn't much of an option.     As soon as I hit Rome, and left all of my superb ship dining companions behind, I learned that it was going to be me, myself and I for quite some time and I better start enjoying it.

At first I was a little apprehensive.   I'd bring along lots of goodies to keep me occupied during dinner.   My little bag would be full of journals and guide books and other interesting reading material.

Once I did that once or twice, I realized I was kind of missing the point.  

I really wanted to grow on this trip, push my comfort level, expand.    I wasn't going to do that with my head buried in a book.    So, I changed my approach and started taking myself on little solo date nights.    Kind of fun getting all prettied up and heading out not knowing what the night would have in store.     Things opened up for me at this point and I had a blast meeting lots of people from different parts of the world.     An eye opening experience.

I will say that dining solo in Rome was easier than in Paris.     Perhaps I was more comfortable in Rome, but it always felt more relaxed.     Paris kept me on the edge of my seat quite a bit.   Besides, I found that although there seemed to be a lot more solo diners in Paris, they kept to themselves quite a bit more.  

On one of my last weekend's in Paris, I planned a special evening out.    A date night... with myself.    I hadn't had steak frites since I had arrived and decided that this was the night.    Found a recommendation somewhere for a fantastic spot, le Relais de l'Entrecote, that really only had one thing on the menu.   Steak frites.    This came with a yummy walnut salad and a choice of wine and dessert.    Other than that, the only thing you need to do is tell them how you want your steak cooked.    Pretty simple.

There are several locations throughout Paris and the lines out the door can be long.   If you go, go early or you will wait.    I ended up getting (very) lost on my walk over, in the rain, and having to stand outside for quite awhile.    Even that was fun as the people surrounding me were a pleasure to talk with.    The place has a convivial, relaxed feel in a very french way.     Traditional, pleasant service.   The food was fabulous.   There is this amazing sauce on the steak.  I have no idea what is was, but it was really really good.   The fries were fantastic as well.  

(PS - I apologize for the quality of this picture.   The soft romantic yellow light inside didn't help the photography situation.)

I had a wonderful time on my last real date night in Paris.    The conversation at dinner was a lot of fun.  I felt at ease and very comfortable with my new found ability to actually enjoy dining solo.    I should say, that like in many spots in Paris, the tables were literally on top of each other, so engaging with others is definitely part of the experience.     I would go back to this place in a heartbeat next time I am there, especially on a non solo date night as the food would be right up a certain someone's alley.   Just a fun spot.

But the night isn't over yet.  

Here's just a little taste of what's to come.   Definitely one of my most memorable evenings on this trip!   It is also a good thing that I ate a decent amount at dinner as little did I know I'd be out walking the streets of Paris until the wee hours of the morning.