Savannah morning

Took an early-morning horse-and-carriage tour of Savannah. Very little traffic, few people out and somewhere near my B&B, there were bells chiming out the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Charming!

Here are some views of the district, which has 24 squares, such as Wright Square, which used to be the "hanging" square in the middle of the city's justice agencies:



Kevin the horse pulled our carriage around many of the squares, past some of Savannah's oldest and most well-known homes.

Unless I write a few best sellers, I'd never be able to afford to live here. Multi-millions of dollars for some of these places. But I can definitely understand why people would want to live here.






I got a little look at The Mercer Williams House, which was Jim Williams' home when the events depicted in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" took place. My guide said Williams' sister now owns the house and allows tours, but that she's not friendly to visitors. Seeing it from the outside is enough for me:

Savannah has some beautiful churches and a huge Jewish Temple that was built by Catholics: and this symetrical house that is supposed to be full of optical illusions. I might check it out tomorrow.


I hadn't known that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was a minister here. There's a statue of him in Reynolds Square, a few blocks from my B&B. My guide drove us past Gen. Sherman's headquarters when he was in Savannah, before he gave the city to Lincoln as a gift. Being a Southern loyalist, last night's tour guide had quite a few choice words abut that. Today's just rolled her eyes as we passed the house, and she didn't slow the horse down for pictures.

The tour guides like to talk about all the bodies buried in Savannah, especially the ones in what seem like unusual plces. There are bodies buried under square blocks of the historic district, because as Savannah grew, people just built right over the graveyards. There's a jungly median along one of the streets we drove down that is all burial underneath the trees, shrubs and flowers. No wonder they say Savannah is haunted.

I strolled down River Street but didn't shop, though I probably will before I leave town.

Had planned to go out to Bonaventure Cemetery to see "Bird Girl," the statue in the photo on the cover of "Midnight," but people got so into the book, they began chipping pieces off Bird Girl. The statue has been moved to an art museum near the Jessop. The museum also has a statue of Michelangelo in the front yard. Never thought I'd see him here!

Ohhhh, also, rode past Paula Dean's restaurant in City Market. You have to go at 9:30 a.m. and put your name in to get on a wait list for a table, just so you can eat a stick of butter in every dish. My tour guide said "Her accent is fake! Fake for TV! I can't stand her." Best quote I heard about Paula Dean though was from Noelle in Columbia: "Paula Dean? She made a million dollars off a fryin' chicken. She-it. She could boil up some kudzu with butter and those yankees'd think they was eatin' somethin'."