There was just one thing I knew about Savannah Georgia before our trip and that is that this is where the famous “Lady & Sons” restaurant is located. If you are not familiar, this is the spot where Paula Deen first made a name for herself. We decided to trek on over and see what the fuss was about. On the way we tried to soak up as much atmosphere as possible. There are a ton of statues and memorials in Historic Savannah. Here are just a few:
Washington Guns
The Guns were captured from the British in the Battle of Yorktown and presented by President George Washington to the Chatham Artillery militia company of Savannah in 1791 as trophies of that battle and the Revolutionary War.
Revolutionary War Haitian Soldiers Monument
Erected in 2007, this monument commemorates the participation of some 700 Haitian soldiers in the American Revolutionary War in 1779. They were the largest unit of Black soldiers in the whole war.
World War II Memorial
This World War II memorial was just completed last year .
Salzburger Monument of Reconciliation
A stone monument cut from the Austrian mountains and presented by the City of Salzburg to honor the Salzburgers who landed in Savannah in 1734.
A monument to Savannah’s original Irish settlers and their decedents.
Whew, that’s whole lot of historical facts right there. We are learning so much! The architecture is interesting and varied. There’s a lot of brick and stone work and lovely carved details.
One of the more recognizable buildings is the cotton exchange.
Cotton Exchange
This fountain in front of the Cotton Exchange is a re-creation, the original was taken out in 2008 by a drunk driver.
Winged Lion fountain
I had to do a double take at these lamps with real flickering flames.
We are getting close to Lady & Sons, I promise! As we were making our way over we stumbled upon some kind of “Iron Man” Challenge.
Or should I say, Iron Person competetion...
This guy is totally my hero.
I accidentally took a pretty cool shot of the water feature in the park!
We would have stayed longer to cheer on the athletes, but it was time for our early afternoon beer so…
We finally arrived at “Lady & Sons”. If you were not looking for it you would certainly pass it by without much notice.
Under exposed shot of Lady & Sons sign edited within an inch of its life
Outdoor hostess area
It was just past noon, but surprisingly we were able to head right upstairs to our table. The interior of the place was a bit dated. I’m not sure if it’s a matter of preserving how it looked when she first opened the business or just laziness. It was clean, but seemed a bit worn around the edges. There was stenciling everywhere. It brought back memories of our first little house where I stenciled ivy on anything that didn’t run away. This was back in the nineties mind you, I’m better now.
Vines, vines, everywhere are vines...
A young Paula Deen sporting a serious sixties coiffure.
Jeff snapped an unusually cute pic of me so you know I’m putting it in here!
Gratuitous shot of me
So here’s the thing, we had just a few hours before eaten our authentic southern breakfast. I had two biscuits (each the size of pillows) smothered in sausage gravy.
To refresh your memory...
I was not hungry at all! We decided to just get a beer and have a look around. There was no room at the bar so they sat us at a table even though we said we would not be ordering from the menu.
I was a lttle disturbed at the thought of fishy water being the basis of the brew.
Despite the fact that we said we were not eating, they still brought us biscuits and hoecakes.
Ladies baking biscuits in a show kitchen
Not so cute picture of my frustration at being too full to eat!
Jeff ate his baked goods and extolled their buttery goodness. In fairness I can’t properly review Paula’s place, but I can make some observations about the food and the Menu. There are a few items offered a là carte, but all of the southern comfort food items that I would be looking to try are only available from the buffet.
Sneeze guard = cafeteria food
I have come to a place in my life where I just refuse to participate in a restaurant buffet. Yes, they can be a great value, but when I look at all that once deliciously fresh food just sitting over steam tables I’m turned off.
Oh fried chicken! If only you were cooked to order!
Plus, when you’ve paid the entrance price for the buffet there is immense pressure to get you’re money’s worth by piling on a whole mess of items that don’t pair well. I need the chef to do that for me, I’m not qualified! So for me, the buffet was a surprising disappointment. But who am I? Paula seems to be running her business just fine without me.
Good on y'all!
It was getting on time to check into our hotel so we both could rest up (and I could tart up) for the wedding. On the way I snapped this pic of an impossibly cute family. It turned out that they were attending the same wedding.
Cuteness
The bride and groom reserved a block of rooms at the DoubleTree Hilton , an excellent choice.
Check in desk
Reception Area
I typically long for my Bob-O-Pedic when we travel, but this mattress was super comfortable!
Loved the palmetto detail
Not digging the yellow, but a quality piece of furniture.
Wolfgang Puck coffee, not too shabby
I noticed that the hotel had one room on each floor that had a corner balcony. Guess who got one on the sixth floor!
View of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge from our balcony
In our short stroll around Savannah we managed to take in a ton of points of interest and thanks to the wonders of the interweb, now I actually have some understanding of what we saw!
If you insist!
Time for a nap, then off to the wedding…
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