SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Photograph by Mike Alexander

Savannah has been the movie set to films like Glory, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Forces of Nature, The General’s Daughter, and the Legend of Bagger Vance. After spending a few days here, I completely understand why - I’ve forgotten how truly beautiful this town is. Locals call the color scheme of Savannah “Haint Blue”; the blue-green palette represents water. The Savannah College of Art and Design enhances the city by setting an artistic tone. There are lots of artistic people, lots of great art, parks, walks, architecture and restaurants.

I stayed in Savannah’s historic district at a sensational hotel and spa called Mansion On Forsyth Park. The ambiance lends itself to being more of an art gallery than a hotel. The Mansion on Forsyth also offers culinary classes at their cooking school, 700 Kitchen Cooking School, under the direction of Darin Sehnert. If you’re looking for a culinary getaway you can cook, dine, and bed-down at the Mansion.

Photograph by Joanna Shere

Another dining experience took me to Paula Deen’s Lady & Sons. Food Network has done a lot in terms of pushing her notoriety which explains why there was a 40-50 person line out the door. They managed to squeeze me in because I only needed a single seat. I have to confess, I think I was expecting to be (at least) pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, I walked away feeling disappointed about Lady & Sons’ service, ambiance, cleanliness, and the prices.

If you’re looking to shake the tourists, take a look down the street and you can find a local hang-out called the Velvet Elvis. It’s a funky lively bar where the locals go to grab a beer and listen to great music.