Tag Archives: travel

Fave Five: Things in Savannah, GA

I meant to write this post detailing my trip to Savannah months ago, so I apologize this post probably won’t be as detailed as it could have been.

I wanted to touch on five categories from the trip and highlight my favorite of each, sometimes providing a second opinion as well.

Fave Meal

I know that 95% of the reason why my fave meal is my fave meal is because it just really hit the particular spot my very hungry belly needed at the time, but isn’t that the point of good food anyhow? My favorite meal was lunch from a place called J. Christopher’s. It’s a breakfast and lunch place only, and I would really love to go back for breakfast one day (because Oreo pancakes… or was it waffles?… hello…). The inside was so Savannah: colorful and artsy. Anyhow, I had a grilled chicken sandwich, which I know doesn’t sound exciting, but trust me, it was perfect.

Second opinion: My second favorite meal was tacos from Tequila’s Town, and my husband’s favorite meal was his burger at Savannah Taphouse. I think this could have been a favorite place for me too if I had ordered something else (why do I always want to try everyone’s BBQ when I know 9/10 of the times I will be disappointed?).

Fave Dessert

If you do any research on Savannah you will see a lot of fuss about Leopold’s Ice Cream and the place is legit. I will admit I still love Jeni’s the best, but Leopold’s was very good for sure. It’s next to the SCAD theater and inside there is all sorts of movie memorabilia, while still maintaining that old fashioned soda shop feel. We got our ice creams in a bowl to eat there and they were in the old fashioned glasses like you picture old timey milkshakes to be in. I had the dark chocolate but would like to check out some of the other flavors too. Definitely worth checking out.

Second opinion: My husband enjoyed our S’mores cheesecake from Lulu’s Chocolate Bar the best. I was disappointed that there wasn’t more chocolately things overall and felt I settled on the cheesecake (and believe me, I am all about the S’mores cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, this one was much more simplistic, which isn’t bad, but didn’t work for me ultimately). Also, I wasn’t expecting this place to feel so much like a sit-down place, considering it’s desserts and drinks, but it did.

Fave Attraction

My favorite attraction was such an unexpected surprise, a little place called the Webb Military Museum. This place was small in size but huge in quality. I had seen it come up in my research, but wasn’t really planning to go. Then after my husband and I did the Old Towne Trolley Tour (which I would also recommend), he was interested in this place that our driver had pointed out. He was a vet and highly recommended it, and I’m so glad we followed his rec. It feels very personal… this one guy who just loves history curated everything and had stories about several of the pieces, and there were some really unique things in there, such as the coat of a Nazi officer stationed in Siberia (which I actually got to hold and it was HEAVY to say the least). I can’t say enough good things about this museum… If you have interest in war history especially, this is a place you have to go to in Savannah.

Fave Bookstore

I won’t elaborate more than my previous post where I raved about E. Shearer. THE PLACE HAS BOOKSTORE KITTIES. I adored it.

Fave Coffee (judged by my husband… since I don’t drink coffee)

From hipster coffee to Starbucks coffee, my husband got his caffeine fix from a different place every day of our trip, and he said his favorite was from Mirabelle Cafe. We went to this place for brunch because the waffles sounded amazing and the outside of it my total aesthetic, but unfortunately it didn’t really do it for me. But if you love yourself some black coffee, grab some from there, and don’t miss the crazy beautiful church across the street, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (HOLY WOW is all I can say).

What also made this trip really special was we got to see a couple of friends who live in a nearby town and their little girls. We don’t get to see them often so it was a treat to see them and to have them show us around some. They gave us the lowdown on The Squares, Brighton Street, River Street, and other fun things locals understand best. And since we got to stay in an apartment in a beautiful old historic home, it really was almost like living there for a week. Needless to say, the trip was great and I hope to go back and explore Savannah again one day.

Have you ever been to Savannah, GA? What’s a city you got to explore this year?

 

Bookstore Tourist: Savannah, GA

I recently got back from a lovely trip to Savannah, GA, and just had to share about the two indie bookstores I went to there.

The Book Lady

Imagine a large library collection in an old house that spills over onto the floor and into multiple rooms, and you’ll have an idea of what The Book Lady feels like. There’s a mix of used gems and new books, as well as a small (secured) section of rare and special books. When my husband saw a hardback copy of Jumanji and wondered out loud what made it special or rare, the guy at the store unlocked the case and showed us the author’s signature inside. If you’re a big fan of rummaging to find that perfect book, this is a place you’ve got to check out.

E Shaver

I enjoyed The Book Lady, but I absolutely adored E Shaver. I’m sure their bookstore kitties helped with that. 🙂 (The Book Lady does have bookstore dogs, but they were off-duty when we were there.) There were so many gorgeous covers I had never seen before for books I already own and really don’t need another copy of (#bookworm probs) and some other fun things there as well.

I hope to share more just a little more about my trip to Savannah in a future post, but just had to share the bookstore love!

Have you ever found a gem in a used bookstore? What’s your favorite indie bookstore that you’ve visited and isn’t local to you?

Bookstore Tourist: Starline Books in Chattanooga, TN

Something I’ve recently decided I want to try to do when I visit a town is find an indie bookstore there, visit it, and buy something from them. I did this with Sundog Books in Seaside, FL a year and a half ago, so when my husband and I planned a little impromptu trip to Chattanooga (about an hour and a half from us), I Googled for an indie and learned about Starline. 
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Starline Books is in downtown Chattanooga on Market Street, right across from the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo. In case you’re ever looking for it yourself, know that it is inside a larger building. We actually circled around trying to find it because we saw a sign but not a storefront, and then when we came back around my husband realized it was inside a building that had a few businesses inside. Also, it has both an uptsairs and downstairs, and downstairs is where the YA section is.

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Oh how I wanted that illustrated Harry Potter, but wasn’t ready to fork over that money quite yet! However, both my husband and I each picked out a book to take home (plus free bookmarks!).

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Ruta lives in middle Tennessee and she’s coming to my town in March, so I thought buying one of her books would help move her up my TBR, as I’ve been saying for ages I need to read something by her! My husband has been reading the Mary Russell books ever since we read the first one for our college English class, and he was glad to finally see this one out in paperback. In case you’re curious about the mug, this photo was taken at The Hot Chocolatier, an AMAZING place just a couple doors down from the bookstore.

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I had the S’mores hot chocolate, he had the classic hot chocolate, and we shared this eclair, and there were so many other tasty looking treats. Guys, that S’mores hot chocolate may have been the tastiest drink I have ever put in my mouth. This place exceeded my expectations. We sat in the back of the shop by ourselves and it was so chill. It was exactly what I needed on this little getaway.

So if you ever find yourself in Chattanooga, TN, do yourself a favor and check out these gems!

Do you have a favorite indie bookstore you’ve visited in another town? 

My Top 10 Books Featuring Travel

For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and Bookish), I wanted to break my Top 10 into two Top 5 lists: the top 5 books featuring travel that I have read, and the top 5 books featuring travel that are on my TBR list. There is travel in virtually every book if you want to get technical, but I wanted to feature books where the traveling is essential to the plot (or for the books on my TBR list, they appear to be essential), so this is what I kept in mind as I created my lists. The lists are in no particular order.

Top 5 Books Featuring Travel that I Have Read

1. The Hobbit

thehobbitBilbo Baggins was happy living out a quiet life in his hobbit home when Gandalf retrieves him for an adventure. Nearly the whole book features travel as Biblo journeys his way through Middle Earth.

2. Scarlet

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There is a decent amount of travel in Scarlet, Meyer’s follow-up to Cinder, and as a bonus, a lot of it is futuristic methods of travel! It is through travel that Cinder escapes, Scarlet gets to know Wolf, Scarlet finds her grandmother, and Scarlet and Cinder meet. Basically, there is a lot of moving forward in the novel and it’s all important.

3. Ender’s Game

enderEven though this book is set in space, there isn’t as much traveling as you would think. Still, Ender has to leave his home on Earth to attend Battle School to try to save the world, and then later in the book he takes another journey that will have a profound impact on him (but I won’t spoil that). When Ender’s does travel, it’s always important.

4. Rebecca

rebecca-by-daphne-du-maurierIt is while traveling on vacation that the heroine of this story meets the man she marries, then travels home with him where she will be haunted by his past and her life will be changed. It’s a great, suspenseful story.

5. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

lionwitchwardrobeI could really put all of The Chronicles of Narnia here, but I wanted to focus on the book that began it all. The method of travel is simple: a wardrobe. And somehow, some way, this wardrobe transports four children to a whole new world for a great adventure that will define their lives (actually, you can know how the wardrobe is able to do this if you read The Magician’s Nephew). When I was a child, I wished so badly I could transport to Narnia through a wardrobe as well, but sadly, I was never able to find the right portal.

Top 5 Books Featuring Travel on My TBR List

1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

hitchhikerArthur Dent isn’t looking for adventure when his friend, who turns out to be an alien, rescues him by taking him from Earth (which is promptly blown up after they leave), and they end up traversing through space. I’ve seen the movie several times but have not read the book yet, but as fun as the movie is, I can only imagine what a ride the book must be! Arthur learns a lot about himself and the universe on this journey, and even the meaning of life. Well, maybe. (And yes, Martin Freeman plays both Arthur AND Bilbo!)

2. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

statisticalprobabilityThough I don’t normally gravitate towards contemporary romance, I am interested in reading this one (plus I just received it this weekend after winning a giveaway so I guess I’ll be reading it sometime!). I mean, how can you resist the cover? Travel seems important in this one since the couple meets in an airport as they are going about their separate ways. I find it an interesting concept since I think the airport is the single most fascinating place to people watch.

3. A Million Suns and Shades of Earth

acrosstheuniverseI have already read Across the Universe and want to read the continuation of the spaceship Godspeed in its sequel books. The whole mission of the Godspeed was to travel from Earth to a new world for a new home, but there lies and secrets that mar the journey along the way.

4. The Scorpio Races

scorpioFrom my understanding, the premise of this book is somewhat like that of the movie Hidalgo, except the horses are much more vicious and are raced in the sea. These horses have played a tragic role in the lives of the two main characters, and yet they both still find themselves compelled to race. I am definitely intrigued by this idea and am curious to see more about how the races impact their lives.

5. The Lord of the Rings

LOTRThe Lord of the Rings, much like The Hobbit, focuses on a journey through Middle Earth. And Frodo’s mission is imperative: to destroy The One Ring. I am so intimidated by the length of these books, but I would love to get an in-depth look at Frodo and Sam’s friendship as they travel through Middle Earth and face so many trials.

What books featuring travel are your favorite? Or what books featuring travel are on your TBR list?