Fifth Stop: CHARLESTON
Now, lets talk about my love of Historic Preservation!
Charleston is full of historic buildings, cobblestone streets, and well maintained plantation homes. That being said, it was also quite obvious that this city has many low-income and poverty stricken individuals. Driving in this was easy to spot right away, however, walking around took a little more time... I digress.
I began my day in Charleston with lunch at Husk (which was recommended by my friend from Columbia, SC) where I ordered the gulf classic 'shrimp-n'-grits + a local beer. This restaurant is mid-priced and celebrates heirloom ingredients that are locally sourced. My not being a grits expert, I found this dish to be well compiled and generous on the quantity + quality of the shrimp, well balanced with the chorizo + veggies. I only ate half of my lunch, and took the other half with me for dinner later.
After lunch I decided to stroll around town, made my way to the Battery, waterfront, old town, city hall, and countless random stores; before making my way to Black Tap Coffee, for a shortbread cookie and a soy gibraltar (its the same as a cortado). The coffee was good, which seems to be a trend throughout my trip, and the cookie was the perfect size for an afternoon treat. Black Tap was located across the street from public housing structures; I find places like this to be quite intriguing. Artisan coffee across the street from people who wouldn't be able to enjoy it, tis the modern movement I suppose. Anyhow, it was noteworthy to see how this city has developed and how close the proximity is between the high-income plantation like homes are to the low-income public housing units.
My last walkable destination was the Historic King Street Shopping destination, cluttered with high-end products and services that I for one could never afford. This street was equivalent to Fifth Avenue in New York City, and quite sterile in my opinion. Eventually I made my way back to the car, passing the horse-drawn carriage tours, and some fun and funky Charleston accessory stores.
As a whole Charleston is a very walkable city! I was able to see the majority of downtown in a matter of 4 hours, and I don't feel like I missed out on any sites. However, the food.... I am sad to say I was not able to consume more food products while I was traveling through. I guess I'll just have to make that into another trip.
Previous Posts:
Nelli is Moving
Baltimore
Virginia
Asheville
Greenville
Columbia
