Eating around Charleston, SC

Hello everyone!

If you've followed this blog for awhile, you know that the record of our trip to Charleston wouldn't be complete without a post dedicated to food!

We visited a few different restaurants, but these two really stood out among the eateries that we tried. Because we were only there for a few days, we couldn't try all of the ones our friends recommended, but I guess we'll just have to go back to try those later!  ;)

First one, probably our favorite, is Page's Okra Grill.  I think it's a locally very popular place, and when we got there, we were told the wait would be an hour or something like that, but somehow, we were seated in more like 10 minutes!  I didn't take pictures of this, but because we went on a Sunday afternoon for lunch, we got the full Southern Sunday-best experience!  I loved seeing everyone decked out in their summery dresses and all of the BIG hats!  loved all of the big hats!  I was a little envious because I really want one, but I wouldn't really have a chance to wear it in Boston..

Anyway, let's get to the food because that was amazing.

I mean, just look at these!  We ordered shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, and some pancakes.  I know, that's a lot of food for 3 people, but we didn't realize how big the portion sizes are here!

When we were ordering, the waiter was really surprised at how much food we were ordering, but we did good work!  that's what happens when you go with two growing boys  =p

Another place we visited was Magnolias!

We went there before Daon and Tristan's wedding with all of our family friends and this is definitely a more of a fine dining experience whereas Okra has more of a local diner charm.

We had some fried tomatoes with grits and house-made potato chips with blue cheese. That blue cheese is not for the faint of the heart...  'twas intense!  

For the main course, we ordered a lot of different dishes because there were many of us, but I only took photos of the Cuban sandwich and the Lowcountry Bouillabaisse.  Both really good!

For dessert, the waiter insisted on their home-made southern Pecan Pie, so we did!
It was beautiful, and delicious for sure, but I feel like desserts are all very similar in different restaurants.  They are all very.. sweet..  haha.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Southern comfort food experience, but I think I've had enough Shrimp and Grits to last me quite awhile  haha  I had it every day I was there!

To aid in digestion of all of the comfort, we took a stroll on the beach. We were in a beach house for the wedding, and I could really get used to living in a beach house haha  

People were swimming and frolicking in the water, so we thought the water would be warm but it was absolutely freezing!  this is as far as I went into the water haha  crazy kiddos...  how do they swim in this freezing water?

Our visit to Charleston was very low key (other than the wedding) and that was just what I needed because right before this was my finals and right after was the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition with the larks!

Thanks for dropping by, and have a wonderful weekend!

--Janny

Magnolia Plantation and Audubon Swamp

Hello everyone!

While we were in Charleston, David, Peter, and I visited the Magnolia plantation and the Audubon swamp. What a beautiful property!

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a few peacocks!  We found it very funny that they just roam around the property like this.

The garden was huge, and it took us a few hours to walk around.  Actually, I don't think we even saw all of it--maybe about 70%?

Mostly, it was a good chance to hang out with baby bro and fiancee.  

It was nice too because it gave Peter and David a chance to get to know each other better.  They're going to become family soon, so it seemed fitting  =)

the property was divided into many different sections, so it was fun to walk from one to the other and experience many different atmospheres. 

some bridges were rather... shaky  haha but this one was the most stable of them all, and we joked that it was because it had a tree going right through it  haha!

the one I wanted to visit the most was the maze!   haha

I have to say, it looked better from above than actually in the maze, but it was still fun =)

we made it!

we also found a rogue photographer in the maze  =p 

The weather was absolutely perfect (especially for this still-frozen Bostonian) and the whole place was so tranquil that it was a perfect counterpart to the amazing, but busy wedding day the day before!  =)

2 of my favorite guys =)

Next, we visited the swamp. You do have to pay extra to visit the swamp, but it was worth it for us because we really enjoyed seeing the wildlife!

It was heaven for this shutter bug (and the baby bro)

 All of the following pictures were taken by Peter and I'm so impressed!  =)

I especially love these!  Good work Peter!

When we looked up the swamp, the first thing everyone said was that we would see alligators!  We did indeed see them, but it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be haha  they weren't walking around or swimming around near us, which I guess makes sense since that would be quite dangerous.. haha

We had a wonderful time, and if you have never been, we would recommend dropping by!  It's quite beautiful, and sine we had amazing weather, it was perfect!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

--Janny