Monday, June 30, 2014

Charleston

For our anniversary, my husband and I went to Charleston for a short vacation. (It was so, so hot.)  But we drank lots of fluids and bought city-wide museum passes.

Interestingly, Charleston has more protected and preserved buildings than any city in the world, except Rome. Of course, the reason is that when the rest of the world was modernizing, Charleston was too poor. And by the time the city and its residents became flush again, tourism had become hot. So the city has some wonderful examples of architecture. 


Here are some examples. 

The French Huguenot church. Sadly, most of the churches weren't open to tourists.

The Aiken-Rhett house, the "backyard"of an in-town plantation. 

The Nathaniel Russell house. Very modest exterior belying a breath-taking interior, including a three story free-flying spiral staircase. Unfortunately, the residences don't allowed photos indoors. 

Middleton Place plantation. This live oak is 800 to 1000 years old.

Slave chapel at Middleton Place

Drayton Hall. This plantation had amazing docents.
They knew their history and they knew how to tell a story.

Drayton Hall. This plantation allowed some photography. The plantation house is unrestored, which means they haven't brought it back to its former glory. Instead, you see the house as it aged during the years--it tells a fascinating story. And it reminds you how transitory wealth, power and shiny status symbols are.

One last photo. In Charleston, even the alleys are picturesque.
So now we're home again and my creative tank is refilled. Time to write.

5 comments:

  1. LOVE!!!! I lived there for almost ten years and it was truly magical. I lived downtown almost the whole time (except for one amazing winter on Folly Beach-- another story). It has spoiled me, for sure. So glad you went and enjoyed it so much.

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  2. You guys look great. Happy anniversary.

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  3. Charleston is a lovely city. It looks like you had a great time. Happy Anniversary!

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  4. Happy Anniversary!

    Those are great photos! I love old buildings and architecture. It sounds like you had a wonderful time visiting.

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  5. I came here looking for your review, but THIS post is totally cool! Charleston is one of those places that drips with history, and I hope to visit it sometime soon to suck it all in. I especially love the picture of that live oak. Wow, it's just gorgeous!

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