USA - The South

I have been itching to get to the South for ages, I had a feeling that I’d love it there. I wanted to see rockers on the porches of antebellum houses, to eat at the Crab Shack, to be surrounded by a soft southern drawl at every crossroads. I had ideas of a slow sunny pace of life, great food, and towns with rockers on the porches.

Our itinerary was three nights Savannah, three nights Charleston and then the last two nights in Charlotte.

We flew into Savannah which was a cute airport, easy to navigate, and almost next door to Tanger outlet mall, but more on that later!

The Brice Hotel in Savannah had the friendliest hotel staff I’ve even encountered who were welcoming from the get go: Endless suggestions about where to eat, shop and drink cocktails, and tips as to the best beaches and most interesting plantation tours. We were right at home, wine reception in the evening, and coffee in the morning – they had me sussed.

I had a new title, that week I was ‘darlin’. “Can I get you another martini darling?” was one of my favourite lines of the holiday. This was at Vic’s on the River – fancy food, fabulous flavours, and great service. The crab cakes were gorgeous, and the cinnamon and sweet potato brulee surprising good, the martinis were worth going back for! We ate at so many local restaurants and tried all the Southern cuisine specialities I’d been dreaming of, fried chicken, shrimp ‘n’ grits, fried okra, crab, fried pickles. It had so much flavour and freshness and a few million calories!

The beaches down here are from picture postcards, with dunes and super white sand - these are three of the best which we found:

- Tybee Beach (near Savannah) – grab a Wet Willie, spend the day at the beach, and then eat at The Crab Shack on your way back into Savannah

- Hilton Head (between Savannah and Charleston) – we headed to Folly Field beach – a great place to spend the day, take a picnic

- Sullivan’s Island (Charleston) – lunch at Poe’s Tavern, followed by ice-cream from the Obstinate Daughter.

Shopping in Savannah and Charleston was great. As well as the big chains there are lots of independent stores or smaller chains. If you need an assault on your wallet, then Tanger Outlet in Savannah had all the American brands I love, and even a Johnny Rockets to make sure my energy levels were maintained!

We flew home from Charlotte which is one of the most chilled airports I’ve flown out of, there are rockers on the concourse! If you need a bit of excitement before you leave the South, then you could spend the day at Carowinds which supposedly has the best steel rollercoaster of 2016!

We loved our time in the South, and feel that it was only the beginning.

Tip: you could visit the coast of Georgia or the Carolinas as your chill time after Orlando.