My college roommates got together in Savannah this weekend for a reunion. This was the first girls getaway we’ve had since graduation where all 4 of us made it. This was also one of the only trips I’ve ever taken where I didn’t do any of the planning! With our Disney cruise and transitioning to be a stay-at-home-Mom, I never once pointed my browser towards Savannah!

We stayed at the Riverfront Marriott and were able to walk everywhere we went the whole weekend. The room was nice and we had a great view, but we had some problems with the temperature control. It took a midnight visit from the maintenance team to get the room to a reasonable temperature. It was 82 when we first checked in! My only other complaint was that the ferry was right outside our window so, even though we were on the 5th floor, it was too loud to keep the balcony door open. I would recommend asking for a river facing room as far as possible from downtown to avoid this.

Saturday morning we sought out Huey’s on River Street for brunch. I enjoyed my crawfish etoufee and it had enough of a kick that I drank about 6 glasses of water. We also shared beignets with praline sauce. Somehow the beignets were neither fluffy enough nor crisp enough, but they were tasty so long as I didn’t think too long about beignets I’ve had in the past. Savannah allows open containers within certain boundaries downtown, so we were able to take mimosas to go!

We tried to join a walking tour but didn’t have reservations, and had missed the early tours, so we reserved a spot on the Sunday History and Architecture tour. In lieu of a tour we wandered around on our own, checking out art galleries, chic boutiques, and antique stores as we went. We found ourselves outside the Gryphon Tea Room twenty minutes before our reservation and got to study the building while we waited.

The room was an apothecary turned bookstore turned tearoom and is currently operated by SCAD, so the decor was unique and beautiful. I enjoyed this meal more then any other I had in Savannah. We ordered the afternoon tea for 1 person, split that between the 4 of us, and then ordered lunch off the main menu. The afternoon tea came with tea sandwiches, fruit, a scone, and some petit four desserts.  My entree was Gulf Coast shrimp with pesto, orzo, tomatoes, feta cheese and grilled vegetables. It was delicious.  As far as afternoon tea goes, it leaned more fun then formal, and I would definitely recommend it!

We did a little more browsing (and candy shopping!) before returning to the hotel for some downtime. If we’d thought about it we would have ordered pizza and turned in early, but I’m glad we didn’t. Instead, we hit up Pie Society for dinner and Jen’s and Friends for drinks. Pie Society was a fun, affordable, and hearty dinner spot. They had a selection of hot meat pies ready to go as well as some cottage pies and desserts that could be heated up. Jen’s and Friends was crowded but I was able to order a Rice Krispy Martini to-go (how could I not?). Generally ordering drinks when I don’t know the ingredients is a no-no and this was not the exception, but it was a fun drink with an entire rice krispy treat on top and the rim lined with rice krispies. My friend ordered a non-Martini called “Savannah Ass” and that was delicious. I guess the moral of the story is not to always jump at the gimmick.

(Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, best spot for Pralines)

Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast to-go at Cafe M before meeting up with our tour group. My egg, brie, and ham croissant was especially good, and I wish we had eaten in, since this was a really cute cafe.

Our walking tour was booked at Cool Savannah Tours and Gifts and was “History and Architecture” led by an Architect. We learned a lot about Savannah and got a healthy dose of legends and gossip mixed in with the tour.

After the tour I met my Grandmother and we had lunch at the 1790 Inn before we had to get on the road. The Inn claims to be the most famously haunted building in Savannah and had information on their 3 ghosts right in the menu. We didn’t see any while we were there, but we did enjoy a nice lunch in a beautiful historic building. I had General Ben’s burger and enjoyed it very much.

Throughout the trip we ran into probably 5 other groups of women traveling together. Reunions and bachelorette parties were around almost every corner, so I think it’s safe to say that Savannah is a popular spot for a girl’s weekend! I would certainly recommend it! The weather was especially perfect considering it was January, low 70s both days!

Magnets

I actually already had a Savannah magnet! I lived in the suburbs for a couple years growing up and have visited my Grandparents there many times. I need to write another post focusing on the toddler friendly activities in Savannah. Spoiler: there are a lot!