20240614_150727Row houses in Historic Savannah (June 2024)

My partner and I woke up at 8h00 following our first night in Savannah, jet-lagged and still recovering from the long, red-eye flight we’d taken the night before. However, we wanted to grab breakfast at the hotel before service ended, so we headed downstairs for some food before returning to our room and resting some more until 11h00, when we finally headed out to explore Savannah some more. The fatigue was real, y’all!

We started our day with lunch at The Olde Pink House, a Southern-style restaurant housed inside a former mansion from 1771 and is painted a brilliant shade of bubblegum pink. I’d made reservations in advance to dine here– it was the right choice, as the place was absolutely packed with people waiting for a seat to dine in. We were taken right away to our table, inside the mansion’s former living room and decorated with portraits of the historic family. Following lunch, my partner and I took a look around the house, which had other dining rooms and even a tavern downstairs. Certainly a cool and historic experience to be had!

20240614_122833The Olde Pink House


20240614_122023Dining room

Service was awesome as well, as our server was super nice with that Southern hospitality charm. She gave us recommendations on what to eat and drink, and we opted for some classic Southern dishes, including shrimp and grits, crab cakes, and sweet tea. My shrimp and grits were rich and tasty, albeit on the salty side– however, I especially loved the sweet tea, as it was refreshing and perfect to cool down on a hot summer’s day. The sweet tea was so good that I asked for another before we left and our server was kind to pack it into a to-go cup!

20240614_113829Shrimp and grits with collard greens and sweet tea

Dessert was the highlight of our meal. Our server recommended the praline basket with fruits and ice cream, and we did not regret our choice: the praline is a Southern sweet and it was deliciously sticky, pairing well with the tart seasonal fruits and cool, creamy ice cream. So so good…the bill at the end was also quite affordable (around $60 USD) with all the food we had in a historic, fine-dining restaurant, so we were really happy with our time at The Olde Pink House!

20240614_120009Praline basket with seasonal fruits and ice cream

Next was a visit to the Flannery O’ Connor Childhood Home, a historic building where the writer lived for the first 13 years of her life. Flannery O’ Connor was a 20th-century author who wrote Southern Gothic, with many of her short stories focused on morals regarding religion, disabilities, race, and violence (including “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” one of O’ Connor’s most-famous works). Her work is very dark and, at times, morbidly humorous– I’d read a few of her short stories in preparation of visiting her house (as my partner loves her works), and while I can’t say I’m a fan of hers, I respect how clever and well-written O’ Connor’s works are, and they offered insight into her life in the Deep South.

20240614_125057Flannery O’ Connor Childhood Home

My partner and I arrived just in time for the 13h00 guided tour. It was $8 USD per person, and our docent did an awesome job guiding us through the small, but well-preserved home, while offering us information about O’ Connor’s life growing up in Savannah. We learned about her Roman Catholic upbringing (in which she remained deeply religious her whole life), her love for books (although her penmanship was atrocious), and her lupus diagnosis later in life, which caused her to be permanently-disabled and, tragically, died at age 39. O’ Connor is a fascinating person and even more remarkable as one of the leading female Southern Gothic writers of the 20th century. My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit!

20240614_140836Dining room


20240614_140255Bedroom overlooking the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist

We left the museum and headed to the Colonial Park Cemetery. Built in 1750, it houses tombs of soldiers who lost their lives during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War– over 9000 tombs are filled throughout the expansive greenery. The cemetery ceased as a burial location post- Civil War and today is a city park, open to the public. As it is an outdoor area, it was absolutely boiling in the afternoon, with temperatures reaching 94°F/34°C. My partner and I didn’t stay too long at the Colonial Park Cemetery, leaving quickly so as not to get roasted.

20240614_145130Colonial Park Cemetery

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by a yarn store and a café, the latter where we got some refreshing lattes and a deliciously-rich bun (and to enjoy the glorious A/C) before returning to our hotel to rest and avoid the afternoon heat. We headed back out in the evening around 19h00, getting dinner at a pan-Asian restaurant near our hotel– I opted for Vietnamese pho, and while it wasn’t the best Viet (nor Asian) food I’ve had, it did the trick. We also stopped by a candy shop, where I purchased some pralines, as they’re a Southern specialty. Sweet, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth, pralines are truly indulgent and a nice little treat to end our last night in Savannah!

20240614_183149Pho for dinner


20240614_190625Praline for dessert

I woke up early the next morning to grab some biscuits for breakfast. Unfortunately, the biscuits were on the dry side, but I’m glad I got to have some Southern biscuits! We checked out of our hotel and left by 8h30 to get to the airport, where we caught our 10h00 flight to Atlanta, thereby ending our stay in Savannah. Although we had a short time in Savannah, we were able to see the highlights of town, admiring its colonial architecture and feasting on some rich, Southern eats. We would continue our adventures in Atlanta, the state’s capital, so stay tuned for those adventures to come!

20240615_072029Biscuits for breakfast

— Rebecca

Unknown's avatar

Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

37 thoughts on “Destination: Savannah, Georgia (PART 2)”

  1. I am continually impressed at your research before you land at your destination, Rebecca. Great idea to make the reservations at the highly sought after historic spot for lunch! Visiting a writer’s childhood home sounds fantastic too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you! To be fair, I do my research before AND after visiting a place, to make sure that I have all of the information correct and covered. It was a fun end to our time in Savannah, and there’s more of Georgia to come soon!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. The lunch you had at The Olde Pink House sounds delicious! I’m really intrigued by Southern food as I’ve heard people raving about it. Look forward to your next post on Atlanta!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. The lunch was tasty, and I find Southern food to be rich, yet comforting. Turns out I’m a fan of collard greens and sweet tea! More of Georgia is coming soon (and more good food to be had in Atlanta)!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Loved your Savannah story! The Olde Pink House and that praline dessert sound amazing. Great mix of history and Southern charm, especially the Flannery O’Connor visit. Thanks for sharing — now I’m craving sweet tea! Can’t wait to hear about Atlanta!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We made reservations for The Olde Pink House! Even though we reserved right when the restaurant open, we were surprised to see so many people lining up for walk-ins already. Definitely was a fun and delicious experience to be had!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. Savannah is very much on our radar, possibly for next year, so I’m noting your recommendations to return to read again then. We’re also even more likely to be in Atlanta (my husband probably needs to go there next September) so I’m very interested to read what you have to share about that part of your trip 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Awesome! I hope you head to Savannah and Atlanta in due course. Both are very-different cities, but both with their respective charm. I’ll be recapping Atlanta in the next post, so stay tuned!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. You’re lucky your stepmom is from the South; I can imagine growing up with delicious dishes like biscuits and sweet tea was heavenly! My partner and I had a wonderful time in town– onto Atlanta now!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Awww, what a short trip. But a fun tour of Savannah nonetheless. The Flannery O’Connor house and tour sounds interesting. I’ve never heard of her, but I can imagine she must have been fascinating to learn about!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I didn’t know about Flannery O’Connor until my partner introduced me to her works. She really was a fascinating person, one of the biggest writers of Southern Gothic literature. It was cool checking out her childhood home and learning more about her upbringing!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. The lunch at The Olde Pink House really was my cup of (sweet) tea, haha! Flannery O’Connor is best known for her short stories and if you like dark humor, it’s worth a read!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  14. I love Savannah… it has such a strong sense of place, unlike lots of places in the USA. My husband and I dined at the Olde Pink House on one of our trips to Savannah. Amazing memories! They say it is haunted, too (as are most places in Savannah’s historic district, ha ha!). The colonial cemetery is fascinating, too, and they say the graves actually extend under the streets around it… they reduced the confines of the cemetery over the centuries as the city expanded and more streets were constructed. I’m so glad you were able to make this trip 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Savannah has a ton of Southern charm, that’s for sure! Dining at the Olde Pink House was a lovely and delicious experience (I still dream about that sweet tea to this day)! I knew about Savannah and its haunted lore, but being a scaredy cat, I didn’t learn or take the haunted ghost tours, haha…I can imagine they’re a lot of fun, though! Thanks for reading about Savannah– I’ll recap our adventures in Atlanta next!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. It appears you have sampled some of the best of Savannah. The first praline dessert looks delicious. I loved your description of the description of the house as bubblegum pink. I wonder if black soldiers were included in that Civil War cemetery.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, for sure! Georgia is nothing short of decadent sweets, pralines included. I don’t know if the cemetery has black soldiers buried, but they’re important contributors to US history that ought to be recognized! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Ruth!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment