for my college spring break this year, my parents and i flew down to charleston, south carolina. it was my first time in the area, and my mom and i had had charleston on our bucket lists for years. i was ready to spend 4 days in the warm, sunny, colorful, and historic downtown area.
i consider myself a traveler, especially in the year of 2018 so far (i spent the month of january studying abroad in london, and made my way to amsterdam and paris while i was there as well - posts soon to come)! i am relatively unfazed by travel mishaps (delayed flights, unexpected weather, what have you), but i won't bore you with all of those hiccups on the road, let's focus on the good stuff.
for your visual ease, i will be dividing up my travel sagas by day.
lets start with...
day 1
we took off from philadelphia at about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and arrived in charleston at about 3. by the time we arrived, we were ready for the warm weather and the sunshine.
luckily, we hit a bit of a sunny spot in the day, and although it was a little bit chilly (about 60-65 degrees F), it was probably the best weather we had on the entire trip. we took a historic horse-drawn carriage tour around the city, and as a history nerd, i really enjoyed the educational ride around the town. after we figured out the lay of the land, we headed off to dinner.
we went to a cute, lively mexican restaurant called minero down by the water. i was super impressed with the cauliflower tacos! they really packed the fresh corn tortillas with grilled cauliflower, red onion, and salsa (simply left out the cheese). i also got the vegetable of the day, charred russian kale with white onion and tomato. still drooling as i look a this picture!
day 1 came to an early close, since it was only really a half-day by the time we got into town. we headed back to our hotel and got some much-needed rest.
day 2
my very favorite day from the trip! as a massive vegan foodie (as you will soon be able to see from my upcoming posts), i am always on the hunt for great vegan restaurants, and boy did i hit the jackpot at gnome cafe, right on the outskirts of downtown charleston.
this was certainly my best meal on the trip, and even my non-vegan parents loved it! my parents and i had been recommended this restaurant, so i couldn't wait to try out the vegan caesar salad with fried seitan "chicken." heaps of fresh romaine lettuce, croutons, and crispy fried seitan tossed with an unbeatable vegan caesar dressing and topped with cashew parm; i ate the whole bowl! and still had room for a side of the "mac & cheeze," and a few bites of my parents cinnamon pancakes (with portobello bacon, and home fries). if you're ever in the charleston area, vegan or not, this restaurant is a must.
next, while my dad planted himself down at a sports bar to watch a basketball game (go march madness!), my mom and i took to the shopping streets. on king street, we hit all of the good shops and sales, and needless to say i did some damage to my wallet. but hey, "when in charleston..."?
after a while, we all headed down to the water to do some exploring. although it was definitely chilly and overcast, we still got to see some really nice sights.
of course, my mind was consumed by the idea of my next meal (#hungrygirlproblems), so my mom and i were browsing the restaurant options on east bay street. and, what would a trip down south be without a classic southern meal?
what i will say about eating plant-based in the south is that it's typical to have to special-order things on the menu (as with many places i go, southern or not), but every restaurant we went to on the trip was more than accommodating when i asked about vegan options. so, my parents and i headed to pawpaw, advertised as "southern plates" focusing on seasonal and local ingredients. i perused the menu for a bit, and the handmade pastas caught my eye. while i did have to order the vegetable pesto orecchiette without bacon or cream, this dish with seasonal veggies and dairy-free fresh basil pesto was phenomenal.
day 3
surprisingly, i am mentioning coffee for the first time in this post. don't worry, i started both of the previous days off with my usual almond milk latte from various local shops, but my coffee on the third day deserves a special shout out.
i will preface this by saying that i consider myself a coffee snob. i work part-time in a local coffee shop here in delaware, and i am hesitant to gush over any coffee aside from ours. with that being said, i often find that my fondest memories from vacations and traveling are my times in the coffee shops. i am truly always on the hunt for the best latte, atmosphere, and hospitality. my dream has always been to open up my own shop one day in a small town, and through my travels i have gotten a lot of inspiration and ideas from the local coffee cultures i've seen. i believe there is a lot of power and love in the art of coffee, as a positive experience in a little local coffeeshop every morning fuels the rest of your day and starts it off right.
so my mom and i walked over to black tap coffee, a little minimalist cafe with an emphasis on good, fair trade coffee, hospitality, and a quality product that anyone can appreciate.
here is my velvety-smooth vanilla almond milk latte. ain't she a beauty?
next, we met back up with my dad at a pizza place called the mellow mushroom. i had done a little research on good pizza in town with vegan options, and was so happy to come across this place. right in the center of the shops on king street, was the original pizza shop which has now apparently expanded to multiple locations. i can see why!
when anyone is hesitant about vegan pizza, i will show them this picture.
the "build your own pizza" was a blessing, there were tons and tons of topping options, and i settled on classic thick crust, tomato sauce, (follow your heart brand) vegan cheese, bbq tofu, and caramelized onions. when i order pizza, i normally just leave cheese out of the equation altogether, and top mine with lots of greens and veggies. however, on this day, i was feeling like going all out and getting a super indulgent personal pizza. and boy am i glad i did! really tasty, and i was super impressed with the vegan follow your heart cheese, i'll have to get my hands on some and try to recreate this at home...
next, we headed over to "rainbow row," a cluster of colorful, historic houses in charleston by the water. i absolutely loved exploring this area, and of course, taking some lovely photos.
again, although the weather was not exactly what we had expected (it was about 55 and overcast the majority of our stay), the sun peaked in and out and i still thoroughly enjoyed our explorations.
for dinner, we checked out a hidden gem in the outskirts of charleston that was recommended to us by a lovely plant-based couple in our hotel. the restaurant is called dellz uptown. a tiny blue restaurant with tons of vegan options, affordable prices, and super friendly staff. these generous portions were filled with colorful fresh veggies and yummy sauces, and i settled on the "my thai bowl" - zucchini, squash, coconut lime rice, vegan sausage, rice noodles, cabbage, turnip greens, topped with thai sauce, mango salsa and avocado.
day 4 - savannah, ga
i guess the title of this blog post is somewhat misleading, because we actually spent one of the days in savannah, georgia. we rented a car and decided to head down to a little bit of a warmer climate, about 2 hours away. but first... to get me through the drive,
city lights coffee. this was a quaint little cafe which was about a 4 minute walk from our hotel, and so i found myself here most mornings of my trip. i can't say a single bad thing about this place, the hospitality was impeccable, the coffee was great, and if there are bagels, i'm there. i grabbed a quick toasted sesame bagel with peanut butter and a vanilla almond milk latte with my dad before heading to the highway for georgia.
the parks and city squares in savannah were lovely, and there was a true southern hospitality feel. we walked around for a bit before our lunch reservation at the olde pink house.
the experience of dining in the olde pink house was worth the wait. this elegant colonial pink mansion was very unique, filled with beautiful interior detailing and design.
another menu very heavy on the "classic southern" food, our waitress was incredibly attentive to my plant-based diet. after speaking with the chef to assure my meal was animal-product free, i could feel very comfortable in my food. i basically told the waitress i would be more than happy with a plate of rice and veggies, as veganizing most of the items on the menu would be quite complicated.
while it was not the most flavorful dish in the world, a little salt did the trick and i was content with my meal of rice and fresh asparagus, collard greens, and red pepper.
the remainder of the day we just walked around savannah and took in the sights. i honestly loved the town, and i noticed how particularly friendly everyone was. i was happy to experience some higher temperatures and the culture of a new city and state which i had never been to before.
we hit the road again later that evening, and grabbed some more food on the way back into charleston for a late dinner. we went to a quick wrap & salad place called verde, where i got a jam-packed wrap called the the "mellow bello" - kale, spinach, wild rice, marinated tofu, sautéed portobellos, edamame, carrot shreds, powerseed blend, and miso-cashew dressing. talk about superfoods, my body was in desperate need of some greens after a few days of mainly processed carbohydrates. but hey, nothing wrong with treating yourself every now and then, healthy diet is not about being perfect all the time, it is mostly about consistency and habit.
after a nice night of rest at the hotel, we packed our bags and headed out to the airport to catch our returning flight home (which unfortunately ended up being delayed a couple hours).
overall, it was an eventful and refreshing spring break trip. the travels were mainly quite smooth, and i got to experience the culture of 2 new states and cities.
i believe in traveling. we met so many down-to-earth and kind people throughout our trip, and i think you sometimes learn the most from the less-significant people you meet along the way in life. and i can now happily check a few places off of my travel bucket list!
as you can probably tell from this post, the highlights of my vacations are usually my meals. for this trip, i would say that certainly rings true. i thoroughly enjoyed every bite of yummy food and every sip of coffee. throughout every raindrop or splatter of sunshine, we made the best of our 4 days.
i don't know if it's just me, but i find myself doing a lot of self-reflecting on airplanes. as i sat on my window seat at the back of the plane, i wondered about the stories of the people around me. were they going home, too?
leaving home to check out new places always leaves me feeling full of new memories and experiences that shape me in unique and unexpected ways.
i am beyond grateful for this trip, and am already tying my shoes up for the next one!