The Sow-uth: Charleston, SC

Rocco and I caught the Quick Shuttle from Vancouver to Seattle on Thursday, October 11th, after work. His cousin collected us off the bus, we had a quick meal in the Ballard district where everyone and every bar/restaurant is funky and cool, then we crashed for a couple hours at his bachelor pad. He kindly drove us to the Seatac airport the next morning and we boarded a plane to Charleston, South Carolina by way of Cincinnati, Ohio. For some reason, although we crossed the width of the continent, it really didn't feel as long a trip as Vancouver to Toronto sometimes feels.

We were in Charleston to attend a friend's wedding. Colman, the groom, met Rocco in Ireland but has been living in New York for about 4 years. He met a gal there who is half American, half Brazilian, and who went to college in Charleston. An Irish-Brazilian wedding in the American South? Hell yah!

The wedding was bee-you-ti-full! They chose amazing venues for the ceremony and the reception, really showcasing the structures of the south.

The wedding party (Colman and his bride, Bell) in front of the church

As the wedding meandered around Charleston a bit, they arranged for these old-school trolleys to ferry guests from one venue to another. You can also just see Rocco looking dashing in his grey suit if you zoom in on the photo.

There are many other photos of the wedding night but most of them are drunken, blurry photos. Too bad we didn't get some shots of the reception venue because it was held in an old rice mill that has been renovated and sits right on the water. The bride and groom provided a 5 course dinner and open bar, a Brazilian band, and the building was strewn with buckets of plastic flip-flops for guests to put on when their stupid dress shoes started to hurt. brilliant! I still have my hot pink pair, and since I didn't pack very well for the heat of the south, they came in handy during the rest of the trip.

The day after the wedding, three of us rented bicycles and toured around the historic district of downtown Charleston. I'm now convinced, cycling is the best way to see a city! The fact that they call a specific area the historic district is a bit of a misnomer since the whole city (that we saw) was done up and maintained to the same degree and aesthetic.

Two goofs crashing their rental bikes, Matrix-style. John is a great guy and a good friend of Rocco's. The three of us spent most of our time together while in Charleston.

A very expensive-looking street facing the water.

So many houses look like this: a skinny street front with what appears to be a solid front door, but behind the door, from the side, you can see that the "front door" opens onto a veranda. This style apparently was so popular because street frontage is the most expensive cost of a lot so home owners built long and skinny. I love the double veranda!

Everywhere you look, white trim and open-air verandas.

As you can see, we had crazy sunny weather the whole time in Charleston, and later in Savannah as well. We failed to get to the beach but I feel like we got a good feel for Charleston. The people are super friendly and everything moves at a relaxed pace. I got in the habit of answering almost everything with the pervasive "mmm-hmmmmmmmmmmm" affirmative that every local gave us. For all its charms, we didn't see the upscale side of Charleston outside of the wedding festivities. I couldn't find an espresso to save my life and eventually broke down to buy a Starbuck's americano on our last morning.

The wedding over, most of the oversea guests decamped to New York, but Rocco and I headed to Savannah, Georgia which is about two hours away by bus. I'm really glad we did since we got to see two very different cities of the south, and we stalled the culture shock of moving from the slow pace of Charleston to the fast pace of New York City. But that's all a story for another day. Check back later!