Weekend Getaway to Charleston
Charleston was a dream this past weekend! For my birthday and for our long weekend, John and I decided to head to South Carolina for a few days to relax! John had never been to Charleston, so I knew it would be the perfect place to go— plus it really isn’t a bad drive from Lexington— only about 8 hours.
It is such a beautiful city, and is honestly my favorite in the USA. It’s got it all— shopping, an open air market, amazing food, beautiful hotels, tons of activities, horse drawn carriage rides, incredible architecture, ghost tours, and so much more.
THINGS TO DO:
The Historic Charleston Market
Shop on Kings Street
See Rainbow Row
Waterfront Park + the pineapple fountain
Search for all of the Southern Charm celebs (hahah jk kind of!)
Get a drink at Henry’s rooftop bar
Eat at Brown Dog Deli
Explore the homes around downtown and see all the beautiful doors and window boxes
Explore the French Quarter
Take a carriage ride
Eat at Poogan’s porch
Take a Ghost tour
WHERE TO STAY:
We made reservations at the Fulton Lane Inn, which is a charming family owned inn right on King Street. If you’ve been to Charleston, you know that King Street is the center of everything! We were able to easily walk to all the main attractions and couldn’t have asked for a better location. We loved that the hotel offered convenient parking for a small fee, right behind the hotel, so we were able to park our car there and leave it for the entire time.
Upon arrival we were greeted with warm southern hospitality, some chocolate covered strawberries, and beautiful amenities. The Fulton Lane Inn was even more beautiful than the pictures made it out to be. Our King Suite had a sitting room, fireplace, refrigerator, two flat screen TVs, a king bed, and so much more! I didn’t want to leave the room!
On our first day in Charleston, we arrived in the late afternoon, so we relaxed a bit and then went to the wine + cheese reception that the Fulton Lane Inn offers every evening. John had wine— and I ate all the cheese, crackers and salsa. Such a nice touch and made us feel so welcome!
We walked around King Street and then headed out to grab dinner. We ended up eating at Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar and it was delicious! We explored a a little after that, but had a pretty early night. We went back to enjoy our room and relax by the fire!
The next morning we woke up to breakfast delivered to our room— CAN YOU SAY LIVING OUR BEST LIFE?! This was my favorite part… I’m all about a good continental breakfast— and the Fulton Lane Inn takes it to the next level with delivery right to your room. We had a relaxing breakfast and then got ready for the day.
That day we packed in so much because I wanted John to see everything. We started by shopping on King’s Street— so many awesome shops! I got a few items of clothing from a really cute boutique called “Dress Up”. We spent the rest of the morning wandering the beautiful streets and admiring the architecture and homes. You could spend a full day looking at all of the window boxes and colorful doors alone! I was in picture heaven snapping all the photos around the historic district.
We walked until we were super hungry, so we stopped at the Brown Dog Deli for lunch. We had heard rave reviews of this place, and let me tell you— IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Seriously one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. I got the “Rosemary’s Baby’s Daddy” and John got the “Pita Frampton”… and they were both incredible.
We headed to the historic Charleston Market next— something I always remember coming to as a child on our family reunion trips. It’s such a neat market, with tons of local vendors. We then headed to the Waterfront Park to see the ocean and the Pineapple Fountain. The whole time John and I were keeping our eyes peeled for the cast of Southern Charm— haha! We are big fans. :) I also took John to Rainbow Row to see all the colorful houses.
We grabbed a drink— well I grabbed a mocktail and John grabbed a drink— at Henry’s rooftop bar. It was a gorgeous day, so we just enjoyed people watching and being out in the sun. This rooftop has a perfect view of all the horse drawn carriages going by.
We ended the evening by eating at Hyman’s Seafood, complete with some she-crab soup, oysters and all the seafood we could eat. We headed back to our hotel and we cozied up next to the fire again. The hotel offers complimentary Sherry each night— so John helped himself to one of those. We had another cozy night in after a perfect day of exploring and relaxing!
The next morning we had breakfast delivered to our room again (CAN WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN EVERYDAY?!) and we packed up all of our things. I was so sad to leave the hotel and Charleston— but we had a wonderful two days and two nights there. I can’t recommend visiting Charleston enough— and if you do, you must stay at the Fulton Lane Inn!
xoxo
Kayla