Loved Charleston - Thanksgiving trip report

Just got back from a fabulous get away in Charleston.

We stayed at the Mills House on Meeting street as we got a good rate there. The Mills house was beautiful and was decorated very tastefully for Christmas with real trees in the foyer and function rooms. We had a room on the 4th floor which was perfectly fine. We felt we were right in the thick of downtown and everything was within walking distance.

We arrived Thursday late afternoon after driving all day. We had reservations at Magnolias for 7pm. After unpacking, showering and changing we stolled over and were there at around 6.45pm. We sat at the bar, which is raised slightly above the restaurant floor, and had pre-dinner drinks. Our table was ready a little late due to the sheer volume of diners they had that day with people taking 3-4 hours rather than the average 2. But we didn%26#39;t mind waiting 15-20 minutes past the hour. The service and food was very good; we shared the housemade potatoe chips with crumbled blue cheese and had the Thanksgiving specials of turkey and roast pork loin.. with a bottle of white wine, think the total was $106 pre-tip.

Friday - After a great breakfast at Josephs, we walked about a mile north to the visitors centre, had a brief look round then proceeded on to the Aitken Rhett House. We really enjoyed the audio tour and thought the house was fabulous even though it is only preserved and not restored. You only have to use a little imagination to feel what it would have been like to have been in the house in previous times. The staff were very chatty and helpful. We then walked over to the Fort Sumter Visitor centre for a little look around. We then took a walk south checking out the market on market st and meandered down Church street towards the Nathaniel Russell House. The Nathaniel Russell House was a complete contrast to the Aitken Rhett, being totally restored. I felt our guide, a very nice french lady, rushed the tour compared to the other guides I saw. The house is beautiful and very different in style to the Aitken Rhett, the floating staircase definitely has that WOW factor. We left here around 2.30pm in search of a late lunch. We found a tiny little place on Broad street (between Meeting and King) called Fast and French, truly delicious food and very nice cafe atmosphere where you all sit at the same large breakfast bar. We then headed back to the hotel for a rest.. That evening we met up with friends who happened to be in Charleston for the same weekend. We met for a drink then went to Cru Cafe where we were booked for 7pm. We enjoyed between us ginger seared salmon with lemon rissotto, grilled basil marinated shrimp on pasta, seared duck breast, the rabbit special and blueberry bread pudding along with a few bottles of wine. We felt the food was very good and reasonably priced. I would recommend Cru Cafe. We then headed back to the Mills house for drinks as we couldn%26#39;t find any bars with anyone in them!

Saturday - DH went out for a bike ride early whilst I got dressed. We headed to Poogans porch for brunch. Both had benedict dishes and thought the food was very good, nice and hot. Waiter was very attentive. We then drove out south down battery st passing all the nice big houses and up again past Rainbow row. Thern headed east on the 17 to Sullivans Island where we checked out the beach. The we headed west again to Drayton Hall. Very impressive and solidly built, preserved not restored. Also did the river walk around the grounds. We then headed to the Citadal Mall to veg out in front the new Bond movie for the afternoon! That evening we tried to get in to SNOB, but messed up by not phoning ahead and they were very busy, so we headed back to Magnolias where the wait was shorter and enjoyed delicious food again. We left Sunday morning after breakfast at Mills house.

Loved Charleston - Thanksgiving trip report

thanks for your post

we are going this weekend, I have been many times with the girls to shop and tour the houses but this time with my husband, it gave me some new idea%26#39;s.

cmm

Loved Charleston - Thanksgiving trip report

Thanks for sharing your experiences. We%26#39;ll be going in April and are constantly on the lookout for different restaurants in the city. We%26#39;ve heard of most of your recommendations, but this was the first we%26#39;ve heard of Fast and French. We%26#39;ll put that on our list, as well.

What a very nice trip report!

I%26#39;m quite pleased that you had a wonderful time, and I hope that you%26#39;ll return to our fair city soon!