Charleston, S.C.

[Paul K]

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

Late next month my bride and I are going to Charleston S.C. for a week of hangin' out. Gonna go to the museums, eat too much, sleep late, do more than a little of that Hey-Nanny-Nanny, and the like. What music venues should be on the list? Are there any respectable blues or jazz jam sessions that would make toting an ax worthwhile? Where is the best food? Other ideas for a good time spent doing nothing in particular?

 

Thanks!

Paul K

[Paul K]

Bump.....Charleston....Anybody???

[Eric VB]

We just wandered around and explored on our trip to Charleston. Somehow we ended up at a nice French restaurant that had a small jazz ensemble. We payed through the nose for a plate of very small pieces of stinky cheese (someone swore it tasted like old gym sneakers)! And then, to the disdain of the waitstaff we decided to dance in the middle of the dining area as there was no dance floor. We danced the Charleston, to "The Charleston", in Charleston.

 

In terms of food, Charleston has their own version of Cajun that will remind you of New Orleans. If you like this kind of food I suggest finding some. You should also be able to find some really good Southern barbeque. I'm a big fan of pulled pork but ribs are always a good choice, too

 

The only restaurant I remember by name is Poogan's. We had a wonderful lunch there of "upscale Lowcountry cuisine".

 

At night we went looking for places with live music. I don't recall if we just strolled through the touristy part of town or if we asked at the hotel. (Probably a combination of both.) Everywhere we went I was not disappointed. Of course I like jazz and R&B; I don't think we stumbled upon any rock or pop.

 

I didn't bring an instrument so I wasn't looking for open jams. We didn't even do karaoke while we were there. (Probably to the relief of every resident of Charleston, LOL!) Hopefully someone else will know about this.

 

I was thoroughly impressed with Charleston on my first visit and have been back since. At our first lunch stop the waiter appeared to be a mixture of Boston impatience with Southern hospitality. A fast-talking drawler. It really blew my mind! But the people there are wonderful and the city is beautiful. I highly recommend taking the walking tours. I think we did the ghost tour at night and the historic houses tour during the day. (Bring water with you for the day tour.) Charleston is definitely high on my list of "fun cities" to visit.

 

You and your lovely lady have a wonderful time!

[moot]

Went there in 2002 - Here are some details from the trip log.

 

Well, there's a reproduction of the Hunley - the first submarine to ever sink another vessel. I've read quite a bit about this one, won't bore you with all the details (just a few): It was built by the Confederacy during the Civil War, and two separate eight (or so) man crews died testing it. When they finally thought it was ready, they manned it again, and it successfully torpedoed a Union ship and sunk it. To "torpedo" a ship back then, they had an arm that held what is basically a bomb and they extend the arm and ram the ship with it.

Problem is, the Hunley also sunk, when it was headed back to shore, thereby killing yet another crew. No one has ever known what went wrong. It sat on the floor of the bay out here until it was raised in 2000 (I think). They've got it in a specially designed research facility out here and you can go tour the place on weekends. (We didn't, though.) They were able to recover the remains of all of the crewmembers, and they have not been able to solve the mystery of why she sank yet.

Last picture, at left: the top of one of the local churches. Had difficulty keeping track - there are a lot of beautiful old churches here. Charleston is sometimes called the "Holy City" due to the various church groups established here. -

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Paul K]

Thanks for the insight!

 

In my research I found that a guy who used to sing in a band I was in has opened a pizzaria/music joint near Charleston http://www.adoughremi.com/ Ha! Get it? He's such a wit.

There's a blues jam session there every Tues night, so it appears a bass will make the trip with us. I-IV-V, baby; I'm on it like white on rice. Hope it isn't too expensive of a cab ride from downtown.

 

Even though we are rather secular beings, my wife and I do make a habit of scooting into the old churches wherever we go. This one is our favorite so far: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Notre-Dame_de_Montreal_Basilica_RearOrgan.jpg Wish I could get some seat time at that piano bench.

We also play "Count the Kandinsky's" at the museums we visit. Great fun! I think the Guggenheim in NY has the record so far, as they had a whole room of Kandinsky's work on display when we went.

 

Yes, looking forward to the trip!

[Paul K]

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

We got back from Charleston last night; had a wonderful time. The food was wonderful. Dare I say it? Better food than New Orleans. Yes; I was suprised also. We tried a couple of times to get into Poogan's Porch, but tried too late in the week. The churches and all the arcitecture was wonderful, the people very friendly. Amazing how many of them are transplants from both the northeast and Europe. Downside was that the churches were mostly locked down tighter than a drum; we only made it inside one of them even though we tried them all. Gotta go on Sunday, I guess..... We didn't bother renting a car, just walked the whole of downtown. Good thing I'm in shape.....

 

We hooked up with a couple of old friends, I played a couple of jam sessions. Very kind and warm music scene down there. Art galleries: there are more art galleries there than restuarants. Most of the art was realism stuff; nice, but not my cup of tea. One photo exibit at the Gibbs museum was cool; it was a series of 6 or 8 pictures taken of the same shack over a ten or twelve year span. Wish there was more of that. Did a cooking school class; it was not as cool as the one in New Orleans, as the teacher was a young pup who only knew cooking and not the town. The Charleston Wine and Food Festival happened during our stay, so we did one of the wine and food tasting things. I've played at these functions here in the north; talk about "The Sound of One Hand Clapping" ......It was very well organized, good wine, good food, good people. From what the locals said about last year's, this year's was much better run. If you're in town for it next year, do it! All in all, downtown was much like a cleaner version of the French Quarter in New Orleans, but without "Go Cups". Fewer buskars in Charleston than in NOLO. More things to do in NOLO, more contemporary art in NOLO. But lots in common. FWIW, all NOLO references are pre-Katrina. Of course, a whole lot has changed since then

 

Made it out to Middleton Plantation, did a couple of walking tours. Special thanks to Chad and his friend Louise for the inside scoop. The link and inside scoop Louise provided was priceless.