February 2020 - Wedding anniversary trip

February is the month were Geert and I got married, more precisely on February 9th 2002. 

 

It would be our last wedding anniversary here in the States, so we wanted to make it memorable! With Hendrik being back home, we had a driver in the house, which meant that our kids would be able to make it to school & get food just fine without us 😏 = a trip with just the 2 of us was só going to happen! 🥳

 

On February 6th, we departed from Salt Lake City to Charleston, South Carolina at the East Coast. Charleston is not the capitol of South Carolina, but it is the oldest and 2nd biggest city in that state. It has always been on my bucket list, as it is supposed to be one of the most beautiful (ánd romantic ... so perfect for this occasion 😊) cities in the US. It might come as a surprise to some of you, but it has been named both 'Top US City' and 'Top Destination in the World' by several known travel magazines (ok I'll be honest, they're all American magazines 😉) for several years in a row.
Charleston, nicknamed the “Holy City” as it was known for its tolerance for all religions and its numerous historic churches, dates back to 1660 and was then called 'Charles Towne', named after King Charles II. It was home to French Calvinist protestants (persecuted by the French Catholic government and fled to the US in the 17th century), English colonists, Native Americans, and, later of course slaves from West Africa. It’s impossible to talk about the Holy City without mentioning slavery! The Port of Charleston was the largest slave port in the US and most enslaved Africans passed through the city. Nearly half the citizens of Charleston were enslaved before the Civil War! According to the International African American Museum, “Nearly 80% of African Americans can potentially trace an ancestor who arrived in Charleston”. So no surprise that we started our 1st day with a visit to the 'Old Slave Mart Museum'. It's not very big, but I would definitely recommend it.

Something else that was no surprise, was the weather at the moment we arrived: a storm! Because of it, we were stuck for a few hours in Atlanta during our layover there, and only arrived in our charming hotel ('The Meeting Street Inn') in the evening instead of the afternoon. Now that I'm getting a bit older, I'd like to think that charm comes with age, and this hotel was definitely confirming my belief. However, the drawback was the size of the bathroom ... I guess people were not that tall back then? 😅

The size of the room made up for it though.

This was our promising view from our hotel room the night we arrived 😨:

 

Luckily by the time we woke up, this was our view 😅:

Because of the storm, the temperatures dropped significantly, but we were still able to have our breakfast at the internal patio of the hotel, which was pretty nice as we came from winter temperatures in Utah.

After breakfast and the museum, we started walking the city. Charleston is very walkable, and it's a perfect way to explore all its charming streets, churches, beautiful waterfront, rooftop bars (which we ended up not doing 🤦🏼‍♀️ ... guess we'll have to go back one day!) and glorious old houses.

Candy coloured houses, known as 'Rainbow Row' on 'East Bay street'

Almost all houses in East Bay Street have gas lamps to keep the aesthetic feeling of old Charleston

 

 

Soaking up the harbour view from one of the many swinging benches @Riley Waterfront Park

The famous pineapple fountain @ Riley Waterfront Park, which is a symbol of hospitality 

in the Lowcountry (a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast) 

Beautiful houses along the waterfront 

We didn't have a drink on one of the rooftop bars, but we did spent 'some time' on a terrace at the waterfront. 

 The following pictures show just how long 'some time' was 😊. 

  

They say that one of the best ways to get to know Charleston is through its cuisine because it is known as an exciting culinary destination. Good that we didn't base our appreciation of the city on our first restaurant experience ('Hyman's seafood'), because that was just awful! Although it was a fish restaurant (which we were craving for, as good fish in Utah is a rare find!) with a great Yelp rating, we were extremely disappointed! Bland tastes with too much fat & cream. The second day luckily made up for it when we had dinner at 'Tu', an Indian tapas style restaurant. It was a bit loud inside, but the vibe was super & the food was finger licking good!

We also found a cool place close to our hotel with the best sandwiches ever, called 'Brown Dog Deli'.

The next day we rented a car to drive to our next destination, Savannah in Georgia. But before heading South, after picking up some more delicious sandwiches, we first drove to Boone Hall plantation ... one of the many plantations located around Charleston.

Plantations were slave-based agricultural systems. The states in the South were a harsh wilderness when the colonists arrived. To make settlement in such en environment more attractive, any adult man with the means to travel to America was offered 50 acres of land. These huge settlements required of course a large number of labourers to sustain them, and thus labourers were imported from Africa. Slavery was born!

This particular plantation was the location where the famous mini-series 'North & South' with Patrick Swayze was filmed in the 80's. As a teenager I loved that serie!

 

 

The majestic driveway leading to the house, lined with ancient live oak trees which are 'decorated' with Spanish moss, make it easy to imagine scenes from that colonial time.

 

It's a driveway which breaths richness and power. It makes the contrast with the 'slave street', which is located right next to it, even bigger.  

These plantations offer a surreal glimpse into the Lowcountry's storied past, and are definitely a must!

From there we continued to Savannah, the oldest city of the state Georgia. On our 2 hour drive, we took some side roads for sight seeing reasons, but what we saw wasn't that soothing for the eye! The living conditions of some of the black people there was just shocking!! For people like us who come from a social-democracy, it's hard to understand how this is possible today. I didn't take any pictures there, because it would have felt too much as "disaster tourism", and disrespectful to those living in those conditions.

When planning our trip, we didn't realise that our 3 destinations (Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans) are all on the list of most haunted US cities, and Savannah often appears on the top of these lists. The city was built, literally, on its dead. Homes sit atop Native American burial grounds; roads cover forgotten cemeteries of slaves and colonialists. Over the years, bloody battles, massive fires, yellow-fever epidemics and hurricanes have taken hundreds of lives, leaving behind unsettled spirits. There are many ghost tours you can take around town to explore this darker side of Savannah.

It wasn't the kind of thrill we were looking for during this trip, so we skipped that, but we díd stay at '17Hundred90 Inn', which is apparently one of the most visited haunted places in Savannah ... ghost Anna is the permanent resident of Room 204. I don't believe in ghosts, but I'll admit that I was relieved that we didn't get Room 204 😏.   

We loved Savannah!! Even more than Charleston, although the latter is the more popular and known city in the South ... mmm, maybe that's why we liked Savannah even better 🧐?! Probably it's just because it is endlessly charming, with its 22 squares, creating green oases all through the city, its cobblestone streets and flickering lanterns, and the live oak trees bearded with Spanish moss all over town. 

 

Charming parks ...

... with charming fountains, 

  

charming streets with ...

... charming houses,  

charming churches ...

... and even charming graveyards.

 

The charming live oak with Spanish moss which you see all through town

Did I already point out how charming we think Savannah is! 😆

And we were also charmed by their culinary offer. Our first night, we just walked around in the neighbourhood of our hotel looking for a place to grab something to eat, and we ended up at 'Broughton Common' where I had 'Duck and waffle',and Geert had 'Scallops & ravioli'. Let me elaborate a bit on my dish though! Fried chicken in combination with a waffle, is a typical American dish, and is considered to be a 'soul food'. It sounds like a crazy combination, but it is soooo good. So when I saw the combination of duck with waffle, I had no choice but to try it. It was a sweet chili Belgian waffle, stuffed with duck confit & goat cheese, topped with ginger butter and mimosa jam 🤤 ... I mean, every single ingredient in this dish is one of my favourites! Let's just say, it was a very good start of our stay at Savannah! 

The next day we had lunch at 'The Collins Quarter', located on a (of course) charming corner, where we were seated on the patio outside. The weather was gorgeous, the location was perfect, and the food was delicious! What more do you want?

 

At the patio of 'The Collins Quarter'

My 'avocado smash' & Geert's 'Upstream supreme' bagel with salmon

After this more than satisfying lunch, we visited the 'Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters', which was at a 5 minutes walk from the restaurant. As it was the 'Super Museum Sunday', admission was free that day, which saved us $40. It was an ok experience, but it would not have been worth $40.

Worn out a bit by walking the city all day, we returned to the hotel earlier to chill a bit and have an early apero before heading out again for dinner. With that apero we tried the Southern delicacy 'Fried green tomatoes' (battered green tomatoes which are fried and served with powder sugar). Although it is called a 'Southern' delicacy, the dish apparently does not have its origin in the South, but has a Jewish origin. Whatever origin they have, they are delicious!

Since it was February 9th, our wedding date, we had dinner at a more expensive, romantic place, called the 'Olde Pink House'. It definitely was 'charming' 😆, and romantic, but our meal wasn't really worth the extra $ we payed for it. But it was definitely an awesome night out. 

The next day we took a flight to New Orleans, Louisiana, our last stop on this anniversary trip. New Orleans, also known under its abbreviation 'NOLA', is the city were the world famous Mardi Gras ("Vette Dinsdag" in Dutch) parades take place. 'Mardi Gras' is a French term, which literally translates into “Fat Tuesday”. It’s based on a Catholic event, and falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of fasting in the run up to Easter. To prepare for that fasting period, people would eat a lot of fatty food the night before, hence “Fat Tuesday”. Festivities and parades start 2 weeks before, and is celebrated all over the world as carnaval. But the most famous festivities in the world are Mardi Gras in NOLA, and carnival in Rio de Janeiro. It's even an official state holiday in Louisiana since 1875. 

We were in New Orleans right before the festivities would start.We only saw a bit of the preparations, but no parades or festivities. We didn't mind at all, as that was not the vibe we were looking for during this trip.

Signs that they were prepping their houses for Mardi Gras

We stayed at the 'French Market Inn', very well located in the French Quarter as the name suggests 😏, and a stone's throw away from 'Jackson Square', originally known in the 18th century as 'Place d'Armes', and later renamed in honor of the Battle of New Orleans' hero Andrew Jackson.

Jackson Square

The French Quarter was the original city of New Orleans, and is the oldest and therefore most historic neighbourhood today. Although this is the ‘French’ Quarter, and is also known as the 'Vieux Carré' (‘Old Square’), much of the historical architecture here is Spanish in origin. During her long history, New Orleans has been administered by the French, the Spanish, the French (again!), and then the USA.

It definitely has a certain charm about it, but we were not thát charmed by it ... but maybe our expectations were just too high, because it has been on our bucket list for so long. It definitely has beautiful buildings and a historical feel about it, but we didn't find the crackling energy that people rave about. I mean, there is a lot of energy, but we were hoping it would have more of a jazzy feel than this party feel that we got. But I'm definitely glad we visited it!

We walked around the Fresh Quarter of course, where we enjoyed the colourful architecture and people and had several drinks (of course) ... to emphasize...drinks while walking around 😱 (a big deal if you've been in Utah for too long 😆). 

Bourbon street in the heart of the French Quarter, in it's full glory

 

 

  

 

 

We also had a drink at 'Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar', built between 1722 and 1732, and reputed to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the US today. The property is believed to have been used by brothers Pierre and Jean Lafitte as a front for their smuggling operation, but the details of this story, like so much of New Orleans, are sketchy.

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar

Just like in Charleston and Savannah, you still see a lot of gas lanterns at the houses and in the streets, which gives the nights a romantic but at the same time eerie feeling. 

New Orleans is located at the Mississippi river, which is the second-longest river in North America, and has had a major influence on the founding of the US. The river starts as a tiny outlet stream from Lake Itasca in Minnesota and ends in New Orleans, making it a major port city. The river was across the street from our hotel, where we were treated often with steamboat whistles from the Natchez steamboat, the only true steam-powered on the Mississippi today. Steamboats played a major role in the 19th-century development of the Mississippi River. Using steam power, riverboats could navigate in shallow waters as well as upriver against strong currents, allowing large-scale transport of passengers and freight both up- and down-river.

Walking on the Riverwalk along the Natchez steamboat

Music is found everywhere at any time in the French Quarter, with performances by any age, outside on the street, or inside at sometimes very unique locations.

One evening we were lucky to experience an intimate jazz concert in Preservation Hall, which is not only the most famous jazz club in New Orleans - it's arguably the most famous club in New Orleans, period. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs traditional New Orleans jazz in this small, intimate one-room venue, without a stage or even amplification, to a limited number of guests. General Admission tickets are available on a first come, first served basis, and are not available for advance purchase. So we arrived about 50 minutes before the show was planned to start and took our spot in the waiting line. But with a beer in hand, and the prospect of a unique experience, that wait wasn't too bad at all.

Waiting in line in front of Preservation Hall

 

Once the concert starts, you're not allowed to take pictures anymore.

The concert takes 45 minutes ... 45 amazing & unique minutes! Wauw, just wauw! If you are in New Orleans this is an absolute must!

Another night we had a complete different, but definitely very enjoyable, musical experience at the piano lounge of Pat O'Briens, located next to Preservation Hall. 2 Pianists will duel for the crowds attention. The show is largely dictated by the audience by way of song requests, and the lounge is filled with fun energy all night long. Also a must do, and when you're there don't forget to try out their famous Hurricane Cocktail!

 

But we didn't only hit the known nightlife places, we also tried some of the local food at a few popular restaurants: the famous beignets @ Café du Monde, the best burgers & best monsoon (a drink, known to be the last request by many pirates condemned to walk the plank) in town @ Port of Call, 'seafood gumbo' (a thick brown creole soup with shrimp & crabs) @ Gumbo shop, and 'po-boy' @ Oceana Grill. The origin of the 'po-boy' has competing versions flavored over the years by creative storytellers, but the most widely accepted story holds that the sandwich was invented by the Martin brothers. When streetcar drivers went on strike in 1929, the brothers created an inexpensive sandwich for the 'poor' workers, or 'poor boys', shortened to 'po-boy'. The sandwich consists of meat (usually roast beef) or fried seafood (often shrimp, crawfish, fish, oysters or crab), served on crispy French bread, and often dressed with some hot sauce. We had the fried shrimp, and it was ok 😏.

The beignets @ Cafe du Monde

Our Monsoon @ Port of Call

Another thing NOLA is known for, is the way they bury their death, which is in above-ground tombs. This makes complete sense if you consider the fact that New Orleans lies below sea level on former swamp areas ... a casket in the ground would literally float! It creates strange 'cities of death'. The most famous ones can only be visited with a tour, but you can still find some that are open to the public, like the one we visited: St Louis Century No 2.

 

 

Our last day at NOLA, we had our flight back home in the late afternoon. We decided to spend our last hours at the National WWII museum located in the Central Business District.  On our walk over there, we had breakfast at 'Envie', a most charming bar, where (in hindsight*) we spent way too much time.

The museum focuses on the contribution made by the US in World War II, and is one of the most impressive musea I've ever visited! 

We did not have enough time to do everything (*hence the hindsight remark). When we finally left the museum, we had to grab an (electric) bike to get back in time at the hotel to pick up our luggage and head to the airport.

Hendrik was supposed to pick us up at the airport in Salt Lake, but while we were gone, Hendrik & Willem had gotten really sick (luckily only the last day before we got home), and he was just too sick to drive. (Today they are convinced that they had Corona ... I guess we'll never know).

When we tried to get a 'Lyft' or 'Uber', for some mysterious reason the prices were going up to $100 (normal price is around $30)! We therefore decided to take a train to Salt Lake City, where we hoped to catch a train to Farmington, where we then could get a cheap, short Lyft ride home. While on the train to Salt Lake City, we noticed that our next train was canceled and that we had to wait 1 hour for the next one 🙄. I also noticed on my Lyft app that the rides in the area that we were passing at that moment were really cheap. No time to think about it too much, we immediately got off that train. It became clear very quickly why the rides were that cheap there! Until that day I thought Utah had no unsafe places ... I was wrong! 😳

Luckily our Lyft arrived before the sketchy-looking guys who were targeting us were able to get close. The Lyft driver confirmed that 'we should never ever come to this neighbourhood at night'. Certainly an exciting ending of our trip ... little did we know this was to be our last trip outside of Utah before returning back to Belgium 😢.

Back home we picked up our normal activities, which in Utah means snow fun! Besides skiing at Snowbasin, I also went skiing at Park City with Geert for 1 day, and did some snowshoeing with the ladies at North Fork Park.

With 7300 acres, 341 trails, 41 lifts and 7 terrain parks, Park City is the largest ski resort in the US, and only 45 minutes away from where we live. So except for the exuberant ticket prices (almost $200 per person for 1 day, luckily we only payed half with our military discount), we had no excuse for not trying it out.

 It's a beautiful, huge resort, but we missed the charm of Snowbasin.
That evening we were meeting up with our Norwegian friends to go to a Trevor Noah (award winning comedian from The Daily Show) show in Salt Lake City. We didn't have time to drive back home to get ready, and because going in our ski pants or ski underwear wasn't an option 😏, we changed in the car.It was a full, but fun day!

North Fork Park is the premier cross country skiing destination in northern Utah, but it also has some nice snow shoeing trails. It was a gorgeous day with blue sky & a real fun experience.

 On the last Friday of February, we got some special visitors. A colleague and friend from Geert's promotion (with whom he started his pilot training) was in town with some other Belgian colleagues for some meetings. They were not equipped to go skiing, but we took them up the mountain anyway to show them where we spend most of our time during the winter. Perfect way to finish an awesome month!

Geert with 'Vador' from his promotion

As real Belgians, we closed down the place 😆