Friday 24th March 2017
We checked out of the Holiday Inn and took ourselves off out of town to one of the many plantations – Magnolia, which has always been in the Drayton family. It was not as wonderful as we had been led to believe. It supposedly had fabulous gardens, but we were very disappointed. The plantation residences were also not what they have once may have been as all of the houses were burned to the ground by the Union following the end of the Civil War. It left the Confederates of the South almost destitute. The tour guide was excellent and did explain the history of the family, the war and the plantation really well.
The afternoon was spent crossing the Charleston Harbour to Fort Sumter. A man made island with a fort built by the British to protect Charleston from attack by the French. Instead it ended up being a Union stronghold and the site where the first shots rang out heralding the start of the Civil War. The Confederates occupied the fort for most of the war (4 years). We had a wander around the fort before returning to the mainland and driving over the the historic heart of Charleston and our B & B at 15 Church Street, the Yates-Phillips house, a pre-1860 Charleston house. We drove down a narrow cobbled street and were really excited to be staying in a 4 level, beautifully preserved home. Our hosts Jack and Annalise were wonderful. We were enjoying their hospitality on the porch and learning all about the history of this wonderful city until Jack appeared and announced that he had made a terrible mistake and that he had double booked the room that they had just shown us. Charleston was in the middle of an extremely busy time and despite all of his efforts they were unable to find us another place to stay. In the end they gave us their bedroom. They felt terrible. As for us, we had a glass of wine, followed by champagne with the other guests and took a walk along the harbour and East Bay Street and found a great restaurant- Cypress and once again enjoyed an amazing meal. I had one of their signature dishes – Steak Diane, a New York strip, wild mushrooms, Amish Swiss potato fondue, truffle peppercorn cream. Apparently the big deal amongst the chefs is being nominated for the James Beard Awards and this was another of those restaurants.
Magnolia Plantation House
Fort Sumter