Charleston

So Charleston is one of the prettiest places in the South.  That's all there is too it.  I love the South and a lot of things that come with it but Charleston is just about prettier than the Smoky Mountains in the fall.  Below through some of the pictures I will take you through a stroll in Historic Charleston.  To begin with, we start at Market Street.  The shops have a horrible history, (think of what was sold there 200 years ago) but through remarkable renovations, including a recent one in which there are ceiling fans, air conditioning, and window coverings it is a wonderful place to begin your journey.  I have bought lace table coverings, jewelry, cookbooks, and t shirts from the different vendors in the market.  A very eclectic mix!  The DAC museum marks the entrance and beginning of the market.

DAC Museum at the beginning of Market Street

 The next thing you will come on is St. Phillips Episcopal Church.  I love hearing the chiming of the hour and half hour.  The church has quite a bit of property, and a cemetery to boot.  I believe that some historical people are buried there, but touring cemeteries is not my thing and to be honest they creep me out. 

St. Phillip's Episcopal Church

 Rainbow Row.  Along the Battery, townhomes are painted all different colors, thus the term Rainbow Row.  It is primarily professional buildings now.  The history behind it was the different colors represented the different professions.  Thus making it easy for the businessmen to determine which one to go to.  The Battery is the tip of the peninsula and to some is known as White Point Gardens.  There were hangings there for pirates, and some of the most beautiful homes are along The Battery.

Rainbow Row

It's funny story time...So the first time Adam and I visiting Charleston it was 5 years ago.  Obviously prior to kids.  So to give it a try, we did a ghost tour.  Not something I would recommend, not because it was scary but because it was a waste of money and a complete joke.  Now, the particular we did, the one aspect that was kind of cool because we got to tour the Old Exchange and Provost.  We also got to tour the dungeon which still had the walled part of the original walled city.  So while we're there, the tour guide starts telling us about all the ghosts that are in the dungeon and in the city in general.  I personally think ghosts are a joke.  I don't believe in them.  I think it is Satan using others, but that is not the point...anyways, he told us that if we took pictures in the dungeon  if these certain things appeared in the pics (the power of digital cameras) then you were getting a ghost.  So much to Adam's embarrassment all these kids and me start taking these random pictures.  The tour guide is giving us a little while to do all this before he wrapped it up, when I took a picture and all of a sudden there was a HAND in the picture.  Needless to say I freaked out, I called Adam and over and was just talking like an idiot when Adam looked at me and said 'Betsy, those are mannequins.  Look over there' and sure enough there were mannequins that you couldn't see because it was so dark.  We still laugh at that story today!

Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

The French Huguenot Church and the view down Church Street are just some added freebies.  That church is another beautiful church in the city, and I loved that shot of Church Street when we were walking down the street.  I thought the Church Street shot captured the timeless beauty of Charleston, cobblestone streets, palm trees, old townhomes, and the side windows!  At one point in time, homes were taxed by the number of windows that faced the street.  So for quite a few homes they are side by side, but the front of the home is actually the side of the building from what you see on the street.  That way they were only taxed on about 4-6 windows instead of the 10 or so that would be on the front of the home.  Make sense?

French Huguenot Church

A view down Church Street

Ahhh, my favorite part of the city.  The Four Corners of Law. The Four Corners of the Law is what is commonly used to refer to the intersection of Meeting and Broad Streets. The photograph below has the southeast and northeast buildlings.  These are St. Michael's Episcopal Church, and Charleston City Hall.  The other two buildlings that are a part of the Four Corners but not shown are the United States Post Office, and the Federal Courthouse. The term "Four Corners of the Law" represents the presence of institutions representing federal, state, local and ecclesiastical law on each corner of the intersection. Pretty cool huh? 

St, Michael's Church.  Breathtaking,..

I hope you have enjoyed these favorite pictures of mine from Charleston.  There were quite a few to choose from and it was hard, but these photos are ones that I take almost every time I go and I just love them.