Charming Charleston

Earlier this year, I got to cross something off my bucket list that I had been wanting to do for years, Visit Charleston. Check!

Charleston is only about a 6-hour drive from Orlando. The drive was a breeze and made me wonder why I hadn't planned a trip during the many years I had dreamed of visiting. The entire city was gorgeous and made me feel that I was living in another time. 

My boyfriend had visited Charleston already and had his mind set on Butcher & Bee. He probably talked about this place for the majority of the car ride to Charleston so I knew it would be the first stop. Unlike me, who has a unfailing love for the delicacies that hail from Chick fila and Chilis, he is a big time foodie.They change their menu daily and use the finest local ingredients. And the inside was as cute as a button! I just loved the simplistic rustic feel. 

 He settled on some fancy version of a fried chicken sandwich and chicken liver mouse (his favorite). I opted out of eating because the food was little too involved for these mainstream taste buds of mine. He is trying to expand my taste horizons so I took a bite of his sandwich and the chicken alone was worth the 6 hour drive to Charleston. 

He was one happy Charleston-er. 

We decided to hit King Street to grab some drinks and get an appetizer. We found this cute little spot right called Closed for Business. The decor was amazing and made the place feel like your favorite neighborhood bar. They feature Charleston's best selection of unusual, rare and one-of-a-kind beers from South Carolina and beyond, another perk for Ryan! I'm also endorsing them for having some of the best Potato Skins in the Southeast, obviously based on my array of expertise in this area. 

After checking it our hotel and doing some King Street shopping. We got ready and headed to dinner at a place called Poogin's Porch for dinner, also known as the cutest little place I ever did see. I found that they take houses and turn them into restaurants a lot in Charleston. definitely adding that vintage southern hospitality and homestyle feeling but with a modern flair. We sat at the bar where we received incredible service and awesome recommendations for our time in Charleston. 

{Sorry for the crappy photo}

I got the Carolina Shrimp with Butter Whipped Potatoes and Broccoli. Ryan went with the bartenders recommendation and got Grilled Hand Cut Pork Chop with Apple butter, Brussels sprouts and Smoked Bacon Sweet Potato Gnocchi. Both were just plain incredible. When I visit Charleston again, I would love to experience other restaurants but I would have a tough time not going straight here and trying everything else on the menu. 

After dinner we headed to Market Street per our servers recommendation and stumbled into Henry's Bar and Restaurant which we learned that it was the oldest continuous restaurant in all of South Carolina. They have an awesome rooftop patio that would have been great to enjoy if the weather wasn't in the single digits. We did sneak up there for a few photos and checked out the dance lounge but retreated downstairs to watch some basketball and learn more about Charleston from another fabulous bartender. All of the servers we encountered during our trip were so welcoming and eager to share their favorite locations in the city. 

The bottle storage was something I have never seen before and of course, I though it was awesome.

 They even made us pickle back shots on request from some pickle juice in the kitchen :)

The next morning we were prepared for our explore the city day! I'm a huge fan of biking (see also: not a fan of walking) and we found a bike shop right on King Street, Affordabike, that rented bikes for $20 per bike for 24 hours. Need I say more?

Forgive me for the photo overload but the city is too beautiful to keep to myself. 

We headed to Battery Park. It's right on the water and the trees were like a dream, the perfect place for an afternoon picnic.

We rode down the street looking for a cute place to eat on the water but kept running into gorgeous sight after gorgeous sight. We got distracted by the beautiful and decided to relax and admire the view before taking off in pursuit of food.

We had a friend recommend SNOB. Apparently it's a pretty popular place because there was over an hour wait for lunch and we were getting quite hungry by this time. We'll have to plan better next time to fit it in. We had also heard of  Cru Cafe and when we found the little house turned restaurant, I knew that we were right where we should be. If only I didn't scarf my food down the second it was brought to me, I would have a photo for you!

After we had some food in us, it was time to find a rooftop bar to enjoy looking at the city from above. Ryan knew of the perfect spot, the Pavilion Bar at the Market Pavilion Hotel. We were lucky to catch the sunset and the view was absolutely breathtaking. 

After biking around all day and seeing all the gorgeous sights, we decided to hit up a local pub for some good ole fashion beer and a friendly game of darts.

I had to include the Makers Mark Christmas Tree.

For dinner, we went to Red's Ice House,  a spot in Mount Pleasant that I found from a fellow blogger that lives in Charleston. She always raves about their food and it's right on the water so it was a win/win in my book! 

As you can tell, we literally ate and drank our way through Charleston. And I honestly wouldn't have had it any other way! :)

 That night we went to Stars Rooftop bar, another beautiful way to see Charleston. We called it a night after that because we were exhausted from our big day in the city and had to rest up for our next adventure! 

Now that I finally shared this post, I'm already eager to plan my next trip to the Holy City!

The next day we drove to Asheville to continue the fun, post on that perfect city coming soon!