We’re heading home today but not without some food! We packed our bags and stopped by the front desk to ask the bellman to collect our bags. Normally we would handle the bags ourselves but the valet parking is at the Power Plant building and we are in the Three Muses building so we decided it would be easier this way. 

We walked to Forsythe Park for brunch at Collins Quarter (note there are two Collins Quarter locations and we went to the Forsythe Park one). Collins Quarter is another of my must return restaurants for their delicious white chocolate French toast and shrimp and grits. R is a fan of the hot chicken and waffles. Unfortunately, my white chocolate French toast had been replaced by a black forest French toast but I was still able to get the shrimp and grits and R got his chicken and waffles. The food was delectable and it is lovely to sit outside surrounded by the beauty of Forsythe Park. 

We stopped by the fountain as we walked back toward the hotel. I learned a few fun facts about the fountain and park on this trip. It was erected in 1858 and is 165 years old this year! Forsythe Park was designed after the French ideal of a central public garden and the fountain is the garden’s centerpiece (despite not being in the center of the park). The fountain is beautiful though not unique as it was ordered from a catalog and similar fountains exist in other cities. Forsythe Park is the most photographed park in Savannah and the fountain features prominently in most of the photos. 

We got back to the hotel and checked out. It took a minute to locate our luggage because the bellman had already loaded it into the car for us before the valet brought the car around. I felt a little silly because it didn’t occur to me that they would do that, but talk about second mile service! We were quickly on the road home and that gave me time to think over our latest Savannah visit. This is the third time we have visited the city, once in each April, November, and May. Honestly, the weather has been equally unpredictable on each trip. The lesson here is to check (and double check) the weather forecast and always throw in some layers. The city is beautiful, full of history, and worth repeat long weekend visits. We have also stayed in different hotels. Each hotel has its own advantages and disadvantages. The JW Marriott Riverside Plant District is by far the most swanky hotel we have been to in Savannah. The service has been impeccable, the rooms are well done, and the location is convenient to River Street. Honestly, even with all that, I feel like it was overpriced. I prefer to stay a few blocks away from River Street in a hotel that is more convenient to both the river and Forsythe Park areas. This of course depends on what you want to do during your time in Savannah and your preferences may be different. I think it makes sense to stay closer to River Street if you are going on a bar crawl bachelor/bachelorette party-style getaway but the smelly bars with sticky floors (and sticky everything) isn’t my scene. I hate being woken up when people stumble out of the bars screaming bad karaoke lyrics in the middle of the night and prefer not to be forced to drive the full length of a one way street to get to my destination. This probably helps explain why a place like Artillery Bar is on my must return list and not Wet Willy’s. 

Questionable and unpredictable weather aside, this trip was a success. R and I were forced to go with the flow … okay I was forced to go with the flow … and we laughed about silly things until our sides ached. I earned a new nickname on this trip due to being bundled in my rain jacket, waddling along, and doing a goofy little dance to get warm while we waited out the rain. We haven’t crossed everything off our Savannah list and we’ll make the drive again to peel back another layer of the city.