Thursday, October 13, 2005

USA trip Day Six - Charleston

Had a nice sleep in after a travelling day yesterday. I was staying in a B&B in the historic district of Charleston - the Rutledge Victorian Guesthouse. I was originally meant to have Emilie's room, but I got upgraded to Abigail's room which had a Huge bed! Had breakfast with some fellow guests, including some very religious people who kept on talking about looking for the 'truth' in the media and how the Constitution meant that the country was based on Christian values exclusively and should stay that way. Thankfully they left before I put my 2c in, but I had a chat with a university professor, who was VERY excited to hear that I was from New Zealand and was insanely jealous that Angus had been in the Lord of the Rings films.

Did a walking tour of Charleston in the morning which is the most beautiful place. I loved it. The historic districts have been beautifully restored with many gorgeous houses. The main style of house in Charleston is the 'single house' - a building built at right angles to the road, normally three story with three long porches running along the length of the building. The front door normally opens straight onto the porch or a garden.

Charleston is on a harbour where the Cooper and X rivers meet - there is a new bridge, the Ravenel Bridge, that was opened in July (I saw them blowing up the concrete pylons of the old bridge). I went out on a boat tour to Fort Sumter, where the first shots were fired in the American Civil War (or "the unpleasantness" as it is known in the South). The Fort itself didn't interest me that much but the cruise was interesting and there were loads of dolphins around the fort which was fascinating to watch.

After only eating a hotdog on the train last night, I decided to treat myself to a nice meal and went to Anson which was very nice. I had the local speciality, 'She Crab soup' which was lovely and some fried shrimp. Bizarrely there was a Kiwi working as a waiter (we get everywhere...) but I didn't end up talking to him.

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