| Learn the local customs of Charleston. Tips and photos posted by real travelers and Charleston locals. Charleston Map |
 | Charleston Local Customs | Tips 1 - 10 of 24 |  |
 Market Hall, the entrance to
The Open Air Market by tpangelinan, 4 more photosLeave a Comment
|
 | |  |
Visiting Charleston?
Read reviews about Charleston Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
 The Smoking Lamp by tpangelinanLeave a Comment
|
 Sweet-grass baskets by tpangelinanLeave a Comment
|
 One of the many, varied
Charleston window boxes. by ZanieOR
My traveling friend Marilyn was so impressed with the beauty and variety of the window boxes for flowers that bloomed everywhere, that she took many photos of them with the idea of creating a calendar.
Though she never did the calendar and later wished that maybe she had taken more photos of other subjects, her window box photos tell their own story of lovely Charleston.
If I get her permission, I will feature more of her window boxes in a Charleston travelogue. Leave a Comment
|
Grits is a common staple in Charleston at breakfast time. You have it with eggs and bacon, or with salmon, or with shrimp, or even by itself with butter and salt. It's a lot like cream of wheat, but it's made from corn, and it's just more gritty. (Hence the name, grits.) A lot of people that aren't from this place hate it, and a lot of people have never even heard of it. (All the waitresses looked at me funny out west when I asked them if they had it!!! ) But if you have breakfast here, expect to see it somewhere!!! Leave a Comment
|
Visiting Charleston?
Read reviews about Charleston Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
Foods that are a MUST try when visiting Charleston are:
fried okra
catfish
hush puppies
shrimp and grits
she-crab soup
grits
collard greens
hoppin john (rice and black eyed peas)
corn casserole
macaroni and cheese (trust me the southern version is very different from your traditional mac & cheese)
boiled peanuts
bar-b-q sandwhiches at Bessingers
DESSERTS:
apple or peach cobbler
sweet potato pie
red velvet cake
|
 "Mellowed by Time" by ZanieOR
Permanent collections of her work can be found in such places as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Boston Art Museum.
She wrote a book that I picked up in Charleston titled "Mellowed by Time: A Charleston Notebook", illustrated with her pencil drawings, that is absolutely charming and probably the favorite "souvenir" from my trip.
So if you're going to visit Charleston, learn a little about her. And the book is highly recommended (see Shopping Tip).
From the jacket cover: "Mellowed by Time" is the confession of faith of a Charlestonian. Others have often wondered what makes Charlestonians so fiercely loyal to their city: Mrs. Verner has the answer. ...." Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Call it what you please, whether it's sweet tea, iced tea, or unsweetened tea, it's a big thing here, and in the rest of the south. If you want tea at a restaurant, you will get cold tea, not hot tea. I never even tried hot tea until my first visit up north!!! Leave a Comment
|
 Gullah selling sweetgrass
baskets on Meeting St. by TheTravelingNerd, 2 more photos |
| | |
 Sweetgrass baskets at Old
City Market by ZanieOR
The art was brought to the coastal islands of South Carolina and Georgia by slaves from West Africa. The materials have been modified but the techniques are centuries old.
They are coiled baskets made of sweetgrass harvested in the spring and summer on the edge of the dunes near the ocean, often decorated with longleaf pine needles and woven together with strips of palmetto leaves.
Sweetgrass baskets have been exhibited at such places as the Smithsonian. They are beautiful and not inexpensive -- I can't remember the price tag of baskets I saw in Charleston, but I just looked on-line and there were some selling from $130-$275, which actually isn't prohibitive if looked at as a work of art rather than just a souvenir.
They sold by artisans in a number of places, including the Old City Market in downtown Charleston. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
|
- Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina
20 Patriots Point Road, Charleston, SC - Days Inn Summerville Charleston
119 Gateway Drive Exit 203 off I-26, Charleston, SC - Elliott House Inn
78 Queen Street, Charleston, SC - French Quarter Inn
166 Church St, Charleston, SC - La Quinta Charleston
2499 La Quinta Lane, Charleston, SC - Value Place Charleston Rivers
4851 Rivers Ave, Charleston, SC - Hawthorn Suites Charleston
2455 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC - Market Pavilion Hotel
225 E Bay St, Charleston, SC - Andrew Pinckney Inn
40 Pinckney St, Charleston, SC - Motel 6 Charleston South
2058 Savannah Highway I-526 at US 17, Charleston, SC - Holiday Inn Charleston Riverview
301 Savannah Highway U.S. Highway 17, Charleston, SC - Best Western King Charles Inn
237 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC - Holiday Inn Express Charleston
1943 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC - Planters Inn
112 North Market Street, Charleston, SC - Best Western Sweetgrass Inn
1540 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC
|
