Five Foot Traveler :: Ooooooh, Blue Savannah Song

This right here, this is America. The 3rd leg of our Winter Vacation was a 3 day stop in Savannah, Georgia - the first real Southern city I've ever visited. 

Classic Pralines - So sweet. So good. 

There are many different sides to Savannah. There is of course, historic Savannah. The downtown area is comprised of 22 historic squares. Downtown Savannah is one of America's largest National Historic Landmark areas (thank wikipedia!) and much of the city revolves around maintaining that good 'ol Southern charm. 

Then there's Savannah College of Art and Design, which plays a major role in the city landscape and attitude. It seems as though every building was owned by the school or part of the school. There are lots of adorable college-y cafes and boutiques and if you want to pick up some student-made art, you can do so at the SCAD Shop. There are, admittedly, many annoying young folk walking around with their canvases taking advantage of the city's no open container law. 

Some girly breakfast at the SCAD owned cafe, Gryphen Tea Room 

Right now, it seems like there's a good balance between maintaining the traditional charms and welcoming young, innovative ideas but I could see SCAD trying to overstep their bounds. Let's hope that doesn't happen. 

Super find of the day on Tybee Island

If art and history don't interest you (you plebeian!), there's the beach and everyone loves the beach! Tybee Island is I guess, not technically Savannah, but it's a very short drive from downtown. I found both a live and dead sand dollar hanging out in the sand which was beyond super way exciting for this tide pool loving gal. To the left is a live sand dollar - left this lil guy at the beach. On the right, my lucky find (well, I guess not so much for the sand dollar) a pristine dried up test, which is the confusing name for a dead sand dollar. 

And of course, you can't talk about Savannah without talking about the queen of the town - Ms. Paula Deen. Her original restaurant, Lady & Sons, is one of the biggest attractions in Savannah. To get reservations, you have to line up at 9am to put down your name. Kind of obnoxious, but whatever - I need my hoe-cakes! Upon arrival for your reservation, you are made to wait in her merchandise store (which is genius from a business perspective) filled with XL tee-shirts emblazoned with her face, "Hey ya'll!" and "Put some south in your mouth" (genius in other ways) 

There is a full menu available but apparently you're supposed to get the world famous all-you-can-eat fried chicken buffet. And we did. And it was amazing. For the first 10 minutes. Then it just got sad because there's no way you could ever eat that much food in one sitting even though it is so delicious. And then you just get even sadder looking around all the American tourists that are packing down their second helping of fried chicken and collard greens (which were, really really amazing.) Of course, you should still go if you have a chance but don't say you haven't been warned. 

And lastly, if you're not a huge Erasure fan (which you should be) then the title of this post probably makes no sense. To help clarify, please press play and let this soothe your soul.  (I don't think this song is about Savannah, Georgia but do we really need an excuse for Erasure?) (The answer is no.) 

Things That Are Awesome About America

Colonial America. You know, growing up out west, you really get robbed of the whole Colonial living experience. Basically, it is awesome and now I want to go on a rode trip down the East Coast. 

Gray's Papaya hot dogs with a side of papaya juice. Eaten standing up at the counter, people watching. 

Deep fried foods. Covered with sugar. Or candy. Or both. 

Honey Nut Cheerios. 

I heard this song a lot. And I like it. A lot. 

Banh Mi Sandwiches. Everyone has their favorite place and mine just so happens to be Paris Bakery on Mott in New York. Fresh baked bread every hour! 

Sandwiches! Check out this open faced chicken salad melt with bacon from Grey Dog Cafe in NYC. 

The Caprese Piadine from Tomatina in Walnut Creek, CA. It never gets old. 

Diet Coke. Not Coke Zero. Not Coke Light. DIET COKE. 

Corgis!

Homemade Sandwiches. A pre-wedding meal for the bridesmaids. What nice groomsmen! 

Bouchon Bakery. Who says you have to be french to make insanely good French treats?!

Nothing says Autumn like caramel apples. Already cut up and sprinkled with peanuts is so genius. 

Wine! We make some damn good wine. Again, eat it France! (errr...drink it France?)

Good deals. On really big Sandwiches. 

That someone at Hostess thought it wise to name this product GLO Balls..well, I tip my hat to you America. You did me proud. 

Out of Sight, Out of Touch

Who are these people?!

One of my greatest fears of living abroad for too long is getting out of touch with American culture. Namely, American pop-culture. It sounds really stupid and superficial, but it's how I communicate and connect with most of the people in my life. I work for an American company and conduct business in English. Communication isn't a problem and yet, it is. When you take away water cooler talk, simple conversation becomes a minefield of awkwardness and misunderstanding. There's no glue. At my old office, my co-workers and I couldn't be more different. But how could a Long Island mother of 3 and I carry on and fully enjoy a 15-minute conversation? Lost. 24. The Real Housewives of Orange County. How much I hate/you love the Yankees. They may have been purely superficial relationships and conversations, but at least it was a connection made. It makes working together easier somehow. It's the social lubricant of the American office. 

I'm getting dangerously close to becoming a complete foreigner to American culture. This sucks mostly because I used to be like...for reals in the know. I knew things, I probably shouldn't have, but it made me feel like I was a part of society. Celebrity gossip. Political gossip. What music was acceptable to show people on your iPod and which ones you should hide. I just looked at the iTunes top selling singles and albums and couldn't identify anyone other than Katy Perry and even then, I have no idea if I'm supposed to like her or hate her. Glee? Never seen it. Why is the #9 most downloaded song called (and spelled) Gonerrhea? There's a movie about Facebook? Is Twilight still "a thing"? Enrique Inglesias is now making music again? Have I seriously been away so long that pop music has lapped me? I've gone from working at The Worldwide Leader in Sports to not being able to tell you who won the last World Series/Super Bowl/Final Four. (I'm so un-American in my sports participation at the moment, that I could tell you who won the World Cup, Tour de France and any Grand Slam this year.) 

Sure, the internet helps a ton. I'm religious with my Google Reader reading and my friends keep me somewhat informed on what's "hip" and "groovy". But still, for every Marcel the Shell I do catch, 20 others come and go and I'm left standing alone with my sometimes functioning Apple TV catching up on last season's hottest show hoping not to read any spoilers online. And then there's the struggle between trying to stay relevant and trying to go out and live my life in this weird, wacky and pretty awesome in its own right country. Poor me, right? 

I'm about to go back to the States for 10 days and fear that I'm going to be overloaded with culture shock. Seeing as how much of my trip will be spend inside a metal tube high above the ground (an airplane), I'll be stocking up on the latest American Culture 101: Why We're a Dying Civilization required reading - Us Magazine and People. 

PS - Just kidding! America is awesome! (NO REALLY, don't block me at immigration. I've got some weddings and family hug parties to get to!)