Charleston: day one, part two...

On to the Aiken Rhett house.  What a full day already.  I'm exhausted all over again just thinking about it...

This house was just amazing.  It was the townhouse of William Aiken, Jr., a politician and Governor of South Carolina.  Everything has been kept original from years ago, with little work except some to keep it tour-able.  It, like Middleton Place, also houses several wonderful furnishings from the family, many acquired during their travels to Europe. 

This was the slave quarters, just behind the main house.  It was fascinating to see their rooms with fireplaces, still in tact. 

At one point, I told Chams, "if the walls could only talk".  I would love to step back just for a moment to see the grand dinner parties and how they entertained.  Wouldn't it be fabulous?

That was our house/plantation tours of the trip.  I think we did the right thing by knocking them out in one day.  It can be a lot, to say the least.

From there, we checked in at the Frances Marion, which is north of the battery and market area of Charleston. 

 

Great hotel.  The rooms are somewhat small, but a good bit cheaper than those closer to the battery, and just what is needed for a good nights rest.  It's still in walking distance of all the sites and has a Starbucks on the bottom level (major plus!). 

After settling in and freshening up, we headed towards the market area to the Noisy Oyster.  Chams wanted his feel of oysters during the trip, and it wasn't too early to start...

We sat right beside the busy market and people watched while Chams enjoyed his raw friends.  I'm not super crazy about oysters, so I helped share some she crab soup...delectable.

While we were sitting at dinner, Chams asked if I would like dessert. I mean what is a vacation without dessert, right?!?  Anyways, I told him how awesome a concept would be that was a dessert bar, and wouldn't you know it.  Right after googling it, Kaminsky's came up...and it was just a couple of blocks from where we were...aka trouble.

On our walk over, we ran into some sweet Texas girls headed in the same direction and joined them in some sweet delicacies.  I was overwhelmed and indecisive, and in a moment of weakness settled on the almond joy cake...

See why it was so hard to decide??  I love this place...seriously. 

At this point in the evening I was miserably full and ready for the nice, comfy bed at Frances.  Another day awaited...