Charleston

Charleston is a part of our journey to explore the oldest cities in North America. Santa Fa was the first one - it is the oldest state capital in the U.S. (1607), Montreal was the second (1642) and our third one in South Carolina is Charleston (1670).

Charles Towne Landing

Charles Towne Landing is the original site where a group of English settlers landed in 1670 and established what would become the birthplace of the Carolina colony. Charles Towne was founded, honoring King Charles II of England.

Visiting the original site was great, it was good fun because we aren’t used to read alligator warnings (photo in yellow) and the landscape was stunning - very unusual for us. The oak trees were massive with long things hanging of them, reminding us the gloomy atmosphere you find in a lot of horror movies.

Charles Towne played a major role in the slave trade, which laid the foundation for the city’s size and wealth, and was dominated by a slavocracy of plantation owners and slave traders. Walking through the city you can see a lot of colonial houses.

Charleston City

Charleston is the home of an impressive Naval & Maritime museum. The museum has an aircraft carrier for World War II: The USS Yorktown, now permanently docked at Patriots Point. It is also the home of the USS Clagamore submarine and the Cold War era ship the USS Laffey.

The aircraft carrier is massive, I never visited such a boat before. More than 250 m long, it carried 90 aircraft along with more than 2,200 sailors. It is hard to describe but the size is gigantic and you easily get lost among the floors.

We also visited the USS Clagamore submarine, an old diesel submarine, decommissioned on 12 June 1975. Inside is very small and uncomfortable, you can barely pass someone, you have to stop and shuffle past each other like crabs. Doors are very impractical, they are high off the floor and tiny. Definitely not a place I would like to stay for too long!

Aircraft carrier first level - Inside the aircraft carrier - Inside the submarine

Inside a plane in the aircraft carrier - View from the bridge - Lower level inside the aircraft carrier - Outside view of the USS Yorktown and USS Laffey

When strolling on the waterfront we stopped at the lovely Pineapple Fountain which is a symbol of hospitality.

We also enjoyed Rainbow Row, a series of thirteen colorful historic houses. It represents the longest cluster of Georgian row houses in the United States.

Waterfront Park, Pineapple Fountain - Rainbow Row - Waterfront

Food wise, Charleston was a delight, we got some amazing recommendations from a friends’ friend and it didn’t disappoint. We also discovered some by ourselves and I have a very vivid memory of our breakfast with stunning patisseries. We went to the place several times.

La Patisserie, Charleston