Atlanta is only a 3.5 – 4 hour drive from the sooooouuuuthern gem of a city, Savannah. I’ve always had some dream of being a southern belle living in Savannah, living off of friend chicken and peaches and spending my afternoons perched on a park bench reading a good book. Since I was born a yankee and I don’t live in a movie, I had to wait 32 years before I got to visit this dreamy city.

Our visit to Savannah started at Back in the Day Bakery (2403 Bull St) which is a must visit for anyone with a sweet tooth, a love of southern baked goods (BISCUITS Y’ALL), or a fondness for adorable vintage decor. Do you know me at all? Because YES to all three.

Are you as obsessed with this place as I am? I thought so.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring through this strollable city. Despite being hot and sunny, the big ol’ live oak trees dripping in Spanish moss offered plenty of shade as we explored square after square in the historic downtown.

So the thing with the squares – they’re about as quintessential Savannah as the oak tree/Spanish moss combination. There are 22 of them, and they’re basically perfect. All have gorgeous tree-lined sidewalks perfect for meandering. Most have benches, and many feature a statue of the person for whom the square was named. While all of the squares I walked through were beautiful, the one that’s most well known is Chippewa Square: The one where Forrest Gump sat and waited for the number 9 bus and regaled strangers with his life story before running to Jenny’s apartment. (The bench isn’t actually in the spot where Forrest sat – it was a prop for the movie. In fact, the traffic actually runs in the opposite direction than the movie showed, as well.)

A couple other places of note:

• The Collins Quarter: Coffee shop during the day, restaurant by night. We stopped for both and highly recommend it. Don’t have time to sit a spell with your coffee? Use their to-go window for quick service. (151 Bull St.)
• shopSCAD: Savannah is home to the Savannah College of Art and Design, and features items that were designed by SCAD students, alumni, faculty, and staff. (340 Bull St.)
• East Jones Street: Just a really beautiful street. Grab an iced coffee from The Collins Quarter and take an afternoon stroll.
• Forsyth Park: The largest park in Savannah, it’s also one of the most well known. You’ve undoubtedly seen photos of the large fountain on the north end of the park. (Drayton St. and East Park Ave)
• The Mercer Williams House and Museum: Have you ever read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? Me either. But apparently this house plays a large role in the book, and Jon (who is currently reading it) got really excited when we saw it. Definitely on my to-read list for this summer. (429 Bull St.)
• The Paris Market and Brocante: If you live in Loudoun County, you might be familiar with the store Creme de la Creme. The Paris Market is basically a much larger version of that shop. Lots of French-inspired treats, items, books, and other super cute items for sale. (36 W. Broughton St.)
• Fabrika: Bless my husband for always noticing fabric stores when I miss them. I went, I saw, I came away with a yard and a half of fabric. (2 East Liberty St.)
• Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace: I had to pay my respects to to the OG Girl Scout, the founder herself, Juliette Gordon Low. I am a life-long girl scout, having started as a Brownie and graduating as an Adult Scout with both my silver and gold awards. Represent. (10 E. Oglethorpe Ave.)
• Savannah Waterfront/River Street: The Savannah version of a boardwalk, with seafood restaurants, bars, and tacky souvenir shops, though The Christmas Shop is cute (and we brought home a Georgia Peach ornament). The waterfront is worthwhile to take a walk down for the river views and people-watching alone, but if you don’t get to it, you aren’t missing much. (River Street)

One of my favorite things to do when I’m traveling is to get up early (maybe even when the sun rises if I’m feeling motivated enough) and explore, just me and my camera. I’d considered it before I went to bed, but I was so tired from the 8 miles of walking we got in during the day, I figured I’d let myself sleep in.

And then the hotel room’s alarm clock went off at 6:00am for some unknown reason and I took that as my sign to get up and wander the empty streets. After yelling ‘what the hell who did this?!‘, of course.

There were birds, runners, people walking their dogs, and all of the magic that comes with being awake while most people are still sleeping. You get the benefit of cooler air and longer shadows without the crowds that come with sunset.

Once the rest of the group was up, we got breakfast then headed out to Bonaventure Cemetery (330 Bonaventure Rd), a southern gothic cemetery with plenty of shaded lanes for strolling. Up next, we visited Wormsloe Plantation (7601 Skidaway Rd), home to a gorgeous oak tree-lined dirt driveway and just about every engagement photo ever taken in the greater Savannah area. Also, rumor has it that Forrest Gump did his whole “Run, Forrest, run!” thing here, so that’s fun. We didn’t have time to tour the home, but a photo stop is still worth your time if you’re even the smallest bit in love with oak trees and Spanish moss. Finally, we ended our visit to Savannah by getting a quick bite to eat at Savannah Coffee Roasters (215 W. Liberty St.) before hitting the long road back to Atlanta.

Savannah is just as dreamy as I’d always imagined it would be: warm breeze blowing through the Spanish moss hanging from old oak trees; horse-drawn carriages slowly meandering down cobbled streets; gas lights illuminating homes as the southern sun disappears, leaving a purple glow to the sky; and long southern drawls offering up a good evening. A city so charming in both dreams and reality that it surely deserves a return trip.