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Bottle-Bells for Christmas by Amy Tankersley You’ve got your “Nature Lovers”, your “Environmentalists”, your “Recycle Freaks”, and your “Arts-n-Crafts Geeks”, (each in varying degrees).  I am all of those, especially Arts-n-Crafts, which, in my opinion, is a REASON TO LIVE.  And when Christmas rolls around, my pulse quickens and my scalp tingles, as I break…

No trip to Charleston would be complete without at least one stop at the lunch and late night craft sandwich spot, Butcher & Bee.  The industrial style seating and communal tables fit right in with the aesthetic of this popular spot on upper King Street.   The menu is updated daily and is artfully presented on a large chalk board as you enter.  They serve lunch daily which includes locally sourced ingredients and many vegetarian options.  And if you are looking for a healthy alternative to fast food after a night out on the town, look no further.  Butcher & Bee is open until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights and is BYOB.  On our latest visit, we tried the Veggie Burger made with beets, which is definitely the brightest, not to mention most unique and tastiest veggie burger I have…

Charleston’s Christmas Past by Amy Tankersley Every Christmas season, we all do our usual holiday routine: shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, planning the big dinner, putting up the tree, sending out cards, the list goes on. Christmas might end up being exactly the same from year to year, if it wasn’t for one important variable- HISTORY. Every year, your life and your family’s lives have changed. Deaths, births, marriages, divorces, new jobs, lost jobs, re-locating, etc.  Big events of the previous year in your town, state, and country are also in the back of your mind.  And every Christmas, in those quiet moments between the holiday hustle and bustle, most of us do reflect back over the year that’s gone by. I often wonder what would have been on the minds of Charlestonians in the past during the yuletide seasons…

A Classic Southern Christmas Pie by Amy Tankersley If you go on my walking tour, you’ll burn up enough calories to break even at the end of the day after eating a piece (or two) of this Lowcountry holiday staple. And when you see me, don’t ask for any baking tips, because I don’t cook….

  If my other two lists of events and things to do in Charleston for Christmas were not enough, here are more! Dickens Dinner at Circa 1886 149 Wentworth St. 843-853-7828 circa1886.com “Travel back in time as storyteller Tim Lowry takes guests to Victorian England for a lively retelling of the beloved ‘A Christmas Carol’. The…

Footlight Players Theater In my last post I mentioned that it is oyster season. In the City Paper today was an ad for a shop on King Street that sells tabletop christmas trees made from oyster shells, and they are very cute. Other oyster shell things I’ve seen in shops include christmas ornaments, picture frames,…

by Amy Tankersley In Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic tale, “A Christmas Carol”, Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by 3 spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past The Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Future Well, I’m going to write about “A Charleston Christmas” in reverse order: Charleston Christmas Future (2015) Charleston Christmas Present (2015) Charleston…

“Winter Weather- Charleston Style” by Amy Tankersley Charleston’s mild climate is classified as a “subtropical” zone, which means in between “tropical” and “temperate”. But I suppose people will go on websites and see photos of “palm trees”. They’ll think “subtropical” means “tropical” and come here dressed for a Hawaiian winter. All winter, I will see…

In our opinion, Fall (and in particular November) is one of the best times to visit Charleston.  The weather is great for enjoying a walk or picnic lunch outside.  If you are planning a trip to Charleston, a visit to the Waterfront Park is definitely a must on your list of free things to do.  It is one of…

“An Introductory Image of Charleston, SC” by Amy Tankersley I’ve been a licensed tourguide since Aug. 2004, giving carriage and walking tours in Charleston, SC, The Greatest City In The World, hereafter known as TGCITW (please remember that). I’ve been here since 1988, and I never get tired of looking at the same old houses in a wonderfully mixed-up variety of architectural styles from the different periods over a 345 year history. They’ve been through fires, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, wars, and epidemics like Yellow Fever. After each disaster, they come back, again and again. I feel like they are alive through the memories and spirits of their former inhabitants. One street of Georgian style Rowhouses will “look” like merchants and businessmen in period clothing; a banker, a ship and wharf owner, a lawyer, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, making money. Another row of “Charleston…

“Doing Your Homework” by Amy Tankersley If this is the first thing you’ve ever read by me, stop now and go back to the beginning. The material in those first two postings will be on your final exam. Preparing in advance will save you time once you get here. And we all know that time is money. Research our weather and attractions, so that you don’t end up like so many other tourists we see every day: stumbling around, too hot or too cold, not knowing what to do. (Although they do supply us with comic relief.) But if you take my walking tour and read all my postings, and take all my advice, you’ll become part of my inner circle. Your vacation will be better, and you can join me in laughing at all the unenlightened. In our extreme…

by Amy Tankersley I’ve seen many tourists make mistakes that put a damper on their vacation. In fact, I know that I will see them continue to make these same mistakes for years to come.  But you don’t have to. Avoid these pitfalls by taking my advice. After all, you will invest much time, money, and planning on your vacation.  It benefits me also. I’ve had people show up for my walking or carriage tours already tense and stressed over something that happened before they got to me. I’m usually successful in shaking them out of their mood with my sunny, silly personality. I actually do want to convince them that Charleston is The Greatest City In The World, (TGCITW), because then they’ll come back again, and I’ll be able to keep giving tours and making money for the things I…