Charleston, South Carolina is a very beautiful place, probably the most beautiful city I've visited so far. The weather was gorgeous the whole time I was there, which helped. I added an extra day to my stay after the first day so I'd have more time to explore, making it three places in a row I've stayed an additional day at.

On my first evening there I was waiting out the front of the hostel on the wooden porch for them to open the check-in and I met two nice Scots from Aberdeen. After dinner at a lovely hippy pizza restaurant we discovered that the road the hostel is on is a little dodgy at night.

The following day we walked all over town and I discovered that I can't walk around for a long time in my sandals without getting very sore feet. I should stick to trainers unless I'm just hanging out without walking around.

On my extra day I took a trip out to Fort Sumter to see where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired and to learn a bit about that period of history. I have become enlightened on the causes of the war. I always thought it was Abraham Lincoln's war on slavery but actually the war was more about states' rights and Lincoln added on the aim of ending slavery later into the war for a number of reasons including getting foreign political support from Britain and France.

I also did a ghost tour in the evening at 9pm, which was after dark and when there was a blood red full moon in the sky. I'm a complete sceptic when it comes to ghosts but it was still interesting hearing the real historical stories behind the 'hauntings'. And I had some good little chats to the tour guide in between stops and he said he had a number of sceptic friends - all European as it happened. I stuck around afterwards talking to him for several minutes and then he offered me a lift back to the hostel as it was so late. He was a real local, born and bred in the Charleston area and he had a great authentic Southern accent and hospitality, clearly.

Charleston was lovely just to walk around. King Street is the main drag through town with plenty of restaurants and shops on it. I particularly liked the French Quarter with its occasional cobbled streets and quaint houses. The place is so colourful. People tell me Savannah, Georgia is similarly nice but I'll have to wait and see how it compares.