Stop 3: Charleston

As quaint and pretty as it was, Charleston was a little bit of a disappointment after New Orleans.

Our visit started well with plenty of red wine, making some more new friends in an oyster bar called Pearlz (amazing seafood gumbo) and (yes, more) cookie dough, but it all became a tad boring from there on...

It didn't take us long to explore all that Charleston has to offer - a smart Main Street filled with bars and restaurants; Rainbow Row with its brightly coloured Colonial mansions; waterside promenade and parks; some pretty churches; a covered traditional market (we bought praline, naturally...); the Old Slave Mart museum outlining Charleston and South Carolina's grim slave trade history; and a pier equipped with wooden swing chairs - our most interesting/fun Charleston find - which we approached with vigour and almost wrenched from the roof supports (we MAY have put on a few pounds in New Orleans...)

We didn't make the nearby beaches which are supposed to be beautiful, due to monsoon-style rain, but we can make up for it along the West Coast instead.

To temper some of our disappointment/boredom we naturally continued to eat heartily... Good job our next stop is Washington DC which is better know for history and politics than culinary delights!