Tuesday, Mar. 24 – Elegant & Interesting Savannah

Gray, but not raining! A day to explore Savannah. First to the Jepson Contemporary Art Museum specifically for an Andy Warhol print retrospective, which was terrific and featured a number of other “pop art” luminaries. The exhibit had a number of Warhol’s most famous pieces including the camouflage series, the Liza Minnelli portrait and the Marilyn Monroe series. Another gallery featured an exhibit titled “The Visual Blues,” focusing on the Harlem renaissance with a musical backdrop of great jazz tunes. Swiss-born artist Katja Loher presents wildly creative video compilations focusing on endangered insect species that pollinate much of the food crops humans rely on. The videos “seem” to show bees, bats, hummingbirds and other species, but turn out to be costumed humans. You have to see them to understand how complex and amazing these dance-like performances are. We’re on a cruise, after all, so our next stop (after some refreshments, of course!) was the Ships of the Sea Museum, housed in a Greek revival mansion in the central city area. Intricate models of sailing ships, steam paddle-wheelers, passenger ships (including the Titanic), military ships and all manner of boats, mostly named “Savannah” are the focus. The gardens are worth visiting all on their own. Dinner at 700 Drayton, a restaurant housed in a historic mansion which is part of a hotel named, appropriately, The Mansion, was terrific. Elegant and delicious and leisurely enough to be a perfect ending to our day.

A shot of the Jepson Museum of Contemporary Art on Telfair Square from the third floor. It is a treasure of interesting exhibits. We focused on three of them.
A shot of the Jepson Museum of Contemporary Art on Telfair Square from the third floor. It is a treasure of interesting exhibits. We focused on three of them.
Perhaps Andy Warhol's most iconic image is his series of Marilyn prints.
Perhaps Andy Warhol’s most iconic image is his series of Marilyn prints.
The Keith Haring prints in the exhibit all featured images of dolphin. A good spot to tell you that we've seen them all along our ICW travels. More about them in tomorrow's post!
The Keith Haring prints in the exhibit all featured images of dolphin. A good spot to tell you that we’ve seen them all along our ICW travels. More about them in tomorrow’s post!
Cliff, Ann and Will in the beautiful garden at the Ships of the Sea Museum.
Cliff, Ann and Will in the beautiful garden at the Ships of the Sea Museum.
One of the display cases at the Seaman's Museum showing the detail of flooring in the mansion as well.
One of the display cases at the Ships of the Sea Museum showing the detail of flooring in the mansion as well.
Dinner at 700 Drayton was a splurge (thank you Roger and Will!). It is located in an elegant and huge mansion (18,000 square feet) built in the late 19th century at a cost of $45,000! Food was great and staff upheld the tradition of Southern Hospitality beautifully. Hostess told Cliff she could tell we weren't "Trust Babies." Not sure if that was a compliment!
Dinner at 700 Drayton was a splurge (thank you Roger and Will!). It is located in an elegant and huge mansion (18,000 square feet) built in the late 19th century at a cost of $45,000! Food was great and staff upheld the tradition of Southern Hospitality beautifully. Hostess told Cliff she could tell we weren’t “Trust Babies.” Not sure if that was a compliment!
The bar at 700 Drayton. The restaurant is part of a hotel which is built in the same style as the original mansion. It is directly across from Forsyth Park, worth a visit on its own.
The bar at 700 Drayton. The restaurant is part of a hotel which is built in the same style as the original mansion. It is directly across from Forsyth Park, worth a visit on its own.

2 thoughts on “Tuesday, Mar. 24 – Elegant & Interesting Savannah”

    1. Finally found your note! You should definitely put Savannah on your trip list but ONLY after you visit us in Marathon!

      Reply

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