Frances Parnell Travel Adventures
Invite you to
Christmas in Historic Charleston South Carolina
December 12, 13 & 14, 2014
The flavors, the music, the history, the cultural aspects, the language, the art, the shops, the old, the new–a sample of it all for you to savor in one holiday package in Charleston, South Carolina.
Friday, December 12, 2014
07:15 AM: Begin boarding motorcoach at Winter Park Baptist Church
Depart from the back parking lot (adjacent to Pine Grove Drive) of Winter Park Baptist Church
which has no back street number. You can exit S College Road on either Pine Grove Drive or Peachtree Street. For clarity, please note that Winter Park Baptist, Pine Grove Office Park and Wesley Memorial Methodist Church all have parking that comes together at the intersection of Pine Grove and Peachtree Streets.
(There is no real place for a coffee stop today.)
07:30 AM: Bus rolls toward Charleston, SC
09:30 AM: Short rest stop
11:45 AM: Check in at the Charleston Visitors and Information Center, 375 Meeting Street. (This is required for all touring coaches.)
12:30 PM: Local guide will meet us for “A Taste of Charleston: Savor the Flavors Culinary Tour/History Tour Combo” This includes an overview of the city.
3:45 PM: Check-in at the newly decorated and historic Mills House, 115 Meeting Street (at the corner of Queen Street), for two nights. Porter for your luggage is included in your package. (Be sure you have luggage tags that are visible.) The city’s “signature” Christmas Tree is at the Mills House where people go to have their photos taken.
Dinner is not planned. Lunch was late and heavy; you may not want to eat much. Our hotel has the Barbados Room where you can get light fare on your own (OYO). Husk is across the street where you can get wings, fruit and cheese, sandwiches–light fare (OYO). There are other places near where you can also get light fare. Meals are expensive in Charleston and I hate to pay $$ when you can get what you feel like eating for much less. You may want to wait and eat after the concert.
6:35 PM: Motor coach rolls to concert, “Sounds of Charleston.” This is a popular holiday tradition that includes Civil War camp songs, classical, a Gershwin tribute to Porgy’s love for Bess, spirituals, gospel, patriotic and ending with a hymn–all the music of Charleston’s past.
8:15 PM: After the concert, it is back to the coach for a transfer to Mills House and/or Kaminsky’s Dessertery and Coffee House located in the Market Place (included). (Some may want to eat protein and vegetables at this hour (OYO). You may do what you like.)
Saturday, December 13, 2014
You can have early morning coffee in your room. Watch sunrise on the Battery, take a stroll, do whatever you like to do to start your day. You can get a bagel, English muffin, or pastry at Barbados, if you need an early snack (OYO).
09:00 AM: Motor coach rolls. Forget that you are a tourist. You will now be a “guest” as your Charlestonian hostess takes you to private homes and gardens of her friends on Tradd Street. You will begin with a country breakfast and end with lunch--served on Canton ware--and a silver tea at the home of our hostess (overlooks the Ashley River). Our hostesses will amuse us with stories of Old Charleston and hopefully a Gullah storyteller will drop in.* (See note at bottom.)
02:00 PM: Return to our coach. We will ask the driver to make drops on King Street, Bay Street and similar places for browsing and shopping. The free trolley system is great!! I love the antique and art shops in Charleston. King Street is Charleston’s Fifth Avenue, or Paris’ Fashion District with some of the same name shops–beautiful windows. You can take the free trolley back to the hotel when you wish.
04:30 PM: Depart hotel to James Island and the Festival of Lights. Festival of Lights begins at 5:30 P.M.
After the Festival, we will return to Charleston stopping for an evening meal at California Dreaming, or similar (included). California Dreaming has a lovely night view of Charleston through its floor to ceiling windows.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
You can have early coffee in your room, jog, stroll, sleep in, or attend an early worship service.
09:45 AM: Check-out of Mills House and board the coach for High Cotton–one of Charleston’s most renowned restaurants.
10:15 AM: Brunch will be served that includes traditional fare like fresh seasonal fruit, scrambled eggs, French toast, potato hash, bacon, and sausage patties. Add to that, Oysters Florentine, shrimp and grits, smoked salmon and Charleston doughnut holes for a Christmas brunch to remember.
11:30 AM: Depart for the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island, America’s only tea plantation, where you will learn a lot about tea, enjoy samples of hot and cold tea and view the tea fields via trolley tour. This is a winning venue. Everyone is amazed that all of this happens in the USA. Charleston restaurants serve this tea so you will know it by the time you get to the plantation.
Depart for home via the Ashley River Road where early plantations grew. It is a pretty drive to Summerville. We will play a little on the way home.
TOTAL COST OF TRIP: $850 double occupancy, $1100 single occupancy
DEPOSIT: $300 due on/before Friday, September 5. Write check, no credit cards this time, payable to: Natural & Family Resources, Inc. Mail to: 6451 Quail Run Road, Wilmington, NC 28409. Please include a reservation form.
Final payment: $550 (double occupancy) or $800 (single occupancy) due on/before Friday, November 7, 2014.
TOUR INCLUDES: Round trip motor coach travel, lodging for 2 nights at an upscale hotel in the historic district, porter in/out hotel, all tours and entertainment as defined in the itinerary, coffee service in your room, one breakfast, two lunches, one brunch, one dinner, and dessert at Kaminsky’s after the concert on Friday Night. The gratuity for your motor coach driver is included.
*Some people who know Charleston and have their special destinations in mind may wish to be “on their own” in lieu of this old south cultural experience. The free trolley makes everything available to you. The Museum of Charleston is a short trolley ride away. The Gibbs Museum of Art, submarine, slave market, The Market, art galleries, antique shops–you name it are in walking distance. The hotel is one block east of King Street for upscale apparel, jewelry, etc.
