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Published: September 17th 2008
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I found her
in the Telfair Museum of art...and just took this photo before the attendant pounced on me and declared that cameras were banned. I was lucky. Day 83 (maybe?)- Wednesday
I started off yesterday by doing one of those on/off bus tours around the old part of town. Their idea was that you stay on board for 11/2 hours to see everything then spend the rest of the day going back to visit in detail where ever you wished. However, since the old town is laid out according to a very careful grid plan around some 20 squares with lovely public gardens in the centre of each by the time the mini bus had taken me round in no fewer than 20 small circles I was confused and decided I would be better left to my own devices. In the early afternoon I joined a walking tour to view architectural marvels. That was much more my style. Then today I sucumbed finally and joined the walking tour of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Actually...I would have to say that it was by far the best tour I have done in all these weeks of touring. The young woman leading us was excellent...local accent, suitably melodramatic and quite informative. However she had the most disconcerting habit of walking backwards at all times, even across
In memory of Johnny Mercer
One of the town's favourite sons streets and uneven surfaces.
Savannah is a lovely town which is currently experiencing a tourism boom. Most of the visitors seem to be Americans, although there were a couple of young Korean men on the bus tour yesterday. On the walking tour I met an English couple from York for whom "Bend it like Beckham" seems to have become a reality. Their daughter won a sports scholarship to a university in Southern Carolina playing soccer and has spent three years commuting. The parents come over for a few weeks in each playing season to attend the games and tour around in between times.
I must have read too much Bill Bryson...I feel like writing a chapter entitled ...nothing costs what is on the price tag!!!
Aside from the perennial terrors for Australians and British (we compared notes over lunch yesterday) regarding tipping....not to mention coins and banknotes which have no distinguishing clues as to value...there is tax. Everything you buy has an additional charge for tax which is added at the point of payment, arbitrarily, it would seem. Even on dockets it is only listed as "tax" althought the percentage varies according to the type of item
Mercer -Williams house
in "Midnight in the garden of good and evil" purchased. So you never actually know what it's going to cost. In addition, the tax usually pushes the neat sounding price up over the next dollar mark so it becomes $18.06 for a walking tour! So you peer into your wallet trying to figure out which combination of coins equals that amount. Then you have to try and figure out if this scenario necessitates a tip or not. I keep asking locals (in private of course) but I can't seem to get their system. Today, buying a guidebook at a historic museum .. price tag 12.95...price asked 14.04...so I proferred 15 and suggested to the rather elegant lady that she keep the change ( as a donation to the museum, I meant) but she declared that that would upset their cash float at the end of the day! Agggh!
Other times, such as on the two walking tours, the facilitator, to whom I had already paid the stipulated amount , on introducing each of the guides announced that gratuities would be appreaciated and should be handed to the guide at the end!
In a number of other establishments that I visited with Connie' sister, Christine, she peered at
Fountain in Forsyth Park, Savannah
a friendly photographer , with very impressive equipment insisted on taking a few shots of me with my own humble camera. the bill and questioned, say, the room service guy with "Has the gratuity already been added?" and 18% already had. So you would be cross if you added another 20%! As I said...nothing costs what it says on the price tag! In the end you have no clue. Just keep putting your hand in your pocket. No wonder the hospitality industry in Australia and other countries loves American tourists.
This has been a lovely visit for two days. I was so lucky with this glorious old hotel....right in the centre of the old town and within walking distance of everything.- So...this evening I am on my way to New Orleans with my fingers crossed that they are open for business after the hurrican a few weeks ago. Two days and then the train for Memphis.
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