{"id":3469,"date":"2015-11-07T09:43:34","date_gmt":"2015-11-07T14:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ourwanderyears.com\/blog\/?p=3469"},"modified":"2018-12-02T10:42:32","modified_gmt":"2018-12-02T15:42:32","slug":"charleston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourwanderyears.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/07\/charleston\/","title":{"rendered":"Charleston bus tours"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"St<\/a>

St Matthew’s and the farmer’s market<\/p><\/div>\n

As mentioned previously, we LOVE<\/strong> Charleston. The city\u00a0claims to be the most popular tourist destination in the US, if not the world.\u00a0 I don’t have any references to back that claim and it has some tough competition in Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, LA, Paris, London, Dublin… name a few more.\u00a0 But after spending 5 nights in Charleston I have to agree that it is in the running.<\/p>\n

I took a lot of photos, which partially explains why it took so long to complete this post.\u00a0 Just editing the photos and selecting the ones to use took some time.\u00a0 I chose to lead with a photo of a church – St Matthew’s Lutheran Church<\/a> – because I was struck by the sheer number of churches in Charleston. Churches of all denominations, all in buildings strikingly beautiful and all seemingly historic in some way. St Matthew’s is notable for its 300-foot spire and its location on Marion Square, the Central Park of Charleston. Another notable church, on the other side of the square, is “Mother Emmanuel” – the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal<\/a> church which was formerly known for its standing as the oldest A.M.E. church in the southern US but lately has been more famous (or infamous) as the site of the June, 2015, Charleston church shooting<\/a> in which 9 people were assassinated during bible study.<\/p>\n

\"Emmanuel<\/a>

Emmanuel A.M.E. from the tour bus<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Methodist<\/a>

Methodist church<\/p><\/div>\n

We took two bus tours of the city – a generic one on Sunday and a “black history” tour on Monday. The black history tour was a bit of a disappointment as it covered many of the same sites as the generic tour, but did offer additional insights into slave life in Charleston before the Civil War. But the most interesting aspect of that tour was the focus on the Simmons gates<\/a>, the beautiful wrought iron gates created by Phillip Simmons, a black artisan. The town is filthy (not the right word) with Simmons gates, each more beautiful than the last. We also visited Simmons’ house and workshop, now operated by his nephew (Simmons died in 2009). The house is shockingly shabby and his workshop is nothing more than a small wooden shed. It is hard to believe that works of such beauty had such a humble birth. When we return to Charleston (and we will), I want to spend a day wandering the city seeking out these gates. Maybe several days. There must be hundreds of these Simmons gates in the city.<\/p>\n

\"Simmons'<\/a>

Simmons’ home<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Simmons'<\/a>

Simmons’ workshop and our guide<\/p><\/div>\n

Other highlights:<\/p>\n