Visit Greenville, SC

[00:00:00] Hey guys, just wanted to acknowledge our neighbors all across the southeast that are very much suffering from Hurricane Helene.

[00:00:08] We would love to be able to come alongside various groups to support these efforts and wanted to just mention a few that we personally know much about if you are looking for a way to support lots and lots of hurting people.

[00:00:22] So three of those organizations are Samaritan's Purse, Hope Force International, and the Morgan Wallen Foundation.

[00:00:30] Well, I'll start with Hope Force International because that's one that was actually started by people we know here locally in Tennessee.

[00:00:40] But they literally are a disaster relief organization.

[00:00:43] They take teams in who have various skills, sometimes construction skills, but sometimes just the care to love on people.

[00:00:54] And it is a Christian organization, so they don't have any requirement of faith on who they help.

[00:01:02] But in addition to doing practical help of tearing out drywall, rebuilding things, they also ask to pray with families if they are willing for you to do that.

[00:01:16] So I love that piece of bringing Jesus into the practical helps.

[00:01:21] And this is a great organization that we support and hope you will join a side too.

[00:01:29] Another is Samaritan's Purse.

[00:01:31] They are very much a boots on the ground organization.

[00:01:36] They are bringing in helicopters now to serve these victims, and they really keep up with exactly what's needed.

[00:01:47] So it is a Christian evangelical organization.

[00:01:52] Again, it's non-denominational.

[00:01:54] It's not that you have to have a certain faith for them to help you, but they do bring Christ into the works that they do.

[00:02:01] And they're based in Boone, North Carolina, which was also hit really hard.

[00:02:05] So they're not only helping to assist those that are in need, but they have need for their own headquarters and the families of those that live in that area.

[00:02:15] And work there.

[00:02:16] So, yes.

[00:02:17] Yeah.

[00:02:18] And then the Morgan Wallen Foundation is based from Morgan Wallen, the country singer who's from East Tennessee, originally Sneedville, Tennessee.

[00:02:26] And he is sending finances and coming alongside those that are really lacking a lot right now.

[00:02:36] If you're in the Knoxville area, there are lots of ways to actually come and, like, pack relief efforts and boxes and things.

[00:02:43] There's actual efforts to come and serve.

[00:02:46] And there's lots of ways to just support the funding for those that are needed.

[00:02:51] And I also just pray for these families.

[00:02:55] If you know people by name, pray for them by name.

[00:02:58] It's there's so much power in prayer.

[00:03:01] Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greenville, South Carolina offers visitors a unique blend of traditional Southern charm and contemporary cool you won't find anywhere else.

[00:03:13] With countless free annual events and activities in its completely walkable downtown and some of the most accessible natural attractions in the southeast nearby, Greenville is the perfect getaway where there is literally always something going on.

[00:03:29] Join us at the table as we discuss our new favorite South Carolina gem, Greenville.

[00:03:36] Welcome to the Steel Magnolias podcast.

[00:03:38] We are two sisters here to have uplifting conversations about life in the South.

[00:03:43] The South is full of beautiful diversity in landscape, people groups and culture.

[00:03:50] And we want to showcase each part.

[00:03:52] We've got plenty of room at our table.

[00:03:54] So pull up your chair.

[00:03:59] Welcome back to the table.

[00:04:00] I'm Laura Beth.

[00:04:02] And I'm Lainey.

[00:04:02] And we are back from a really fun trip.

[00:04:07] A really fun trip.

[00:04:08] This place is so great.

[00:04:10] And I know we say that about a lot of places.

[00:04:12] We love travel and adventuring, but this was a good one.

[00:04:16] Well, I had heard Greenville was cool, but in that it had become more cultural or more artsy.

[00:04:24] But it just was so refreshing.

[00:04:28] And kind of a surprise just how wonderful it was.

[00:04:31] Good people.

[00:04:32] Really good people.

[00:04:33] You can have a cool town that's got a foodie vibe and cultural, but it can be not fun if the people are snobs or whatever.

[00:04:42] But this was great.

[00:04:44] So good on y'all, Greenville.

[00:04:46] Whether you love the outdoors or coffee shops or museums or shopping, there are treasures to discover.

[00:04:53] And we wanted to tell you some of the ones that we discovered.

[00:04:56] So Main Street is the central hub of the whole downtown area.

[00:05:03] There's dozens of locally owned restaurants, boutiques, hotels.

[00:05:08] It's completely walkable.

[00:05:10] I mentioned that in the intro, but it is completely walkable.

[00:05:13] There's a showcase of Falls Park on the Reedy, which is the river that runs through there.

[00:05:20] There's an urban park.

[00:05:21] I mean, there's Liberty Bridge that we walked across.

[00:05:26] So I'm saying that all as a teaser.

[00:05:28] I'm going to go into more specifics.

[00:05:29] But, you know, walkability is a big deal these days because we stayed downtown.

[00:05:37] We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott.

[00:05:39] Which was a great location, by the way.

[00:05:41] Yes.

[00:05:42] And there was many hotels in this walkable downtown area.

[00:05:46] Depending on what your needs are.

[00:05:49] And if you need a car, you need a car.

[00:05:51] But if you're just needing it to get to, like, where you're going to eat that night or the excursion you have planned.

[00:05:58] If you're not, like, going out to see a friend that lives way outside of town or an event.

[00:06:03] If you are there to just kind of see the sights and, you know, explore the city.

[00:06:08] Gosh, it sure is nice to not have to pay parking at a hotel.

[00:06:12] Oh, my gosh.

[00:06:12] Yeah.

[00:06:13] Or the rental car fee itself.

[00:06:15] Or, you know, it all adds up so much.

[00:06:17] It does.

[00:06:17] And if you think, well, how walkable.

[00:06:20] I mean, it's very walkable.

[00:06:22] And then if there's a little, you know, something on one end that seems too far.

[00:06:27] They have pedicabs.

[00:06:29] They do.

[00:06:30] Which we need to talk about.

[00:06:31] They have Uber.

[00:06:32] Uber.

[00:06:32] Yeah.

[00:06:33] All of that is very much an option because you're not going to need it much.

[00:06:36] Yeah.

[00:06:37] So they have Greenville Bike Taxi, which is a great way to get around.

[00:06:41] Rides that are under 10 minutes are just about $10 a person.

[00:06:45] Maybe $8 plus your tip or whatever.

[00:06:47] And one of the things I loved about that was fresh air.

[00:06:51] Yes.

[00:06:51] You can ask them questions.

[00:06:53] Oh, what was that we just went by?

[00:06:55] That kind of thing.

[00:06:56] Because you're outside.

[00:06:57] Yeah.

[00:06:57] And just a little more nimble than even an Uber ride.

[00:07:01] And I felt very safe.

[00:07:03] Yes.

[00:07:03] It was easy to get on it.

[00:07:05] All of that.

[00:07:05] So they can take up to three adults.

[00:07:08] Yeah.

[00:07:09] In on one single pedicab.

[00:07:11] So that's a really great way to get around.

[00:07:13] And they even do.

[00:07:14] I don't know if you knew this, Laura Beth.

[00:07:15] They even do city tours on.

[00:07:18] Oh, on those.

[00:07:19] That's another option.

[00:07:19] I don't know how much the prices of that are.

[00:07:21] Well, that's nice.

[00:07:23] And special event rides and that kind of thing.

[00:07:24] So we should put a link in our show notes to the Greenville Bike Taxi.

[00:07:28] We will.

[00:07:28] Yeah, that's great.

[00:07:29] I didn't know they did tours.

[00:07:30] Well, we did take a tour.

[00:07:31] So let's go there next.

[00:07:32] We took a really interesting tour with John Nolan of Greenville History Tours.

[00:07:37] And he does lots of tours.

[00:07:40] We even later found out he has a book.

[00:07:44] So I'll link to that.

[00:07:45] I mean, this was.

[00:07:46] He's very much into preservation.

[00:07:48] Kind of funny how that all came about.

[00:07:50] Yeah.

[00:07:50] This is a good person to take you around.

[00:07:53] I'm pretty promising you'll get him if you do Greenville History Tours.

[00:07:57] But he does do a lot.

[00:07:58] So.

[00:07:58] Yeah, he was a gem.

[00:08:00] For sure.

[00:08:00] He offers tours that are driving, walking.

[00:08:04] Some of them have a culinary focus.

[00:08:06] Some others have like architecture focus.

[00:08:09] So like neighborhoods and architecture tour, barbecue tour, coffee tour, textile mills and villages tour.

[00:08:16] He just was giving us a real basic welcome history.

[00:08:19] Greenville kind of tour.

[00:08:21] Yeah.

[00:08:21] And he folded in some of the neighborhoods and architecture into that.

[00:08:26] But he was telling us that it really was textiles that put Greenville on the map.

[00:08:30] And we got to eat at a place that he even mentioned called Sobeys that was actually from the year 1856.

[00:08:41] Originally.

[00:08:42] The building.

[00:08:42] The building was.

[00:08:43] Yeah.

[00:08:44] So I'll come back to Sobeys later when I talk about the restaurant.

[00:08:48] But there are within a 19 block space of the downtown.

[00:08:54] 19 blocks.

[00:08:55] There are 224 restaurants right now.

[00:08:59] That's a lot.

[00:09:00] Which is pretty incredible.

[00:09:01] And 80% of them are locals.

[00:09:03] That's the real incredible part.

[00:09:05] That's what I love.

[00:09:06] Really incredible.

[00:09:07] 80% are local.

[00:09:09] And then in that, 24 independent coffee shops exist within 19 blocks.

[00:09:16] Oh, I love that so much.

[00:09:18] There is a Starbucks in there if you're like, but is there a Starbucks?

[00:09:21] There is a Starbucks.

[00:09:22] But.

[00:09:23] But why?

[00:09:24] But why?

[00:09:24] Yeah.

[00:09:26] We got to walk in the $100 million Grand Bohemian Hotel.

[00:09:31] Oh my golly.

[00:09:32] Wow.

[00:09:33] That was beautiful.

[00:09:34] It was just built in 2022.

[00:09:35] You can stay there.

[00:09:37] But even if you're not staying there, walk through the lobby.

[00:09:40] Go through it.

[00:09:41] Go see the art exhibits that they have.

[00:09:43] Go to the back and sit on a rocking chair and watch the falls that run through town.

[00:09:49] The waterfalls.

[00:09:51] Lovely English brick cottage homes all around.

[00:09:55] There is a trail, and I'll talk about more of the trails and parks in just a minute.

[00:10:00] But a lot of this is, again, connected by walkability.

[00:10:07] So if you're wanting to slowly see the homes, you know, and slow down and things, just walk it.

[00:10:14] We learned about the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum, which is built around the brick house that he actually lived in.

[00:10:21] He played for the Greenville Spinners, and we enjoyed getting to hear how he became Shoeless Joe.

[00:10:27] And it's right there by their little local baseball stadium.

[00:10:30] Yeah.

[00:10:31] So just, I mean, nuggets upon nuggets of info that you can learn on a walking or driving tour.

[00:10:38] So definitely want you guys to go experience that.

[00:10:41] So, Lainey, you had a little bit more info on, like, the textile history.

[00:10:46] Yeah.

[00:10:46] I think that's interesting to know how something got going.

[00:10:50] And so in the 1880s, these mills were really putting Greenville on the map.

[00:10:57] There was many.

[00:10:58] I don't need to go through the names of them all.

[00:11:00] But the Huguenot Mill was the first mill in South Carolina to produce gingham and plaid.

[00:11:06] So cool.

[00:11:07] And I thought that was so fascinating because it made me wonder if that's how gingham became popular in the South.

[00:11:13] Right.

[00:11:13] Probably.

[00:11:14] I would think that would have something to do with it.

[00:11:17] Right.

[00:11:17] And the Camperdown Mill, which is not there anymore but is a very up-and-coming area of Greenville,

[00:11:24] was the second largest mill in South Carolina.

[00:11:27] So some of these buildings are still a part of the landscape there.

[00:11:34] There's a really cool event center that used to be in one of the mills.

[00:11:39] And so I think it's important to mention, you know, anytime a city has a very cool look to it,

[00:11:47] there's usually visionaries behind that.

[00:11:50] Good point.

[00:11:51] And Lawrence Halperin was who was behind this great vision of Greenville.

[00:11:58] Now, he was a landscape architect and designer based on the West Coast.

[00:12:03] So most of the major projects he did were on that side of the country.

[00:12:08] Yeah.

[00:12:09] Ghirardelli Square.

[00:12:10] Yeah.

[00:12:11] Many of y'all have seen that in San Francisco.

[00:12:14] He had a lot to do with the Seattle-Washington landscape plan in 1962 for the World's Fair.

[00:12:20] But he's really got his fingerprint on some cool things in the South with Greenville, South Carolina,

[00:12:27] with Charlottesville, Virginia and their main street, with Fort Worth, Texas' Heritage Plaza Park,

[00:12:33] and even the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C.

[00:12:37] So I'm so grateful for people who have that gifting to make our cities more beautiful.

[00:12:43] Well, and that he would, like, not just camp out on one city and continue to make parts of it better and better,

[00:12:49] but that he'd be willing to go to other cities and put it.

[00:12:54] Well, and I've noticed in some of the pictures of different projects he did,

[00:12:59] they often included a beautiful water feature.

[00:13:02] Must have been a thing for him.

[00:13:03] And we've talked about before how we just think water, when it's, you know, contained in a river or a waterfall,

[00:13:11] is so amazing and beautiful.

[00:13:13] It does usually make things prettier.

[00:13:14] It does.

[00:13:15] Like, it's a backdrop.

[00:13:16] It does.

[00:13:16] So kudos to Halperin for all he did.

[00:13:20] For sure.

[00:13:21] Well, let's talk about our scrumptious meal that we started with,

[00:13:25] which was dinner once we landed at the very comfortable and easy-to-navigate Greenville Airport.

[00:13:31] Dinner at Sobeys.

[00:13:33] Now, I mentioned Sobeys a minute ago as it was, it's a historic building from the 1800s.

[00:13:38] But Sobeys is a blend of contemporary cuisine,

[00:13:42] which has got an infusion of traditional Southern ingredients.

[00:13:46] Sobeys really is accredited with initiating this culinary revolution that has come to Greenville 25 years ago.

[00:13:55] And we had some of their signature dishes.

[00:13:59] We had fried green tomatoes with jalapeno pimento cheese.

[00:14:04] We had their she crab soup.

[00:14:08] Oh, Lord have mercy.

[00:14:10] Their shrimp and grits is award-winning.

[00:14:14] I mean, award-winning.

[00:14:16] I had the halibut as my main dish.

[00:14:19] It was absolutely wonderful.

[00:14:21] And I had the crab cakes.

[00:14:23] You had the crab cakes.

[00:14:24] Also, one of their signature dishes.

[00:14:28] Very full of lump crab meat, not a bunch of breading.

[00:14:31] Yeah.

[00:14:31] It was great.

[00:14:32] They have an extensive wine list.

[00:14:35] One of the most extensive I've ever seen.

[00:14:37] Yeah, I was going to say that.

[00:14:38] I feel like that is the underestimate of the century.

[00:14:41] I don't even know how you explain how extensive this wine list was.

[00:14:44] It was a three-ring binder.

[00:14:46] Leather, beautiful.

[00:14:47] Like binder.

[00:14:49] Big binder.

[00:14:50] In every region and every price point you can imagine.

[00:14:55] Every price point, yeah.

[00:14:58] So, yeah, just an incredible meal.

[00:15:01] Felt like it was such a nice place to start our experience.

[00:15:06] And we had an incredible server.

[00:15:08] Chloe.

[00:15:08] Chloe.

[00:15:09] Shout out to her.

[00:15:10] She's precious.

[00:15:10] Took good care of us.

[00:15:12] Yes.

[00:15:13] I'm not going in any order in terms of other meals that we had.

[00:15:17] But I just want to make sure and stay on food because we're on food.

[00:15:21] We need to give kudos where kudos is due, right?

[00:15:24] Yes.

[00:15:25] So, we had a very yummy sandwich at the famous Sully's Steamer.

[00:15:31] So, we mentioned independent local shop or restaurants that are downtown.

[00:15:36] This is another one.

[00:15:37] So, you can dig into these hot, melty, delicious steamed bagel sandwiches.

[00:15:44] We got the experience of having Sully himself serve ours up.

[00:15:48] It was a super busy day.

[00:15:50] It was just kind of a wild sort of weekend around Greenville.

[00:15:54] So, all hands on deck.

[00:15:56] Are you Sully that started it all?

[00:15:58] And he's like, it's all hands on deck today.

[00:16:00] He had his name tag on that said Sully.

[00:16:03] They've got breakfast classics and the legendary Griswold is the one that I ordered.

[00:16:09] Yeah, yours was the best.

[00:16:10] Mine was great, but yours was, whew.

[00:16:13] It had meat, turkey.

[00:16:15] It was like perfectly sliced and shredded.

[00:16:20] Yes.

[00:16:20] Cheeses.

[00:16:22] Just the right bagel.

[00:16:24] It was so delicious.

[00:16:25] Yeah, and then we had a wonderful organic plant-based cold-pressed juice from the Southern Pressed Juice Company.

[00:16:35] If you've had a large meal and you want to kind of get a reboot after that, go to the Southern Pressed Juicery.

[00:16:42] Yeah.

[00:16:43] And get that wonderful healthy juice in you.

[00:16:46] Yeah, and they also had a nice little seating area if you want to just hang out and take a load off while you're there.

[00:16:52] I also want to mention one of my favorite things I put in my mouth was some Spanish tortilla at Paloma.

[00:17:01] Paloma is a restaurant bar that's part of AC Hotel, so it was really close to the courtyard where we were staying.

[00:17:08] You can enjoy some of the most talked about cocktails.

[00:17:13] But not a Paloma.

[00:17:14] But not a Paloma.

[00:17:16] I'm sure they would make you one, but it's not on the menu.

[00:17:18] That was funny.

[00:17:19] When I was looking over the cocktails, I'm like, but no Paloma.

[00:17:23] Very, very interesting.

[00:17:24] They described themselves as slightly Southern, slightly European, which we saw some of that in other spots too.

[00:17:32] We really did.

[00:17:33] Like a European sort of slant on things.

[00:17:35] But yeah, I was like, they have Spanish tortilla or tortilla española.

[00:17:39] Yeah, and that is just potatoes sort of stacked, almost like imagine.

[00:17:44] Really thin.

[00:17:45] Yeah, imagine the consistency or the look of like a quiche.

[00:17:48] It looks like that, but it's not egg-based.

[00:17:50] It's potato-based.

[00:17:52] And so you usually have some cheeses or something else.

[00:17:54] Was that one goat cheese?

[00:17:55] This one had truffled goat cheese and garlic aioli on the potatoes.

[00:18:02] It was way better than any Spanish tortilla I ever had in Spain.

[00:18:07] Well, it was delicious.

[00:18:08] That's for sure.

[00:18:10] Fun vibe.

[00:18:10] Great place to hang out for lunch, happy hour, dinner hour, cocktails.

[00:18:17] Just a really fun spot and very centrally located.

[00:18:20] We had Carmela's Cafe and Dessert Bar.

[00:18:25] Yum.

[00:18:25] Yum, yum, yum, yum.

[00:18:26] Now, this is also in Charleston.

[00:18:28] Yes.

[00:18:28] But I think there's just those two locations.

[00:18:31] And it is super cool.

[00:18:34] Like, again, like a European sort of feel too?

[00:18:38] 100% European feel.

[00:18:39] The hours were crazy.

[00:18:41] It was like breakfast to wee hours of the morning.

[00:18:44] Yeah.

[00:18:45] I don't know how they have staff for all that.

[00:18:47] Because they have a really great bar for cocktails, mocktails.

[00:18:52] They had boozy milkshakes.

[00:18:54] They had all kinds of really fun dessert options, sandwiches, savory sandwiches.

[00:19:03] But just a beautiful look to the place and very European.

[00:19:08] Very.

[00:19:09] And we even heard different languages.

[00:19:11] Different languages.

[00:19:11] Some people drinking their little tiny espressos.

[00:19:14] Which is so European.

[00:19:15] Yeah.

[00:19:16] I was like, I feel like I'm in another country right now.

[00:19:19] This is so cool.

[00:19:20] We both got a dessert, but I thought your pick was better.

[00:19:23] Pumpkin cheesecake for the win.

[00:19:25] Yeah.

[00:19:26] I got a chocolate peanut butter cake.

[00:19:29] It was good.

[00:19:30] Which was very good.

[00:19:31] But hard to compare against the yummy pumpkin cheesecake.

[00:19:34] That was so right.

[00:19:34] Which was just so in season too.

[00:19:36] Yeah.

[00:19:37] All kinds of dessert options though from a beautiful case.

[00:19:41] So, lovely spot to take a load off or get a recharge with some caffeine.

[00:19:47] Another fun place to get some caffeine and to walk around and enjoy the space was the M. Judson Booksellers.

[00:19:56] So, this is right in downtown, local independent bookstore located in their historic downtown courthouse.

[00:20:04] So, it's a bookshop, bookstore, local independent bookstore.

[00:20:08] They've also got an incredible little kitchen cafe called Camilla Kitchen.

[00:20:14] And we had a...

[00:20:16] The best savory scone.

[00:20:17] Oh my goodness.

[00:20:18] I just went ahead and copied you.

[00:20:19] Because I saw what you ordered.

[00:20:20] It was a prosciutto...

[00:20:22] And gouda.

[00:20:23] Gouda.

[00:20:24] Yeah.

[00:20:24] So delicious.

[00:20:26] And I was like, I'm not really sure how I'm going to do any better than that.

[00:20:30] So, I'll have the same.

[00:20:31] And yeah, just fun experience to walk around, mill around a coffee shop or a bookstore and drink your coffee.

[00:20:40] And they had a really good selection of titles.

[00:20:43] Really good kids area.

[00:20:50] But also right next to visit Greenville.

[00:20:52] Oh, that's true.

[00:20:53] Good point.

[00:20:54] Yeah.

[00:20:54] So, that would actually be a good place to start your trip.

[00:20:58] And now I would like to tell you all about the best Brussels sprouts I've ever had in my life.

[00:21:02] Oh, my lord.

[00:21:04] They came from the Lazy Goat.

[00:21:06] Yes, that's right.

[00:21:07] The restaurant's called the Lazy Goat.

[00:21:09] And they're known for homemade pasta.

[00:21:12] And that's all that we really were hearing people.

[00:21:13] Oh, if you're going there, get the pasta.

[00:21:15] Okay.

[00:21:16] Well, it's Mediterranean theme.

[00:21:18] Yes.

[00:21:19] And right on the beautiful Reedy River.

[00:21:22] You've got a great view.

[00:21:24] You can sit inside or outside.

[00:21:25] It's really pretty, the way it's situated in downtown.

[00:21:30] But man, these Brussels sprouts, y'all.

[00:21:34] I still want to copy it, but I don't know that I'll be able to do it.

[00:21:37] The real, you know, game changer was the glaze.

[00:21:43] Right?

[00:21:43] It was somewhat like a balsamic.

[00:21:46] That's the closest word you probably could use to describe it.

[00:21:50] But it was...

[00:21:51] It seems like they were cooked in it.

[00:21:52] Yeah.

[00:21:53] And then it had some manchego.

[00:21:56] Yes.

[00:21:57] And was it a little bit of ham or something?

[00:22:00] Yeah.

[00:22:01] Little pieces, small pieces.

[00:22:03] Yeah.

[00:22:03] Yeah.

[00:22:03] But it was that glaze in that...

[00:22:06] Well, it was all the flavor together.

[00:22:08] Yeah.

[00:22:08] But we joked and said, just whatever else we've ordered, cook it in that skillet.

[00:22:12] Because that glaze, you could just, yeah, lick the skillet.

[00:22:17] We really did.

[00:22:18] Lainey was having some chicken and she was like, I just wondered if maybe the chef could just cook my chicken in that same skillet.

[00:22:27] Because it was the best.

[00:22:29] They're also known for lots of just shareable dishes like fried goat cheese.

[00:22:33] They've got a really robust charcuterie plate you can get there.

[00:22:37] But great, great cocktails.

[00:22:39] I had a really fun fall cocktail that they had just rolled out a new seasonal list of beverages.

[00:22:46] All kinds of mule options.

[00:22:48] Yes, they did.

[00:22:49] Which I always like because they're so nice and cold.

[00:22:52] They did.

[00:22:52] You're right.

[00:22:53] All kinds of fun.

[00:22:54] So yeah, that was a really great spot.

[00:22:56] And then there's just not enough meals to have everything that you want unless you're there for the summer.

[00:23:02] So we also really wanted to visit but did not get to just because of time.

[00:23:07] Passerelle Bistro looked really wonderful.

[00:23:10] Little French Bistro.

[00:23:12] I know.

[00:23:12] I wanted to hit that one.

[00:23:14] And we wanted to visit Roost.

[00:23:16] We were going to do dinner there one night but we just didn't.

[00:23:18] I heard it was really good too.

[00:23:19] Didn't get to roost.

[00:23:20] So sorry next time.

[00:23:21] And they have a Hall's Chop House as well which is also out of Charleston.

[00:23:25] I'm just really impressed with their whole restaurant group.

[00:23:30] Yeah.

[00:23:30] So I thought I would mention that even though we didn't do Hall's in our Greenville trip.

[00:23:35] But if you want a nice meal you can't go wrong there.

[00:23:38] Yeah.

[00:23:38] And just there's probably just some foods in general to be looking for right?

[00:23:42] Yeah.

[00:23:42] So I'm always interested in what kind of is organic to an area.

[00:23:47] What did they come up with?

[00:23:49] What are they famous for?

[00:23:50] So a couple of things that Greenville's known for is sweet potato pie and sweet potato cake.

[00:23:56] Yeah.

[00:23:56] I have heard a great place to try that is the Brick Street Cafe.

[00:24:01] And they even have sweet potato cupcakes as well if you just one person.

[00:24:05] Wow.

[00:24:05] And you just want to have a little try.

[00:24:06] Yeah.

[00:24:07] Also in this area they're known for stecca bread.

[00:24:10] And that's S-T-E-C-C-A.

[00:24:13] Stecca bread.

[00:24:15] It's kind of like a focaccia but shaped more like a baguette and often infused with olive oil.

[00:24:23] So you can have a sandwich on it.

[00:24:25] You can dip it in a soup.

[00:24:28] Dip it in herbed olive oil.

[00:24:30] Yeah.

[00:24:31] Be really good with that.

[00:24:32] Yeah.

[00:24:32] And I heard Swamp Rabbit Cafe is a great place to try that bread.

[00:24:38] So that's something you might want to do.

[00:24:39] And if you're a cook that's wanting to know more about what Greenville has to offer,

[00:24:45] there's a store called The Cook's Station.

[00:24:48] They do cooking classes there.

[00:24:51] It's a kitchen store but they also have classes.

[00:24:54] You can have a glass of wine there.

[00:24:57] So that would be a fun stop for any of the chefs or aspiring chefs like me.

[00:25:03] Yeah.

[00:25:03] That's right.

[00:25:04] Well, you mentioned Swamp Rabbit.

[00:25:07] Yeah.

[00:25:07] That sounds so weird but that's an actual critter in the area.

[00:25:11] It is.

[00:25:11] It's an actual critter and actually they named their 28-mile multi-use trail the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

[00:25:19] 28 miles.

[00:25:20] That is incredible.

[00:25:22] Through a city?

[00:25:23] Yeah.

[00:25:25] Like I'm thinking...

[00:25:26] Walking, biking.

[00:25:27] Anybody that has ever trained for like a half marathon or a marathon, one of the difficult

[00:25:33] parts is finding routes.

[00:25:35] Finding a safe route.

[00:25:36] Yeah.

[00:25:36] To run that much.

[00:25:37] So you don't want to just run on a track for just, you know, circles.

[00:25:40] Good Lord.

[00:25:41] So to have a 28-mile trail, that's incredible.

[00:25:45] It's very...

[00:25:45] It's won awards.

[00:25:47] It's very well kept.

[00:25:48] It's just, like you said, an incredible bike trail.

[00:25:53] They have more than 750,000 locals and visitors that use this trail every year.

[00:25:59] And it's right there by the Reedy River.

[00:26:01] Yeah.

[00:26:02] It also runs near Unity Park, which is Greenville's newest 60-acre park.

[00:26:09] Sits previously on some land that they've developed.

[00:26:14] The John, our tour guide that I mentioned at the front end of the episode, he took us

[00:26:17] by there.

[00:26:18] And this urban green space includes playgrounds, pedestrian bridges, splash pads, walking trails,

[00:26:25] there's a visitor center, baseball field, basketball courts.

[00:26:29] Ample green space.

[00:26:30] Oh, yeah.

[00:26:31] Ample.

[00:26:32] Its center is going to be a 110-foot observation tower that we could very much see was a work

[00:26:40] in progress.

[00:26:41] But it's going to be so cool.

[00:26:43] And that can be seen from countless vantage points across the city.

[00:26:48] And it's going to give 360-degree views of the whole downtown and beyond, including

[00:26:54] really stunning views of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains, because we're right here in

[00:26:59] Blue Ridge Mountains.

[00:27:00] That's right.

[00:27:01] So that's Unity Park and the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

[00:27:05] Get outdoors.

[00:27:06] Go see the falls on the Reedy.

[00:27:09] That's the waterfalls that we talked about.

[00:27:12] Go walk on the Liberty Bridge.

[00:27:14] That's a 340-foot curved bridge that's held in the air by a single suspension cable.

[00:27:21] It's not scary, though.

[00:27:23] It's not.

[00:27:24] Greenville has 46 city parks.

[00:27:27] That's incredible.

[00:27:29] Incredible.

[00:27:30] Over 400 acres.

[00:27:32] Yeah.

[00:27:32] I looked up the population of Greenville, and it's smaller than where we live here in Franklin,

[00:27:37] Tennessee.

[00:27:38] And it has a college, Furman.

[00:27:39] Yeah.

[00:27:40] It has an airport, GSP, that Southwest flies directly to from Nashville.

[00:27:45] It was a 45-minute flight into this wonderful small airport.

[00:27:49] It was glorious.

[00:27:50] Yeah.

[00:27:50] I would totally do that again.

[00:27:53] It kind of made me want to go Franklin.

[00:27:55] Get with it.

[00:27:56] I thought we were doing pretty good, but I don't know.

[00:27:59] We may need to grab some other city planners over there.

[00:28:04] A couple other places just to mention in terms of getting outdoors, Paris Mountain State Park.

[00:28:09] I believe you pronounce this, Konsti Nature Preserve, which is over 400 acres that are recognized

[00:28:18] as an important bird area of global significance.

[00:28:22] And they've received some statewide designation for the wildlife sanctuary.

[00:28:28] Ooh, I'd like to say that.

[00:28:30] They have.

[00:28:31] Yeah.

[00:28:32] It's said that they have a diverse array of wildlife habitats, that they're home to thousands

[00:28:36] of plant and wildlife species, people of all ages come and love this.

[00:28:41] You know what's interesting about North and South Carolina is they have mountains, beaches.

[00:28:47] So I can see how there would be a variety of birds because of the different terrains.

[00:28:53] Yeah.

[00:28:53] You're right.

[00:28:54] You're right.

[00:28:55] Okay.

[00:28:56] We've eaten.

[00:28:57] We've gotten outdoors.

[00:28:58] Let's go back inside and talk about some museums.

[00:29:02] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:02] So there are, like we said on the front end, this is...

[00:29:06] You can tell a very artsy and art forward developing sort of community.

[00:29:12] Yeah.

[00:29:12] There's galleries at Art Crossing.

[00:29:15] So you can stroll along the Reedy River and get inspired by some of the studios of more

[00:29:19] than a dozen local artists who call this section of the River Place home.

[00:29:25] So this is called the galleries at Art Crossing.

[00:29:27] There is Heritage Green, which is an urban arts and cultural campus.

[00:29:34] And it's home to Up Country, excuse me, Up Country History Museum, the Children's Museum,

[00:29:41] and the Hughes Library and the Greenville County Museum of Art.

[00:29:45] That's their big one.

[00:29:47] Yeah.

[00:29:47] So they're located in a former Coca-Cola bottling plant on Heritage Green.

[00:29:54] The Signal Music Museum is home to the world famous Carolina Clavier Collection.

[00:30:03] And they've got...

[00:30:04] That looks like a fun for music lovers spot.

[00:30:06] Yeah.

[00:30:07] Yeah.

[00:30:07] So lots of options there at Heritage Green.

[00:30:10] And then Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum, which is located in the house where Jackson lived,

[00:30:17] a little brick home.

[00:30:19] John, our tour guide, drove us by there.

[00:30:21] He lived and died there, follows his humble childhood working in a local textile mill through

[00:30:27] the years of playing in a textile league baseball team.

[00:30:31] How funny is that?

[00:30:32] His extraordinary career in professional baseball and his later years.

[00:30:37] So the museum displays artifacts, photographs, film, books, other places, other items of

[00:30:44] interest associated with his life.

[00:30:46] And just a really fun place to stop for any...

[00:30:50] Baseball lovers.

[00:30:52] Baseball lovers.

[00:30:52] They got something for everybody.

[00:30:53] Yeah.

[00:30:55] There's also the Peace Center, which is a performing arts center composed of a concert hall, a theater,

[00:31:01] an amphitheater.

[00:31:02] It's adjacent to the Falls Park, and they host over 300 events a year, including Broadway shows,

[00:31:11] classical music.

[00:31:12] The Lion King was going on when we were there, and it was literally right across from the Courtyard Marriott.

[00:31:19] So if you are a lover of Broadway shows or classical music, you might want to see what's going on at the Peace Center.

[00:31:26] And the Peace Center, we thought that was just, you know, they have Unity Park.

[00:31:29] So the Peace Center, like...

[00:31:32] Oh yeah, we thought it was joy.

[00:31:33] But no, that's a family's name who donated the money, an integral family in the Greenville area.

[00:31:40] Yeah.

[00:31:40] The Peace Family.

[00:31:42] You'll see a lot of art in just public places as well.

[00:31:45] Like there's currently more than 100 works of art featured as part of, in some way, shape, or form in Greenville.

[00:31:51] And then they've got these mice on Maine, as they call them, which are like these little mice sculptures to keep kids engaged and looking at what's out there.

[00:32:02] Yeah, you saw one, right?

[00:32:04] I did.

[00:32:05] Yeah.

[00:32:05] So that's really fun just to...

[00:32:07] Yeah.

[00:32:08] You probably don't really want to see mice in a downtown city, but in this case...

[00:32:12] The little cute sculptures are fun.

[00:32:13] In this case, you do.

[00:32:14] Yeah.

[00:32:15] And I think there's...

[00:32:16] I'll put a link in the show notes.

[00:32:18] I think there's...

[00:32:18] In this link, you can get some clues to give your kids.

[00:32:22] Especially if you've got some little ones and some adults that could use a hint or two.

[00:32:27] So that's fun as well.

[00:32:29] There's a Saturday market, which is every Saturday within season.

[00:32:35] I'll put a link in our show notes to...

[00:32:37] If it's seasonal, but...

[00:32:39] Local artisans and...

[00:32:40] Yeah, 8 a.m. to noon, they shut down one of the main...

[00:32:44] Like a sector of the main street.

[00:32:46] Yeah, they've got like 75 different...

[00:32:48] Those are always fun to make.

[00:32:50] Artisans there.

[00:32:52] And just a...

[00:32:53] It's right across from the bookstore that we mentioned earlier.

[00:32:56] Get a coffee.

[00:32:58] Go look at some books.

[00:32:59] Walk outside.

[00:33:02] Yeah.

[00:33:03] Just a lot of fun to be had.

[00:33:05] Oh, the other thing that we really wanted to do, but you know, there's just not enough time.

[00:33:09] You can do candle making classes.

[00:33:12] Oh, yeah.

[00:33:12] At the Greenville Soy Candle Company.

[00:33:16] And I'm really bummed that we didn't get to do that.

[00:33:19] But I can already tell you that we'll be back at some point.

[00:33:22] So hopefully we can add that to our next agenda.

[00:33:26] Because that sounds so fun.

[00:33:28] Well, there's lots of cute shopping to be had in Greenville as well.

[00:33:33] Yes.

[00:33:33] They have some of my favorite small chains.

[00:33:39] Ballard Designs.

[00:33:40] Mass General Store.

[00:33:42] Yes.

[00:33:42] Always love that.

[00:33:43] Spartina 449.

[00:33:44] I've mentioned that.

[00:33:46] Jay McLaughlin.

[00:33:47] Anyway, those are small chains.

[00:33:49] But they have some independents too.

[00:33:51] Yes.

[00:33:51] That we really enjoyed.

[00:33:53] The Vintage Now Modern.

[00:33:55] Loved that one.

[00:33:55] That was super cool.

[00:33:57] We could tell we were going to love that one from the outside.

[00:33:59] It looked really cool.

[00:34:00] And I've mentioned this on the podcast before.

[00:34:02] If a place carries Annie Sloan chalk paint, I'm probably going to like the shop.

[00:34:07] Because for some reason, it's like a style of items that I'm going to like.

[00:34:12] It's true.

[00:34:12] There was an adorable boutique called Pink Bee.

[00:34:16] Yes.

[00:34:17] So cute.

[00:34:17] They carry a lot of the Lily Pulitzer and other brands as well.

[00:34:22] But cute jewelry, cute clothes.

[00:34:25] Yeah.

[00:34:25] Good for you or your gift purchases that you might need to take home.

[00:34:30] Samantha Grace was another cute boutique we really liked.

[00:34:34] They had some clothing, lots of gifts and jewelry.

[00:34:38] Lots of cute things in there.

[00:34:41] What else would you mention?

[00:34:42] River Street Sweets.

[00:34:44] Oh, yeah.

[00:34:46] Glorious Pralines.

[00:34:47] They'll let you try one too.

[00:34:48] Yes.

[00:34:49] Which is going to make you want to buy one.

[00:34:51] But that's why they do it.

[00:34:53] Caramel apples and all kinds of yummy treats, sweet treats.

[00:34:57] Really cute kids toy store that is fun to walk through.

[00:35:02] Just a, I don't know.

[00:35:03] Lots of Legos.

[00:35:04] Remember days of old when vintage toys existed.

[00:35:08] And yeah.

[00:35:09] Just really, a really pleasant experience.

[00:35:12] We thought it would be fun for a girls trip, for a couple's anniversary, or bring the whole

[00:35:18] family at some point.

[00:35:20] I mean, it's, the possibilities are endless.

[00:35:22] Versatile.

[00:35:24] It really is.

[00:35:25] And I'll just love to the fact that you don't have to have a car.

[00:35:29] Airport was easy.

[00:35:30] Yeah.

[00:35:31] What's not to love about that?

[00:35:32] Yeah.

[00:35:33] So I want to give a huge thank you to Visit Greenville for having us.

[00:35:38] They helped plan a lot of our itinerary.

[00:35:41] And that is so wonderful to just have a local, yeah, a local give you the guide.

[00:35:48] And they have all the resources to help you plan your trip.

[00:35:50] So I'll put a link to their site in our show notes.

[00:35:54] If you have any questions, you can reach out to them.

[00:35:57] But put Greenville on your list, y'all.

[00:35:59] Fall break, summer break.

[00:36:01] Any break will do.

[00:36:02] Three day weekend.

[00:36:03] Yeah.

[00:36:04] It's definitely worthwhile.

[00:36:06] So you'll have a great week.

[00:36:08] We'll see you back here next time.

[00:36:10] Peace be with y'all.