Recently, I was in a pleasant conundrum. I had a Delta companion certificate that was soon expiring, and simply needed to pick a place in the contiguous 48 states to go. I had heard rumblings of a city experiencing a revival: Greenville, South Carolina, so I booked the ticket and went.
The plan upon arrival was to mill about downtown, but after walking into a bakery, there was a food tour about to start. I asked if I could join and was told yes. Sometimes the best experiences are unplanned.
The bakery was actually serving the first thing on the food tour: macaroni with scallions and fried garlic. Simply delectable.
The next stop on the food tour was in a fancier setting. The course was steak and vegetables.
Frankly speaking, I was full after this. But this was only the halfway point of the tour. The next stop was a grits bar. Essentially several flavors of grits with biscuits and chicken. I somehow managed to make room in my stomach.
Finally, the last stop on the food tour was dessert, of course. It was one of the more creative desserts I’ve had in my lifetime: fresh berries on top of a flavored icing of sorts. Thankfully it was light as my stomach was at its saturation point.
The guide was nice enough to show us downtown Greenville as well, along with a short history lesson. Downtown Greenville was in a bad way until fairly recently, when investment turned it around. It is now a buzzing hub of activity.
Also, it is one of the few American cities with a waterfall in the city center.
There is also a pedestrian bridge.
After several hours, the tour finally ended. I had read about a hot air balloon festival taking place, so quickly drove there before dark. The balloons were actually locked in place so they could only rise a few feet, but it was still a stimulating experience.
From here it was off to bed, as the next day’s destination was one I had been dreaming about for a long time: The Blue Ridge Mountains.