Charleston Crepes and Farmer's Market

Our last day in Charleston, we were afforded a unique opportunity.  In the square right across the street from our hotel, the Charleston Farmers' Market was setting up bright and early that morning. Apparently its one of the largest farmers markets in the state of South Carolina. We have a few pretty nice farmers markets up here in Northern Virginia but even ours seem like small potatoes compared to this one.

the view of the market from our hotel room

Pablo is ready for breakfast

First of all, its huge. Not only in size and number of vendors and farmers, but in variety of things offered. There are over 100 vendors comprised of farmers, bakers, artisans (both in food and craft), restaurant/food truck vendors, and even performers.

We decided this would be the place for breakfast.  But what to choose from?  Pablo helped us choose the Charleston Crepe Company. Hubby opted for a savory one and I got a sweet one.

Savory: potatoes, bacon, cheese, onions...

Sweet: nutella, strawberries, powdered sugar... I think Pablo favored the sweet one!

Both were super delicious, hot and tasty! And the staff was friendly and quick-serving! A perfect start to the day!

pony rides

Pablo met an otter friend

Aside from all the yummy food and fresh vegetables, there was a wide variety of artisans from glassware to baskets to pet products to jewelry and much more.

There was a young girl playing violin and a tumbling dance crew. It was quite exciting!

And as an after-breakfast snack, we had a fresh, home-made popsicle...great healthy breakfast right? Hey, at least there was some fruit in there! Blackberry mojito flavored!!

Donuts and History

 Our third day in Charleston, we had planned to go to Fort Sumter. Since we knew it was going to be super hot and we needed to get there early, we opted for a quick light breakfast. A short walk from our hotel was a cute little donut shop called Glazed Gourmet.

A small local business thriving in downtown Charleston offering yeasty deliciousness with unique flavors!

We chose three of them to share...Blackberry, Cinnamon Sugar Twist, and Maple Bacon.

The cinnamon twist was light and airy and sugary!  

The Maple Bacon was unique. The maple was subtle, which is good because neither one of us are maple fans and sometimes it can be overly sweet and takes over all the other flavors. The bacon also was a bit subtle. Just enough bacon to get the bacon flavor without it overwhelming the donut and making it sickeningly rich.  There was even bacon in the donut as well as on top.

Our favorite though was the Blackberry.  Neither one of us are big on fruit desserts or fruit-filled donuts. But this was tasty!! Real blackberry, seeds and all, in the beautiful purple glaze!! Fresh and fruity! Yumma!!

After our donuts, we hiked a taxi to Fort Sumter. Well, technically we hiked a taxi to the ferry that was going to take us to Fort Sumter. The fort is actually out in the middle of the water where the Cooper River and the Atlantic Ocean meet.

Fort Sumter ferry

Approaching the fort

It was pretty hot that day but we were prepared with lots of water and light clothing.  The ferry ride was fun and had a refreshing breeze as we sailed across the water.

lots of cannons

Once we got there, we learned a lot of cool history.  Fort Sumter was where the first shot of the Civil War took place.  Friday, April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter and continued firing for 34 straight hours until the fort was evacuated.

On the way back to the harbor, we even saw a few dolphins, one of which was guiding the ferry back to the dock. Now off to lunch!!

 Glazed Gourmet Donuts are definitely Pablo approved with 4 ants!