the REAL historic Charleston!

So, every time I walk past the sign in the town square here that says 'Historic Charleston', I have a little giggle to myself. Because I now know where the real historic Charleston is...and it certainly is not in Illinois.

How do I know this, you may ask? Well, for starters, there are definitely no horse and carriage tours around Charleston, Illinois...but in Charleston, South Carolina, they run every single day! We tried to get on one, but we didn't end up doing it.

This was possibly the coolest fire station ever. The photo is dodgy because I took it out of a car window...but just imagine every old-school fire station you've ever seen in a movie...complete with old-school fire engines...and this was it!! One of the fire trucks even had a Christmas wreath on the front :)

The main street. Isn't it just so picturesque? I can't believe how well the town's history has been preserved, without looking too old and run-down, but at the same time not being too modern and ruining the historic look of the town. They even had adorable little general stores and specialty shops and cafes along here...along with a 'Daughters of Confederacy' museum. I definitely felt like I was in the South!

This is inside one of the historic hotels, I don't remember its name. But it was all marble and crystal and chandeliers and elegance...there was a circular drive outside where guests could drop their cars for the valet to park...we saw Aston-Martins, Porsches, and BMW's just chilling outside. If I was not a student travelling on a budget, I would definitely stay here!

The shopping street district...we had Louis Vuitton and Chanel mixed right in with Victoria's Secret and Banana Republic. Again, if there weren't cars in the street I might have felt like I was back in the 1900s! I could not get over how pretty this place is. Maybe I fell in love with it because it was actually warm also!

A row of houses near Battery Park and the ocean...I almost thought there was going to be people dressed in 1800s clothes come sweeping out of these lovely old houses. I'm sure Jess and Sean were laughing at me, because I stopped to take a photo of pretty much every second house.

Me outside one of those beautiful houses...I wish I could share all my photos, but we'd definitely be here all day. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the real historic Charleston. I almost think I went to the wrong Charleston for study...I fell in love with South Carolina!