There are all sorts of faiths buried in Bonaventure--Catholic, Protestant denominations, Jewish. This gave a lot of interesting variety to the graves. Also, the hydrangea bushes there bloom the most vivid shade of indigo I've ever seen. We were trying to decide if this was due to the sand, the trees, the headstones, or the dead bodies.
It was interesting to see all the different monuments. I was blown away by some of what people have chose over the years to have erected for themselves or their loved ones. It was also neat to see some of the epitaphs that folks had chosen. Some were a little on the self righteous side, others were sweet, others thoughtful. I especially liked "The measure of a man's life is the spending of it, not its length." It was just so fascinating to see the different ways that folks have buried, remembered, and revered their dead in that cemetery over the years and centuries.
After Bonaventure, we opted for a trolley tour of the city, and did not choose well when picking a trolley company. Without getting into details, I'll just say that when visiting Savannah, do NOT go with Ogelthorpe Tours, or old Savannah Tours for that matter--go with Old Town Trolley Tours.
We ate lunch at the Mellow Mushroom, at the recommendation of a friend of mine. Fabulous food, and decor that can best be described in two words--Yellow Submarine. Enough said.
After lunch, we headed over to the Catholic cathedral of St. John the Baptist. What a treat! I stopped short when I walked in the door, as it so strongly resembled the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame, I thought I'd walked through some teleporting door and had arrived in Indiana somehow. It was amazing!! But the best part was when I walked over to the lady behind the information desk, and told her that I'd graduated from ND, and this church very closely resembled the basilica there. She had to be my parents' age, and she informed me (in her stately Georgia drawl) that her father had graduated from Notre Dame, and yes, this church does very much resemble Sacred Heart. In fact, she went so far as to say she thinks Sacred Heart is prettier. I said I was trying to be impartial, but she said "why!?" She said that it had been her father's home, and it was the prettier church. Gotta love the Notre Dame family!!!
But the church was gorgeous. Even more special to me was the fact that the stained glass was made in Innsbruck! And the stations of the cross were carved in Bavaria as well. Too beautiful! They've spent something like $12 million restoring the church, and while they got a lot of help with it, they still have about $275k in associated debt and interest to pay off. I'd say it was worth it though. Stay tuned for pictures at some point.
After that we headed to the birthplace (and sometime home) of Girl Scouts of American founder Juliette Gordon Low. It was neat to see, but I have to admit the tour was a little on the short side, and not incredibly informative. But they did have quite a bit of the family's original furnishings and belongings. It was also nice to get to see inside a great Savannah home.
Finally, we headed down to the river to walk along and pop into some of the shops there. Once we were shopped out, we headed to Kevin Barry's Irish Pub, right along the river, for dinner, and what turned out to be an AMAZING evening (see other blog entry devoted just to that experience).
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