The other day my dear friend, C.A. and I went on a day trip to Florence, Alabama. We arrived in the late morning and our first stop of course, was for coffee at the nearby Rivertown Coffee Company.
Rivertown is a quaint little coffee shop where you can get some delicious coffee and food. C.A. and I both had their house specialty drink – an espresso with vanilla, honey and cinnamon.
After we satisfied our coffee and appetite, we began exploring the many shops around historic Downtown Florence. One of the coolest places we went to, was the Court Street Market where we not only soaked in the rustic beauty, but we also got a tour by the owner, Carmen Erdmann. Court Street Market is the home of The Carriage of Court, where you can get wine, cheeses, flowers and more.
You can also get fresh, local produce from the in-house farmer’s market, Jack-O-Lantern Farms. The Court Street Market will soon house a coffee shop (and roaster!) juice bar and more. The back room is full of light and can house special events and celebrations. I absolutely loved the rustic charm of this building, with the exposed brick and beautiful wood. C.A. and I are already planning another trip for when the construction is completed on the rest of it.
After exploring the downstairs, Carmen led us to the second floor to meet the businesses upstairs.
The first, was designer Nadene – owner of Idyll-Wilde. She is a clothing designer, and amazing creative. She teaches workshops on a number of skills, including hand dying with indigo.
The other business upstairs is Earthside, a natural parenting shop. Not only can you find handmade products for natural parenting, but they also have a teaching and support element and a section of natural herbs and herbal products from Mothering Herbs. I was able to pick up some sample sized bottles of essential oil blends to take home and try in my diffuser.
After our tour of the markethouse, we continued down the road, visiting stores and window shopping. Then we came to Trowbridges.
Trowbridges is a vintage ice cream shop that has been there since 1918, and we were told that we just had to go in and try their orange pineapple ice cream. It was delicious.
Moving on, we headed around the corner and came to Ye Old General Store.
The first thing that I noticed when I walked up to the store was the hilarious signage.
Inside the walls were lined with shelves of wares all the way to the ceilings, and every where that you looked, there were photos of musicians with who I assume to be the owner of the store. You see, Florence and Muscle Shoals are right next to each other – only separated by the Tennessee River. This area is famous for the music that has been created here over the years, with artists from all over coming to capture that “sound” of the shoals. One of the celebrities that has visited the store? Goober! I just had to snap a picture with the autographed life-sized poster.
Even the graffiti in the alley speaks to the musical heritage of this area.
After visiting all of the shops, we decided to grab a late lunch/early dinner before getting back on the road. Neither of us were terribly hungry, so we didn’t want to get a huge meal from one of the many appealing restaurants nearby, and we opted to visit the Chicago Café.
We stepped into the little shop to see a sitting room lined with album covers – fitting for the history here.
I grabbed a “Reuben Dog” and C.A. got a classic “Chicago Dog.” That hit the spot!
A quick “selfie” before heading home.
We had a wonderful time and will be visiting Florence again!
Want to watch the vlog about our trip? You can watch it here:
Ham & Potato Gratin
Next time I’m in Florence I am going to check out these downtown sites – I have not spent any time in the historic downtown. Thanks for the great info!
“Goober,” George Lindsay, was a native of Alabama. He was born in Fairfield, grew up in Jasper, attended college in Florence, and is buried in Jasper.
Thanks Susan! We had a great time there.