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Visiter Savannah en 4 jours

Pour un voyage de quelques jours, les villes de Toronto, Chicago, New York et Miami viennent rapidement en tête. Ma mère et moi étions à la recherche d’une destination originale, abordable, riche en histoire et qui pourrait être un sujet intéressant pour la photographie. Suite à quelques recherches, nous avons choisi Savannah, GA!

Comme c’était une destination nouvelle, j’ai fait plusieurs recherches. Pinterest a notamment été une source d’inspiration, et par le fait même, l’endroit idéal pour garder en signets au sujet des endroits à visiter.

À propos de Savannah

Située dans l’état de la Georgie, à deux heures au sud de Charleston et à 4 heures d’Atlanta, la ville de Savannah est une alternative intéressante pour les amateurs d’histoire et d’architecture (et les romantiques!).

Savannah était la première ville et la capitale de la province de Géorgie, dernière des Treize colonies britanniques. La ville a été fondée en février 1733 par le général James Edward Oglethorpe et les cent vingt passagers anglais et écossais du navire Anne.  Savannah reste même aujourd’hui une des villes les plus diversifiées et cosmopolites du Sud. Un peu plus de la moitié de la population communale (57 %) est d’origine afro-américaine.  – Source: Wikipedia

Jour 1

Dès notre arrivée, vers 18h, on embarque dans un taxi en destination pour de notre hôtel, La Quinta Inn et Suites. Rien d’extravagant comme hébergement, pas trop cher, qui offrait un déjeuner le matin et qui était situé près des endroits à visiter le lendemain (à moins de 15 minutes de Wormsloe et à 30 minutes de Tybee Island).

Pour souper, le choix ne manquait pas! J’avais lu que plusieurs bons restaurants avaient élu domicile dans le quartier Starland. Après quelques validations sur Yelp et Google, nous nous sommes dirigées au restaurant l’Atlantic Eatery: une superbe ambiance, un bon service et des plats savoureux!

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Pour terminer notre première journée, on a marché quelques kilomètres dans la ville avant de retourner à l’hôtel. On a d’ailleurs visité le Victorian District, Forsynth Park et le fabuleux hôtel Mansion on Forsyth de nuit.

Jour 2

Nous avons été ambitieuse pour notre 2e journée.

Au programme: Wormsloe, Isle of Hope, Bonaventure Cimentery, Tybee Island Lighthouse, Tybee Island Pier, Fort Pulaski et River Street!

On a terminé la journée au bord de River Street, à regarder le coucher du soleil et à faire du shopping comme tous les autres touristes. D’ailleurs, ça ressemble étrangement au Vieux-Québec cet endroit… Nous avons d’ailleurs transféré au B Savannah Historic Hotel pour nos deux dernières nuits afin de profiter pleinement des charmes de la ville!

Recommandations de restaurants et bars:

Jour 3

Pour notre troisième journée à Savannah, nous avons parcouru le quartier historique, la végétation et les maisons colorées s’y côtoient fièrement. À tout cela s’ajoute plus de 22 “squares” (parcs), des églises à tous les coins de rue et des trottoirs de briques.

On a profité de ces heures de marches pour faire du shopping sur la rue Broughton et déguster la légendaire crème glacée Leopold (MIAM!).

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Recommandations de restaurants et bars:

Jour 4

Comme notre vol était en fin d’après-midi et que la météo s’annonçait incertaine, on a gardé les musées et un tour de maison historique pour notre dernière journée.

Plusieurs sites historiques appartiennent désormais au Musée Telfair, dont la maison Owens-Thomas, le Telfair Academy et le Musée d’arts Jepson. Donc, pour le prix d’une entrée (20$), vous pouvez visiter les trois endroits!

La maison Owens-Thomas vaut particulièrement le détour puisque la reconstitution historique du décor est magnifique. Le tour guidé permet aussi d’en apprendre au sujet de l’architecture et de la décoration de l’époque.

Sur le chemin en direction des autres musées Telfair, je vous suggère aussi de vous arrêter au pavillon d’administration du Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) et de la boutique.

Recommandations de restaurants et bars:

En choisissant un vol en fin d’après-midi, nous avons évité le trafic et, en moins de 20 minutes, nous étions arrivés à l’aéroport. Comme c’est un petit aéroport, il n’y a pas grand chose à faire. On en a profité pour faire un retour sur nos derniers quatre jours… et commencé la planification d’un prochain voyage!

Bon à savoir

Conseil: éviter de voyager le vendredi et le samedi, car les coûts seront 1.5X à 2X plus élevés!

  • Vol: Il faut compter entre 350$ et 500$ CAD par personne pour un vol aller-retour, avec au moins une escale à Philadelphie, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington ou New York.
  • Hébergement: Pour les hôtels, il est possible de réserver une chambre dans le quartier historique (130$-200$ CAD/nuit) ou dans les quartiers plus éloignés du centre-ville (80$-150$ CAD/nuit). AirBnB est aussi une option intéressante (100-150$ CAD/nuit).
  • Transport: La réservation d’une voiture est aussi suggérée si vous désirez sortir de la ville et mettre les pieds dans le sable! Le centre-ville est à 20 minutes des hôtels situés en retrait, donc un trajet d’environ 15$USD avec Uber.

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5 TED Talks to Watch (and listen!)

Elizabeth Gilbert was once an “unpublished diner waitress,” devastated by rejection letters. And yet, in the wake of the success of ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ she found herself identifying strongly with her former self. With beautiful insight, Gilbert reflects on why success can be as disorienting as failure and offers a simple — though hard — way to carry on, regardless of outcomes.

Why do people succeed? Is it because they’re smart? Or are they just lucky? Neither. Analyst Richard St. John condenses years of interviews into an unmissable 3-minute slideshow on the real secrets of success.

The world is full of leadership programs, but the best way to learn how to lead might be right under your nose. In this clear, candid talk, Roselinde Torres describes 25 years observing truly great leaders at work, and shares the three simple but crucial questions would-be company chiefs need to ask to thrive in the future.

What if you knew what your coworkers really thought about you and what they were really like? Ray Dalio makes the business case for using radical transparency and algorithmic decision-making to create an idea meritocracy where people can speak up and say what they really think — even calling out the boss is fair game. Learn more about how these strategies helped Dalio create one of the world’s most successful hedge funds and how you might harness the power of data-driven group decision-making.

Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.

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10 aptitudes d’un bon leader selon Pauline Marois

En avril dernier, lorsque je me suis inscrite à une certification de 6 jours à l’Institut du Leadership de Montréal, je ne m’étais pas arrêtée à la liste des invités spéciaux. Alors quelle surprise j’ai eu à l’annonce de la visite de Pauline Marois à titre d’invité spéciale dès le premier jour!

Première femme ayant occupé le poste de première ministre du Québec, première femme à diriger le Parti québécois, ayant été ministre de plus de neuf ministères, Pauline Marois respire, vit, réfléchit, aime profondément le Québec et son peuple. –Radio-Canada

Ayant passé plus de 40 années de sa vie en politique, Mme Marois nous a partagé ses réflexions sur le rôle de leader. Voici mon interprétation de son témoignage:

  1. Avoir des convictions: Prendre conscience de la perspective de tous et projeter sa vision dans le temps
  2. Mobiliser son équipe: Écouter, observer et analyser pour prendre les meilleures décisions
  3. Inspirer la confiance: Gagner le respect par l’intégrité et l’authenticité
  4. Savoir s’entourer d’une équipe: Oser se faire challenger et ne pas avoir peur de l’expérience de l’autre
  5. Ne pas avoir peur de déléguer: Confier des mandats et des responsabilités pour faire grandir son équipe et décupler notre action
  6. Apprendre de ses expériences: Prendre conscience de ses erreurs pour améliorer nos stratégies et façons de faire pour devenir un meilleur leader
  7. Accepter de ne pas tout savoir: Être honnête et humble face à soi et aux autres en acceptant des visions et des opinions différentes
  8. Assumer le rôle de leader: Se faire confiance avec les décisions et prendre des risques
  9. Communiquer la vision: Expliquer continuellement pourquoi on fait ce que l’on fait en mettant de l’avant les enjeux
  10. S’engager dans ce que l’on fait: Être passionné par la raison d’être de nos actions

Elle a terminé sa conférence en invitant chacun d’entre nous de revenir à l’essentiel: savoir pourquoi on fait ce que l’on fait et s’engager pleinement. Elle nous a expliqué que pour elle, la politique était un moyen pour de changer les choses, de faire avancer la société, le Québec.

En plus d’être inspiré (qui ne le serait pas?), je repars de cette rencontre avec quelques achats de plus à faire! Mme Marois nous a fait deux recommandations de livres sur le sujet du leadership, soit:


À propos de l’Institut de leadership de Montréal:

Offert conjointement avec le Centre des dirigeants de l’École de gestion John-Molson de l’Université Concordia, cette certification de six jours a pour objectif principal de développer des leaders efficaces aptes à mobiliser des équipes, à régler des conflits, à affronter le changement avec compétence et à relever les défis auxquels leur propre organisation est confrontée.

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Recommended Marketing Podcasts: My Selection

Wondering which podcast you should follow? Here are my personal favorites shows that I listen during my daily commute.

  1. Marketing Over Coffee: 20-min shows about marketing tips and tricks
  2. Marketing School : 5-min capsules about digital marketing
  3. The Art of Charm: Business and relationship-building skills
  4. The 7-figure CEO Podcast: Interviews with owners of 7-figure companies
  5. ConversionCast: Insiders marketing secrets on conversion
  6. The #AskGaryVee Show: Insights on social media and entrepreneurship
  7. Growth Marketing Toolbox: Growth marketing tools and technology overview
  8. Copyblogger FM: Content marketing and copywriting tips
  9. Stantford Podcast: Lectures on entrepreneurship from famous speakers
  10. The Manager Tools Podcast: Helpful tips for managers and directors

And you, which shows do you follow?

 

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5 Articles You Need to Read (and Watch)

How Seth Godin Would Launch a New Business With $1,000 And 90 Days to Spare

  • Market WITH people, not AT them. Your customers are human beings, just like you.
  • Focus on the smallest audience possible. You can always expand later.
  • Create a remarkable product. If your first 10 customers spread the word about it, you have a winner. If not, collect feedback and start again.
  • Create an abundance of confidence. Give away a huge amount of value for free so people trust you in return.
  • Make a spinner and spin the wheel. There will never be a perfect time to do anything: do something and stick to it.

The importance of navigating change in your organization: Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO & Doug McMillon, Walmart President and CEO

Your 6-Month Marketing Action Plan – The Noob Guide to Online Marketing

  • 8 of the core components of an Internet marketing strategy are covered here. You’ll find a brief overview of each and what you should do in the first 6 months.

Will e-commerce destroy the corner shop?

  • If digital commerce is so efficient and convenient why Amazon launched its Amazon Go service, which is a traditional store (with some futuristic features)? Why some retailers with traditional profile, like BestBuy, thrive?

How Chief Marketing Officers Can Innovate With Direct Mail

BONUS: 6 Business Leaders Tell you How to Sell Them

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5 Marketing Articles to Read

8 Resources to Level-up Your Welcome Series: Check out this comprehensive list of the top welcome series resources to help advance your welcome series strategy.

5 Questions You Should Ask Every Customer:

  1. What made you decide to hire us/buy from us in the first place?
  2. What’s one thing we do better than others you do business with?
  3. What’s one thing we could do to create a better experience for you?
  4. Do you refer us to other, and if so, why?
  5. What would you Google to find a business like ours?

The Blogging Tactic No One Is Talking About: Optimizing the Past: Historical optimization is a way to get more out of the content you already have; but it’s also a way to get a leg up on such a competitive content landscape. It’s also a way to deliver even more value to the people reading your content. 

Why Unscalable Marketing Activities are Best for B2B Companies: The best way to close high-dollar B2B accounts is to do the opposite. You need one-to-one communication ASAP.

Customer Experience Is Defined By The Experience Customer’s Have, Remember And Share: It’s been reported that customers will pay up to 25% more for a similar product if they believe they’re going to get an exceptional experience. They’re willing to spend more money with brands that deliver experiences that excel over mediocrity.

BONUS: Worth A Listen: This Week’s Recommended Marketing Podcasts

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5 Marketing Articles to Read

How to Take an Audience-First Approach to Your Content: Learn how your brand can be ready for your audience with the right content at the right time and in the right place.

The Magic of Micro-Copy – UX Design: Microcopy can turn a mundane task into something memorable. In this story, see how microcopy can be used in all sorts of delightful ways (over 15 examples).

What Sending After-Hours Emails Does To Your Productivity

“It wasn’t about the time spent on email; it was assumed availability. Having an anticipation of work created a constant stressor.”

EConsultancy – Introducing the Modern Marketing Model (M3): The increase in new channels and technologies has dramatically changed the environment in which marketers operate. Here is a new report as a reference for what marketing has become.

Marketing is Now Customer Experience’s Champion

Marketing is looking, sounding and feeling less like its traditional role of “demand generation” and more like “experience management.” (…) In order to understand marketing’s new role, one first needs to distinguish between “marketing as a mission and marketing as a department.”

BONUS: Marketing for a New Age: Being Digital vs. Doing Digital

“To move up the digital maturity curve, marketing organizations need to become more agile — it’s about organizing, operating and behaving in a new way.”

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What I Learned From The Family-Owned Business

If you ask my father about what he does for living, he will answer: ‘’I am a businessman.’’

One day, he started to buy and sell antiques, collectibles and architectural elements. 40 years later, he owns the biggest antiques store/warehouse in the province of Québec.

In the 90’s, the businesstown of 800 habitants was named the turntable of Québec antiques. The nickname was related to the fact there were 15+ antiques stores in the area. Since then, only a third of the businesses survived the recession, the ones who adapted.

My father’s entrepreneurial journey taught me 5 important lessons:

  1. Be ready to gamble. Trust your instinct. Love what you do. From as far as I can remember, my father took risks. He always tried to find the unicorn in things, and in people. ‘till now, he was right. He loves what he does, as much as he would do it even on vacation. Plan what you can, the rest comes with believing in your guts and passion.
  2. Adapt, or die. From your offering, your distribution channels, to your supply-chain, permanently ask question to yourself. Status-quo is not an option. You don’t have to reinvent 100% of your business; change what you can while staying true to your mission and passion. Invest in your Web presence, be visible and adapt your offer to what the market is looking for.
  3. Involve your family and friends. It’s probably the best gift you can give them. It is also a sure way to be challenged. My father involved the whole family in the business. Each evening, at dinner, we talked about the business. How can we do this better? Do you think we can try this? How are sales? Since we all pave our way elsewhere, even today, we are still talking about business when we get together.
  4. Value relationship and customer experience. Treat everyone (employees, customers & suppliers) as you would treat your friends and family. People can’t always see the value in what you have to offer, you have to explain, educate and be honest. That’s how you win a customer for life.
  5. Make it relevant. Make it special. As a wholesale seller, my father has to attract over 30–40 different dealers from the US and Canada, every week. He uses three tricks: 1) create a community, 2) offer exclusivity on new arrivals and special discounts, and 3) use gamification to define who will choose first and make this special.

Today, when you ask about my story, I will surely talk about my parents and their business — our business. In some ways, it has defined the person I am now: a passionate, dynamic intrapreneur who values customer experience and honesty in business.

— –

A little about the business:

Antiquité Michel Prince has a vast inventory of antiques and reproductions. You will find that members of our highly qualified staff will be in a position to advise you in your quests in addition to showing you their special favourites.

  • 10,000 antiques on site
  • Weekly arrivals: 200 new antique objects and furnitures
  • Over 20,000 square feet

Are you a dealer or a designer? We offer priority access to new arrivals and location services.

Do you think you have an antique object or collectible? We are in a position to evaluate and purchase your items. We love Canadian furniture, especially from Québec! Contact us.

 

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What my first job at Cirque du Soleil taught me

After I got my bachelor degree in Marketing, I ran away with Cirque du Soleil. It started as an internship, then a contract for 3 months… I left nearly 9 years later at the age of 30.

Cirque du Soleil is where I learned about three important terms: invoke, provoke and evoke. At the time, it was ‘’avant-gardiste’’ for a company to center its strategy around the customer experience.

I was in charge of the Cirque Club, a community that grew from 1 million to over 3.5 million members under my management. Our 700+ email communications per year, social media initiatives, websites and onsite benefits had to live up to the brand and its mantra.

Then, I’ve been assigned to special projects, such as the revamp of the online Cirque du Soleil Web experience and the creation of a global event ticketing and customer service solutions.

Yes, it was challenging. Expectations from sponsors, business partners and executives from around the world had to be managed quickly, and creatively. Working with famous brands, agencies, and consultants like I did, at that age, and for a brand like Cirque du Soleil was extraordinary.

I learned so much. And, I had a lot of fun too.

Everything (almost) is possible

I learned there is nothing impossible. There is a solution for every issue or problem you might encounter. Look at all the options you have. Sometimes, you best bet is to take things off the equation to have a clearer view, take risks, and think outside of the box.

The power to influence is in your hands

I learned about negotiation. You cannot always win, and you have to accept it. But you can influence, or at least try to influence. At first, I was often being the person who did not agree, who said ‘’no’’. One day, I started to present alternatives, options. At that moment, my relationship with my own team and the others changed in a positive way.

Collaboration: a necessity, not an option

I learned about collaboration and communication. When multiple stakeholders are involved, you better over communicate to manage expectations. Each stakeholder has to feel their team is part of the project at some point. Collaboration helps to build a group of influencers within your business. It is not easy, and it might be (is) time consuming and difficult. But it is worthy, much more than doing a project by yourself.

And now…

In December 2012, I got two offers. I needed to move on; it was a sign. I left the entertainment industry for the financial sector. It was not an easy decision, as my Cirque colleagues were my second family.

I knew that I had to acquire experience in more types of companies if I wanted to reach higher. But still, I will always be grateful and nostalgic of these years.

Thanks, Cirque du Soleil!

(This article was also published on Medium)