Monday, October 4, 2010

A glimpse of New England . . . Newport, Rhode Island

Day 2 in New England . . .
One more stop in Rhode Island ~ Newport.
Each night we mapped out our trip for the next day.
We had some frustrations working with the GPS since we didn't have any directions and no one at the car rental could show us how to use it . . . so we learned as we went. She definitely had a mind of her own (not really :), and sometimes she was completely annoying and we wanted to throw it out the window, but by the end of the week we found her helpful.
After our wonderful blueberry cornbread muffin, fruit, eggs and french toast in the Edgewood Manor's sun room, we headed to Newport, Rhode Island (on a Saturday). We were told by many that this was the place to see. However, we hit this popular tourist spot on the weekend of a boat show, and it was packed with people and literally had no parking available. There are several old mansions in Newport so we hit the well known Breakers Mansion. We decided not to take the interior tour but took lots of pics of the outside; a beautiful property that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. {click on any pic to view larger}


The Breakers Mansion
In 1893, Cornelius Vanderbilt II,  Chairman and President of the New York Central Railroad system, commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house which was destroyed by fire the previous year. Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to create a 70 room Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin.
 
 
 
Back side that faces the Atlantic Ocean.

Pretty mosaic ceiling in the arched doorways.
How about this for a back patio? That's my teeny, tiny hubby.

 
And this for a view?


The Savings Bank of Newport dated 1929

We drove around Newport with no luck at finding a parking spot; all the lots and street parking were full.  After following the cars in front of us for about 45 minutes attempting to do the same, we decided it was time to head to Massachusetts. We had to miss out on eating lunch at the recommended Black Pearl restaurant.

Next stop . . . Sandwich, Massachusetts.

Hope you're enjoying a glimpse of New England. We loved it!
Thanks for visiting; I look forward to getting to know you.

~ Julie

5 comments:

  1. Ah! It's beautiful!! Too bad it was a touristy weekend when you were there, but oh how lovely. I had to peek at the pictures from Saturday before I could look at these. I had a busy weekend and nearly missed them. They were just as fabulous. Perhaps not as eye popping as these, but IMO even more beautiful.

    I'm looking forward to more.
    So... keep 'em coming.

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  2. now THAT'S a mansion! i cannot imagine actually living there, can you?

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  3. Dear Julie, What remarkable architecture you have discovered on your visit. The situation of the mansion house is absolutely breathtaking. Very few could claim that they have an Atlantic ocean panorama from their back garden. Amazing!

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  4. So beautiful:) I used to love watching America's Castles on A&E, and this was on there. Breathtaking to say the least:)

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  5. Oh my goodness......can you just imagine the parties they threw there? Or can you just picture yourself waking up in one of those ginormous bedrooms and looking out onto an ocean where you can see forever.....? Wow. Thank you so much for revealing more beauty from the east coast to us, Julie! :)

    xoxo laurie

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