Newport, Rhode Island

Saturday morning we decided to head over to Newport, Rhode Island instead of going to Martha's Vineyard as we'd originally planned. Since we were not obsessed with Cape Cod we feared MV would be similar and we'd waste big money on the ferries over and back for the day. I'm glad we made this decision because Newport ended up being one of the loves of my life. 

"The Starbucks where Pilgrims got coffee" 

The charm of Newport cannot be overstated. This Starbucks used to be an apothecary and they had photos of how the area looked once upon a time. I loved it. I kept saying that it felt like Paul Revere must have vacationed here. It turns out that Paul did spend time in Newport while in the military but it wasn't vacation. Ehh, I was close!

Jackson anchoring down in Newport!

Can you feel the charm?

During the late 19th century, Newport, Rhode Island, became the place for American high society to be and be seen during the summer. Many of the palatial summer “cottages” were saved from the wrecking ball thanks to The Preservation Society of Newport County (PSNC). We were such fans of the places that we became members of the PSNC. Sure, we only joined because I did the math and a two-person membership was cheaper once you calculated all of the associated perks than two single tickets, but we are now members nonetheless and I feel fancy for it. I've already added it to my LinkedIn profile. (I'm not kidding which makes it more hilarious.)

The most well-known home is called "The Breakers," Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s 138,000-square-foot cottage. It has 70 rooms, including a 2,400-square foot dining room and 27 fireplaces. It sits on 13-acres and stretches to the historic Cliff Walk.

If this house reminds you of the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina (the largest private house in America) that is because the same architect, Richard Morris Hunt, designed it for Cornelius' relative, George Washington Vanderbilt. I tried to follow the Vanderbilt family tree but they had so many heirs I gave up. The Biltmore's build was started first and that home is substantially larger. The Breakers was just a summer cottage after all. ;) Having toured both, though, they do feel quite similar. The two homeowners might have been brothers or cousins but they certainly shared a fondness for over-the-top homes.

Welcome to The Breakers

A view of the side of The Breakers

I imagine many parties took place on this back patio

This photo from the edge of the backyard gives you
more of a feel for its size

Petefish.

They are huge fans of this ceiling in the grand hall

The dining room

The dining room's fireplace was amazing

The bedroom were purposefully understated

Cornelius' room
(they slept separately back then)

This marble tub weighs over 500 pounds

The homes were meant to be fancy and not always practical. The tub was marble so it was very cold at all times. The servants would have to fill it four times before it would be warm enough for an entire bath. 

Louis Vuitton was popular even then!

Interestingly, the Louis Vuitton brand started as high-end luggage. The founder, Louis Vuitton, made trunks and created his now famous monogram as a pattern so that he could protect it via trademark. He was one of the first to create flat-topped trunks that could be stacked. He also made these trunks waterproof and with the best locks of the day. The trunk shown above was likely used on many trips to Europe by boat and trips to New York City by train. These trunks were made by hand and are now collectibles. That trunk is said to be worth about $65,000 today. Wild! The Vanderbilt family liked their high-end goods.

The terrace view. Our favorite spot!

A stained glass ceiling!

The kitchen was massive, too!

The homeowners never did any cooking, but their French chefs had the best of everything. I think they said there was a staff of around 65 people used just to keep the house running like a well-oiled machine. It was amazing to see how much and how little things had changed since 1895!

The next house we saw was one of Jackson's favorites, Marble House. Marble House was actually built before The Breakers by Cornelius II's younger brother, William Kissam Vanderbilt. He gave it to his wife Alva for her 39th birthday. The cost to build it? $307 million in today's dollars. Alva must not have been impressed as she divorced him three years later. Marble House was also designed by Richard Morris Hunt. When I'm on Jeopardy! one day and need to know architects let's hope they ask about Vanderbilt homes.

The house is actually four levels, not two as it appears

It has an ample backyard, too.

The Marble House's backyard view wasn't bad!

the Gothic library

The bedrooms here were more ornate! 

Jackson loved the marble used all throughout the home. I thought it made it feel cold and more like a museum. We enjoyed the tour, though. 

We decided to take a drive around the area and see what else was around besides these massive homes. Yeah, there were just more massive homes owned by private individuals. The views were amazing, though.

Rhode Island showing off

We finally took a break, miraculously found parking, and wandered into the shopping district to have dinner. Jackson had lobster nachos that he really liked. I had the worst crab cake ever. Bummer! 

At least the company was good!

We decided to stick around Newport to see the sunset so we drove out to Brenton Point State Park and made use of our SUV as a fun place to sit. It was an absolutely stunning day weather-wise and we were so pleased at how it actually cools down at night unlike Florida!

Sunset from the back of the Jeep!

The next morning we went back to Newport as we wanted to see some additional houses. The PSNC owns ten homes so there were plenty to still visit.

First, breakfast on a patio. Our favorite!

We got to town early to try to beat the crowds and it worked. We were able to have breakfast and get to the next house we wanted to see, Rosecliff, just as it opened for the day.

Rosecliff

Petefish.

The ballroom

a gold piano because why not?!

They loved their dogs at this place
so it was naturally one of my favorites

Understated decor. ;)

The library

YES! Dogs in paintings are the best!

These folks shared a bedroom but didn't share a bed

Rosecliff had a massive backyard with ocean views, too!

By this tour Jackson had gotten really fancy and felt this home was cheaply built and finished by comparison. Brides don't seem to mind as a wedding at this place goes for about $50,000 just to rent it. They can have 230 guests at roughly $500 per head yet the place is booked years in advance. I cannot even imagine spending that much on a wedding, but I'd love an invite!

Jackson on the Cliff Walk

We wore our gym clothes so that right after touring Rosecliff we could go to the Cliff Walk and put in a few miles. Listen, the walk it pretty and all, but some of the hedges trap you in so much that you're just on a small sidewalk with no view. I think they need to address this. We walked for a few miles before deciding heading back to do more home tours. Yes, we toured these mansions in our used gym clothes. Whoops!

Next we toured The Elms which was my second favorite place. The Breakers was both of our top favorites.

This sunroom was amazing and I'd have spent
hours reading there daily if it were mine

Another dog lover!

Quite the dining room

A chair made for her dog to sit in! YES!

Notice the ornate toilet!

This home was just stunning. It had a sunken garden in the backyard that was just gorgeous. It was not on the ocean, though. This fact knocked it out of Jackson's favorites.

The best pulled pork nachos EVER!

We decided to finally get a late lunch/early dinner in town. We decided to forget seafood and went for BBQ. It was a great decision. The restaurant had awesome people watching and the food was amazing. We had a few more hours before our sunset sail so we decided to go back to The Breakers for another tour. It was now Sunday evening so we thought the crowds may have died down and they had. It was great. 

Note: all of the four tours we did were done via self-guided audio tours. We stopped at a few of the other mansions (remember there are 10 total) and they had actual guide lead tours. That's a no for me. I don't like to go at someone else's pace so we skipped those. On our return to The Breakers I got the audio tour again and Jackson passed. He told them he wanted to look around on his own. Everyone was shocked and I pretended he was a stranger.

The dining room at The Breakers was just stunning

Soaking it in with no guide!!!

I was really into the tour at this point

Just a couple of PSNC members hanging out on the grounds

We really enjoyed being able to just hang out in the lovely backyard and enjoy the cool evening.

Membership has it privileges 

The sunset sail ended up being just amazing. The views of Newport from the water were incredible and the temperature was perfect.

House on the Rock

You too can summer at the House on the Rock for $10,000 per week with a three year waiting list!

The Pell Bridge

The bridge looks pretty from here but it was very high and $4 to cross each way. Ugh!

Couldn't have asked for a better evening!

A local brew, a sailboat and a sunset makes for
a very happy Jackson

Hammersmith Farm

Hammersmith Farm is a Victorian mansion that was the childhood home of  Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and the site of the reception for her 1953 wedding to then U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy. During his presidency, it was referred to as the "Summer White House". The home was a museum for a bit but is now a private residence again.

Jackie's "doll house"

I obviously wasn't around for JFK and Jackie's era, but I did learn to love her on their tour when they said that her favorite dog got arthritis and couldn't climb the stairs in her four story tall doll house so she had an elevator installed. Any girl who looks out for her dogs cannot be all bad.

Jackson and the wild German lady!

There was a woman from Germany who now lived in Connecticut on our boat. She managed to insult American education, the entire state of Iowa and who knows what else. We met a lovely couple on the boat from Iowa and really enjoyed them. The German lady would come by and just heckle us from time to time. This is a perfect fit for Jackson's personality so I think she added to the tour for him. I just kind of ignored her and tried to learn about Newport.

The next morning we slept in and were kind of bums. We knew we had a long evening of travel home so we were not in a huge hurry. We eventually checked out of the hotel and headed over to Newport again. We intended to do more exploring in the New England area but I loved Newport so much that we just decided to go there three days in a row!

Clam chowder on a hot day? Yes, please.

We'd heard about a restaurant in the shipyard called Belle's Cafe that was supposed to be great. We headed there first for an early lunch. They had tables right by the boats so Jackson was a happy guy.

Twin lobster rolls!!

While it was a very warm day, I had heard their clam chowder was awesome so I dove right in. It was excellent. Jackson was super pleased with his twin lobster rolls so it was a success.

He's never not looking at sailboats

On the boat tour we learned about the Castle Hill Inn where there are adirondack chairs on the lawn that are free to the public. We love a good free place with a view so we headed on over. While it was technically free, you had to tip the valet and one beer and an arnold palmer cost us $12. It was still lovely and we sat there relaxing for a good long time.

Enjoying a gorgeous Monday afternoon

It was a little windy, but the Arnold Palmer was great!

Watching the sailboats

We got news that our flight was delayed so we stopped for another tour this time of The Breakers stables. It was really cool to see where they kept all the horses and carriages.

A quick tour of the stables

Then we went for another walk on a different part of the Cliff Walk. It was a nice way to end the trip.

Jackson on the Cliff Walk again

VIEWS!

We knew traffic could be spotty around rush hour so we headed to the airport a little early. Our flight ended up only being delayed a couple of hours so we made it back to Orlando and drove about halfway to Aunt Kathy's place before calling it a night at a hotel. The next morning we got MacKenzie and headed home to plug in and get back to work.

I cannot recommend Newport highly enough. It was LOVELY.