Our Vacation Report: Newport, Rhode Island - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of our little adventure! Tuesday started out bright and early (literally - Siu Jeun woke up at 6:30 and BBJ followed suit at 7). We had breakfast reservations downstairs for 8, so we all got dressed and showered. (I use the term "reservation" very loosely here. We were, honestly, one of two families staying in the Inn. Instead of a breakfast buffet, we were given a menu and told to circle anything we wanted to eat, and note how many of each item we'd need. We asked that it be ready to go at 8 am.) The breakfast was AMAZING. (This was the first time I've REALLY resented needed to limit my dairy intake!) There were fresh scones, muffins, ham and cheese croissants, a cheese tray (with smoked Gouda, sharp cheddar, brie and some sort of white cheese that seemed to be full of dill)...I took the teeniest bite of each item...and vowed to the Inn Keeper that I would be back just as soon as my son was through with nursing. (The breakfast was that good!)

Our first stop was the first Princess House on our list. (We told BBJ we were touring Princess Houses...because the girl is in love with all things Princess right now. Pretty funny.)

The Breakers!
(In another Tender Mercy Moment, we were one of the first families into this mansion. Accordingly, BBJ could roam a little more freely than if the place were crowded. A wonderful start to the day!)

The Breakers was ridiculously opulent, and perfectly gorgeous. (Please click through to see more pictures of the inside of the mansions we visited, and to read about the families that lived in these mansions.) Built by the train-mogul Vanderbilt family, this was one of my favorite mansions. The family lived there for several generations, passing the summers in this "cottage by the sea." (Their main home, I understand, is also beautiful and in New York City.) The home was modeled after an Italian Villa, with a large courtyard in the center of the home. Because this is Rhode Island, and not Italy, the courtyard was roofed, with a beautiful painting of a perfect summer sky on the ceiling. There was gold leaf on anything that didn't move - doors, floors, ceilings, furniture. The thing I loved, though was that this mansion had a self-guided audio tour. BBJ was able to have her own little "phone" and Lo Gung and I could go through at our own pace. If you listened to only the main tour, it would take about 45 minutes to go through the house. However, there were extra listings in all of the rooms, if you had more time, so that you could learn more about life in the mansion.


(Lo Gung and BBJ in front of The Breakers)

(A rear view of the Breakers)

(I'll admit - after the long, sleepless night, BBJ was starting to show some wear after just the first mansion. Lo Gung is all about keeping the peace, and bribed her with the largest lollipop she'd ever seen, from the gift shop. We don't bribe her often...we save all the bribes up for when we travel!)

(Another shot behind the mansion)

(The view from the back lawn. Any guesses as to why the "cottage" is called The Breakers?)

Next up was Marble House, home to another Vanderbilt Brother. This home, I must admit, was one of my least favorites. Not that it wasn't beautiful, but the mansion just felt...off to me, if that makes sense. Parties held at The Breakers were legendary for their grace, charm, opulence...and the possibility of the opportunity to slide down the grand staircase on a baking sheet. Generations of Vanderbilt children rode their tri-cycles through the marble and gold courtyard in the center of the home.

Marble House had none of that. The wife declared to her husband that she would not undertake to build this home unless he promised to gift it to her, outright, as soon as it was completed. (The home was a present on her 39th birthday.) She held many a Women's Suffrage meeting there.

You must understand that these homes in Newport were used only for a few months out of the year, meant to be Summer Cottages. Newport was The Place to see, and be seen, and having a cottage on Bellevue Avenue gave you a rank in the local royalty.

Three years after the home was completed, the wife divorced her husband (scandalous, in itself, in those days) and later remarried...to Mr. Vanderbilt's close friend.

I probably don't know the whole story, but it smacked of...self-grandeur and snarkiness, to build the most expensive home in the entire United States, demand that it be given to you, use it for three years, divorce and move down the street. There were no generations of happy children in this home...just three seasons of rich and famous people, holding rich and famous balls. A means to an end, not a home.


(Bellevue Avenue, The Place to build a summer cottage in Newport.)

(A Chinese Tea House built behind Marble House)

(BBJ in front of the tea house)

(The back of Marble House)

After the two mansions, we drove to Long Wharf to find some lunch. Lo Gung and I snapped a few photos before we found a yummy Japanese restaurant - BBJ wanted (miso) soup and sushi!




After lunch, we went to the last mansion of the day - Rosecliff. Rosecliff was beautiful, if not as grand as the other two mansions. (This is probably because Rosecliff is available to rent for functions, wedding receptions, parties, etc.) The Preservation Society uses Rosecliff for their meetings.


(BBJ in the small hedge garden in front of Rosecliff)

(The back of Rosecliff. The red and white awning, I'm sure, isn't authentic, but...Rosecliff is used for modern functions, rain or shine!)

(These wooden dogs were behind all of the mansions we went to. BBJ was determined to touch one of them, but they were designed to swing around with the wind and I was afraid the wind would change and the dog would smack her in the face! I held it still so we could get this picture.)

(The view from behind Rosecliff. The sun was the BANE of my photo ops during the trip. It always seemed to be right in my eyes when Lo Gung took my picture and I could not seem to keep my eyes open! I told Lo Gung that he should have some sympathy for me, and ordered him to give me the camera so I could take his picture staring into the sun.)

(Stinkin' little eyes...he didn't have a problem keeping them open! I guess my eyes are just LARGE.)

Seeing as, again, BBJ hadn't had her nap, we decided to try the Ocean Drive again now that the sun was out. Boy was I glad we did! It was beautiful. The puddles had all drained off, and the views were amazing.

(Pell Bridge)



(This was a special request from my father - kind of an inside joke. Kind of. Dad, this one's for you!)


(It was REALLY windy the second and third day of our trip - a cold wind. Anyone know how to photoshop that hair mask out of the picture???)


The day ended with dinner at the Red Parrot. This picture isn't flattering, but...looking at it, I kind of get the sense that I was wishing that drink were a little stronger than a Virgin Pina Colada! (I'm kidding!! Siu Jeun was fussing, BBJ was crawling around wreaking havoc...and I was probably wishing that drink were dairy free so I could snarf the whole thing down!)

That reminds me - the waitress did a very nice thing for me. Lo Gung and I were trying to decide on an appetizer - Raw Clam on the half shell, or Conch fritters. I asked to make sure the fritters were dairy free, and she told me the fritters were dairy free, but the dipping sauce had dairy in it. We decided to go with the fritters.

When she returned with the plate, she explained that she had brought us two dairy free dipping sauces, instead of what was on the menu, but she had just then realized that the fritters weren't dairy free! They were held together with a milk-based batter. She offered to let us switch to the clams, which we did. I felt bad wasting the fritters, but hopefully she got to snack on them so they didn't go to waste. I thought it was very nice of her to be so...thorough in making sure there was no dairy on my plate.

After we were seated, I realized that we were the ONLY family with children in the restaurant, and were seated all by ourselves in the empty half of the restaurant. BBJ was having trouble sitting still, Siu Jeun was fussing and couldn't be calmed down...it was exciting. I ended up nursing him, behind a blanket, there in the restaurant. I couldn't take him outside - it was far too cold, and we'd already ordered our dinner. Eventually, two more families with children were seated on either side of us, and then I didn't feel so bad!

We returned to the Inn and went through the whole rigmarole of the previous night, with one small change - instead of fighting with BBJ for two hours, we simply accepted the fact that she would be going down at 10:30. As long as she was quiet, she was free to roam around the room. We were all tired the next morning, but at least there were no more noisy "attitude adjustment sessions" in the hallway!

Stay tuned for the third, and final, day of our trip to Newport! Also, if you'd like to see more photos of the trip, please e-mail me and I'll send you a link to the album with all 184 photos. :-)