We rise this Sunday morning, get organized and fed, and head out for an early start. Today we tour the area's Mansions. We were too late, when planning, to get seats on any of the tour companies' buses, so we opt for the down-loadable Action Tour Guide: Newport Mansions. This is a really informative, and mostly pain-free, way to drive oneself around the town and get an audio decription in the comfort of your own car. Some caveats: if there is an unexpected blockage on the street, like routine street repair or a large delivery van, you have to figure out for yourself how to circumvent the blockage and get back on the tour's path. Also, it uses geo-location to determine what snippet to play. If you go too far out of the expected path, you might hit one of the later (or earlier) locations and get really confused about where you are and where you should be. At the very start of the tour, the guide tells us to turn right on Thames St, which is a one-way street the other direction.
After a bit of a rocky start, we get used to the guide and enjoy the first part of the tour. After about 30 minutes, we arrive at the Breakers, the Vanderbilt Mansion that is the largest Newport estate from the Gilded Age. We park in the lot and take the tour of the house and grounds. Cornelius Vanderbilt II started (re-)building here in 1893. Wow, what a place to have as a second home! Imagine money as no object in order to have 1,000 fine china place settings at your command. I may have the count wrong, but I believe that there are a total of 48 bedrooms in this mansion. Fifteen are on the second and third floors; they are for the Family and Guests. The other 33 are on the third through fifth floors for use by the staff.
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| The Breakers |
The entryway takes you to the first room: The Great Hall. It is hard to take in as it measures 50 feet wide by 50 feet long by 50 feet high. Yes, the 3rd floor has a big hole in the middle because the Great Hall is there instead!
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| The Great Hall |
My favorite room is the Bedroom of 4th child Gertrude Vanderbilt (later Whitney). She was a talented artist and the room shows many of her very early efforts. Wikipedia lists many monumental works that she created, including the Monument to the Men of the Titanic. Even as she was a successful artist in the early 20th century, Ms. Whitney recognized the struggles that most American artists had getting established, with European artists being preferred. She became a big collector of American Art and in 1929, offered her collection to the Metropolitan Museum. They declined. So she set up her own institution, one with a distinctive mandate: to focus exclusively on the art and artists of our country. The Whitney Museum of American Art was founded in 1930.
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| Gertrude's Bedroom |
One more picture from the Breakers: the two-story china cabinet/preparation room next to the kitchen.
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| Prep Room near the Kitchen |
We leave the house and wander around the grounds. It's early in the season, so the gardens don't have a lot of colorful flowers yet, but the grounds are immaculately kept. There is so much more to see at the Breakers, what we have shared is but a small taste. This is a "must see" for a visit to Newport.
We leave the Breakers, get back in the X3 and continue the Tour. We wander around the area of Newport west and south of the Mansions and Cliff Walk. Alternately enjoying views of the Ocean and many more moderate estates than the Breakers. We stumble upon The Castle Hill Inn. Looks like a great place for lunch (and we have read about it during our planning), so we stop and are shown to a table inside (good, because the wind is too strong outside). Amy has a Bellini and Wayne has the House G&T. We each have the Clam Chowder and we split the Citrus Salad and a Lobster Roll. All delicious. We take a short walk around the grounds, fetch the X3 from the Valet and finish the Tour, which we heartily endorse!
We return to the Yankee Peddler and take a break for the afternoon. About 6:00, we head back down to the wharf. There is some interesting statuary.
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| Public Art on the Wharf |
It's time for dinner, but the main wharf area is awash with people enjoying the last hours of the Oyster and Chowder Festival, so we head south and find the Midtown Oyster Bar. We have a lovely dinner, starting with a pair of oysters each, then Amy has the Grilled Striped Bass and Wayne has the Seared Yellowfin Tuna. Another great meal! We head back to the Inn for our last night of our visit to Newport.
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