All Newport, All the Time!

Entry to The Elms.

For the third day of our vacation, we spent the entire day in Newport, RI. It is a great little place and we had perfect weather! Today was all about the Newport Mansions!! Wow. Those things are incredible! Palaces I've seen in Europe had nothing on these "mansions." There are about 9 homes you can go visit. You have to pay either for a 2 site pass, or a 5 site pass. We got the 5 site pass, and it will not expire ever - so we can go back if we don't use them all up.

Rear view of The Elms from the back end of the gardens.

We decided to visit The Elms first. It is possibly the most famous home of the mansions. It was very beautiful and decidedly impressive! Each home has a recorded tour on headphones, and you can either take the basic 30 minute tour, or they have stands in almost every room where you can choose to enter a number for more information. We tended to always do the "more information" because that's the way we roll.

Tony and his buddy in the gardens at The Elms.

The Elms was built by a couple from Philadelphia, the Berwind's, who made their money in coal. They never had children, so nieces were frequent visitors and Mr. Berwind's sister lived there until she died in 1961. At that point The Elms was sold along with most of its contents, and then it was decided to preserve it. So many of their friends who had purchased items returned them so they could be kept in their proper places. The grounds were also very beautiful and there were quite a few other structures in the gardens.

Figures from the fountain in front of the Carriage House at The Elms.

Next we went to The Breakers which is arguably the "grandest" of all the mansions, named for the way the waves break on the cliffs along the shore. It was home to Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his family. The Vanderbilt's made their money in the New York Central Railroad. Probably one of the most famous wealthy families in America of all time. The Breakers was right on the water and while the grounds were not as impressive as The Elms, it had the water as a backdrop. One of the Vanderbilt's daughter married a Hungarian count, so she became a countess.

The view of the ocean from the back "porch" of The Breakers.

An "interesting" fountain in the gardens of The Breakers.

We enjoyed both of these homes and grounds, but by the time we went through both tours, we were thoroughly pooped and hungry! We drove back along the beach and found a fun place called Flo's Clam Shack. It was right across the street from the beach and we enjoyed the lovely breeze and sea smell. Tony had fried oysters and clam chowdah (surprise!) and I had fish and chips. People there were so friendly and the food was yum. I would go back to this place next time we visit Newport! We relaxed at the hotel most of the evening, heading out to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a little light dinner. Tony also got a really good slam on me playing Rummikub! Oh man!