Day Ten ... the Gilded Age and on to Boston

Today we left Providence (Warwick West actually where we were staying) and headed off toward Newport. Along the way we stopped at the historic village of Wickford. There was an Ad Lab there that took us for a walk along the streets to some of the most notable historic buildings. The village was delightful ... tiny, every house had some history and they were decorated for Halloween. We loved it ... the houses are gorgeous. And we also saw the Firs Tbaptist Church … no the First Basptist Church … no … you know what they meant.

After our little wander in Wickford we headed towards Newport. This is where the uber rich of the 1880s and 1890s built their ‘summer cottages’ to get away from the grind of the big city. We went to the Cliff Walk first  ... a walk along the waterfront in front of some of the mansions that line the coast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We walked the Forty Steps and just one short section of the walk as it is almost 6 kms long (one way). It is  stunning walk and if we had a full day we probably would have made the 12 km round trip. 

Detouring again back away from the ocean we completed an Ad Lab that took us to some of the main buildings on the Salve Regina University, many of which were once stately homes themselves.  The campus is glorious (a private university run by the Sisters of Mercy). I can't imagine what it costs to go there but I doubt it would be cheap!

Our next destination was The Breakers one of the most stately homes in Newport. We had tickets that allowed us to tour the home and garden. It was built for the Vanderbilt family, who owned it until it was sold to the Preservation Society (for what I think is a very lowly amount - $400k in the 1970s) and remains today the most visited location in Newport.

There are really no words to describe The Breakers ... amazing, incredible, opulent, grand and ostentatious could all be used. I mean who has an Italian fountain under the stairs of their foyer! You could never say homely I don't think! I think I took over 200 photos ... so here are just a few! Remember, it’s just a house used for a few months a year.

Leaving behind the incredible mansion we headed outside to enjoy the garden. Surprisingly,  after the opulence of the house, the garden was very understated.  Wide expanses of lush lawn, trees and a few garden beds with a winding path meandering through. It also had the Children's Play House  ... which is bigger than some people's houses!

Our last activity in Newport was to complete another Ad Lab that would take us too some of the other notable mansions. Unfortunately we were not able to complete it as not all of the locations were easily accessible and one of the answers was very obscure. However we got to see some other incredible locations ... just from the outside ... and we stopped at The Elms to eat our lunch (some muffins from our hotel and some crackers which we bought all the way back on our Bronx Zoo day).

Leaving Newport behind we headed towards Boston with only one detour on the way. We wanted to see the bay of Cape Cod so we drove to Scussets Beach, walked over the dunes and stood looking out at the expanse of water. We had originally planned on stopping at Sandwich but bridge works meant a massive traffic jam and hence we detoured.

And on to Boston. We had tickets booked for a 90 minute sunset cruise so we headed on to reach Boston, find parking and get to the wharf with plenty of time to spare. We departed the dock at 5.30 when it was still light but as the sun set the city began to twinkle. It was a lovely way to be introduced to Boston. The on board commentary was great  - a mix of history, geography and quirky facts. Plus we were in the flight path for nearby Logan Airport and had one jumbo come in about 150m above our boat.

And so at the end of the evening cruise we headed towards our hotel, stopping to grab dinner from a local pizza shop. I failed at navigation and got us slightly off route but in the end we made it. Our room is lovely. We ate a delicious dinner and have oodles of leftovers. And another day is done!

Today's tally ...
Photos - 670
Steps - 14,574
Kms walked - 11.16 km
Ad Labs - 2 (and a bit)
Kms driven - 155 miles (250 kms)