Sister Time in Newport
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Google maps showing Newport on Aquidneck Island, the largest island in Narragansett Bay
Way back in April (yup, I’m still catching up), I met up with Lin for a sister weekend. The destination? Newport, Rhode Island… a historic coastal resort town on Aquideck Island in beautiful Narragansett Bay. The city is rich in sailing history and noted for its iconic, resplendent Gilded Age mansions. We had three precious days, a unique opportunity for just us and we wanted to make the most of our time.
I caught a flight to Providence and eight hours later, voilà, Lin picked me up and whisked us away to Newport. Hotels in Newport are on the $$$$ side, but Lin found us a reasonably priced B&B in an old jail appropriately named The Old Jailhouse Inn. The location was great with free on-site parking and a comfy room.
Lin was all prepared for our late afternoon arrival in Newport. She was armed with several bottles of bubbly and lots of snacking food… enough to last the weekend. We dined-in that first night, happy to be in Newport and happy to be together. We drank, noshed, laughed and chatted till the wee hours of the morning.
The weather forecast was glum… cold, rain, wind, gray skies. Despite it being Newport Daffodil Days with over 1,465,000 bright yellow daffodils planted and set to bloom throughout the area, the daffodils had evidently not gotten the memo and were not cooperating. The cold weather and wind had kept most of the daffodils in hiding We were cheered by the few we did see. Nothing was going to deter us from having a great time this weekend.
A few daffodils made an appearance, but most were keeping warm.
We’d planned a ‘cottage tour’. A summer cottage in the Newport Gilded Age vernacular wasn’t a cabin by the lake. Newport was a fashionable oceanside summer resort during the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. Leaders of finance and industry with surnames like Vanderbilt, Astor and Morgan from New York and elsewhere built ever-larger “summer cottages” that included European-inspired palaces such as Marble House, The Breakers, The Elms and Rosecliff. Lin had visited several of the ‘cottages’ before, but it was the first time for me. We purchased tickets on-line for a self-guided tour of Marble House ($25/pp). We set out on foot, a 2-1/2 mile walk from the Jailhouse to the Marble House at 596 Bellevue Avenue. Bellevue Avenue is the ‘mansion row’ of Newport.
Along our route to the Marble House, we came across Lemay & Co Antiques. We’re both ‘Lemay’ girls, but no relation. Unfortunately it was closed.
Now that’s a cottage! Our approach to Marble House
A little background… William Vanderbilt built Marble House between 1888-1892 as a 39th birthday present for his wife, Alva. He divorced her in 1895. She got to keep her birthday present. They weren’t kidding when they coined the term ‘Gilded Age’. We’re talking over-the-top opulence.
Alva & William Vanderbilt… She got the cottage!
Marble House, designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Beaux Arts style, was definitely ‘marble-ous’. More than a half million cubic feet of marble was used in the construction of this cathedral of overindulgence. With an exterior of white marble, the interior features several different hues of marble… yellow Italian marble, rosy pink marble from Algeria. We read that $7 million (in 1892 $$) was dedicated solely to the material. It was important to not only impress but outdo your wealthy neighbors. Extravagance knew no bounds. The total construction cost was $11 million in 1892 equivalent to about $388.6 million in today’s dollars. And that doesn’t count the lavish furnishings or the cost of the land. Newport’s Preservation Society acquired the house in 1963 from the Prince estate. In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Traveling with a scofflaw, red-haired little sister can be a challenge!
We ooohed and aaahed for a couple of hours totally in awe of Marble House’s grandeur and detail. After enough wandering, we debated over the return trip route finally choosing the Cliff Walk, a scenic oceanside path that meanders along the coast with great panoramic views past several Gilded Age mansions. Some of the path is easy; other parts require some rock scampering, but we managed unscathed. Due to a damaged section, we cut our walk short and headed back into town looking for a very late lunch (early dinner?) and Bloody Marys. We happily found both at the Brick Alley Pub.
We retreated to our jail cell and decided we’d had enough wandering for the day. Lin’s a game person and we were content to play games (Yahtzee, speed scrabble, cards) to while away the evening, sipping champers and noshing on the ample food supplies she’d brought.
Getting this puppy home on the plane was an exercise in caution and patience.
The next morning dawned cold, very windy, and rainy. What to do? A favorite sister activity is thrifting. A Google search had us driving to St. Paul’s Thrift Shop only a couple of miles away. We did pretty well there… a new dress, a couple of tops, and a lovely Sadler English bell-shaped teapot for Marcie (as if I needed another teapot). Lin found a couple of things she probably didn’t need as well, but the prices were great, and we enjoyed the hunt! We found another thrift shop farther afield to wander in, but it wasn’t half as good as St. Paul’s.
We’d made reservations at the Black Pearl for dinner, a Newport classic on the water. Despite the frigid temps and wind, we bundled up and walked to the restaurant. After nursing Cosmos to warm us up, we decided on sharing appies rather than ordering big meals. We lingered over our shared appetizers and glasses of wine, chatted, and just took in the ambiance and each other.
All too soon, with lots of hugs and regrets that our time together was over, Lin dropped me and my teapot off at the Providence airport. Our short sister getaway was memorable, and the time spent together was invaluable. We plan to make this an annual event… a different place each year, but just the two of us. We talk and text all the time, and I’ll see her at Christmas, but there ain’t nothin’ like one-on-one sister time to boost your spirits!
As an aside… David and I were aboard Nine of Cups, anchored in Newport Harbor on September 11, 2001… a day that’s indelibly fixed in our memories. It was Lin who phoned and told us of the terrorist attack that leveled the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.