Newport Trip–Day Two

Day two of our trip was spent touring some of the mansions of Newport.  We started our tour at The Elms, circa 1901, the summer retreat of coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind and his wife Herminie. 

The back of the home has a gigantic yard and when it was built had harbor views.  No water is visible now because of  tree growth and development.

No pictures are allowed inside of any of the mansions.  As you can imagine, this one was over the top ornate in its décor.

This picture was taken from the lower level of the mansion, just outside the kitchen.  Delivery trucks would deliver supplies under this vine covered entrance.  If you were a guest staying on the main level, you wouldn’t see the trucks because of the vines.

The grounds are full of beautiful mature trees.

I thought that this was one European Copper Beech.

Really it is a clump of several trees that appear as one from a distance.  Wouldn’t this be a fun place to play if you were a child?

This is the carriage house and stable, now a snack bar for tourists.

We got a kick out of this fountain in the back yard – very Austin Powers-like.

Next on our tour was Chateau-sur-Mer, circa 1852, home to three generations of the Wetmore family.

This gate was along the walls of the grounds.  There was probably a view of the water from the top before the houses in the background were constructed.

Next stop was Marble House, circa 1892, built for Alva Vanderbilt as a gift for her 39th birthday. 

The tea house at the back of the property stuck out like a sore thumb to me.  While I appreciate its Japanese style, it doesn’t seem to go at all with the architecture of the main house.

Marble House is one of the large homes along Cliff Walk, a path that follows the coastline.  {Come back for Day Three of my trip posts for Cliff Walk pictures.}

Day Two’s dinner was at Flo’s Clam Shack.  We both had a platter of delicious fried clams, mine whole-belly.  While good, they took care of any fried food craving that I’ll have for a long while.

We noticed signs outside of most restaurants that said “Proper Dress Required.  Gentleman, No Tank Tops.”  I couldn’t figure this out because the only place I ever see a man wearing a tank top at home is in the gym and I don’t even see a lot of them there.  Note the gentleman in the photo above.  Once I started looking around, I saw quite a few tourists dressed like this.  Blah!

Day three’s adventure include Cliff Walk and more mansion tours.  Please come back!