Time for Enforced Culture

BEWARE — THIS ONE IS WAY TOO LONG!  

 

Hi Folks,

Almost the last stop — and time to “work” on our vacation.  Newport, Rhode Island is the location of some wonderful summer homes of the wealthy during the Gilded Age; the homes were called “cottages”.  WOW!  What a euphemism!!!  These mansions were built from the mid to late 1800’s…….and they are fabulous.

We were up and running the next morning.  But first some pictures of our wonderful hotel, The Chanler at Cliff Walk.  We had a private exterior entrance just off the front porch.

In the morning we were off to see our first mansion, The Breakers.  Why not start at the top?  This was fabulous (but you are going to get tired of hearing that word during the whole stop)!  It was the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt who built his fortune in shipping and railroads.

Look at the carving over the next door…..then look at the closeup and notice that there was a train next to the angel.  The train representing his Vanderbilt’s fortune!

We next visited Marble House, so named because of the amount of marble used in building and decorating the home…..stunning!  If you can, read the article about the mistress of the house, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont; it’s in my pictures.  She is interesting because of her passion for womens’ rights.  Do notice her china.

That mansion gave new meaning to the word opulence!!!!

We ended the afternoon in an unusual way for us.  The hotel was a sponsor so they had some complimentary tickets to a polo match, U.S. vs. India.  We watched the first three chukkers, the first half, which ended in a tie…..then we left…..so we have no idea of the final outcome, but it was a fun way to spend a pretty afternoon.  One interesting thing:  during the half break, lots of fans walk onto the field and replace all the divots; it’s called Stomp The Divots!!

We had dinner at Pasta Bar – maybe the best pizza I’ve ever had!!!!  And then back at the hotel where we remembered to take a picture of the room.

We began day two of mansions with a big breakfast at the #1 Tripadvisor breakfast place; it was worth the wait!

We started our touring at Doris Duke’s mansion, Rough Point.  It is not owned by the Preservation Society of Newport, but by her own trust.  Don’t know that back story, but should.  She led a colorful life and was, by all accounts, a colorful woman.  That was reflected in her choice of colors for her bedroom – yellow and purple – worked for me!  That room also was filled with mother-of-pearl covered furnishings – absolutely gorgeous and over the top.

The first thing we noticed upon entering was a Della Robia terra cotta hanging in the entry hall.  Then a 17^thcentury Italian artist’s Annunciation.  The home was originally built by a Vanderbilt, but when she bought it, she wanted the home to be lighter and brighter…..so you will notice the light walls, painted over the original dark mahogany.  I also loved the red chair – it looks to me like something out of a Johnny Depp fanciful tale.  There were a number of Chinese Ginger Jars, but one in particular was very, very unusual and valuable because it had cutwork on the jar and still had its matching lid.

And her wonderful bedroom….

The last rooms of the house featured Doris Duke’s later in life passions – jewelry design and saving and restoring a large number of historic homes in Newport – even moving many to the historic neighborhood surrounding Trinity Church. She worked with the jeweler and the architect in both endeavors.

The refrigerator in the kitchen has remained the same on the outside, but is a completely new (at the time) one.  And I loved the picture of the silver closet.

The two topiary camels guarding her driveway were not like the other “cottages” either.  But they were so fun!!!!!

We then zoomed over to our next house – The Elms.  It is quite stately and back to the more “normal” designs.  Before we even entered the home, we saw this huge tree; it’s a European Weeping Birch – first time I’ve seen one.  Then, for handicapped access, we entered through the servants delivery entrance; that is under this huge wisteria that hid the entire delivery area from view of the first or above floors….such planning!

As the audio guide said, the Berwinds were probably the most wealthy family in Newport that “you have never heard of”.  His fortune came from the ownership of coal mines. His genius was purchasing railroads and shipping companies to provide an integrated means of distribution of coal to end users.

At The Elms, we took an extra tour, the Servants Life Tour.  Mr. Berwind was interesting in that he was sensitive to the comfort and well being of his servants. The third floor of The Elms, the servants quarters, did include beautiful wood moldings on the doors, inlaid wood borders on the floor and three full bathrooms.  On the other hand, when he was approached by the senior servant on behalf of the staff about a request for shorter hours and some time off — consistent with the manner in which he operated his coal businesses — he immediately fired the entire staff and rehired a new staff within a couple of days!

The only disappointing stop on our five-house tour was the Green Animals Topiary in nearby Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  I was expecting more and have seen better – even allowing for it being end-of-season. But here are a few of the best pictures.

Back to the hotel for a brief rest stop, then we walked (well, John did) The Cliff Walk. Gorgeous afternoon with gorgeous views.

We capped off the day with dinner at The White Barn Tavern, founded in 1673.  It has been in continuous operation since then, followed by one last stop at a Ben & Jerry’s.

The next morning we were up and out early – after breakfast — to see two more houses, Rosecliff and Chateau-sur-Mer.  Rosecliff is beautiful from the outside – all white marble.  I loved my lift up the front stairs.  This house had the largest and most beautiful of ballrooms and the light color also made it stand out.  Cole Porter was a frequent guest there.

Chateau-sur-Mer was different – no audio guide, but scheduled private group tours.  The down side of that is that the rooms were full of people at the same time – much more difficult for the photographer.  So I lagged behind on occasion…. It dated from 1852 with a later massive addition and was quite dark.

When we had finished there, it was off to Boston for one last night and dinner with my longtime friend from Austin and duplicate bridge – Jim Musumeci.  Unfortunately, his wife whom I know only from Facebook was out of town, but we plan to meet up with them again in Texas next week.

Jim, John and I had drinks at our four day old Fairfield Inn (lovely), then Chinese food at Mu Lan in Waltham (or maybe Weston – they all run together in MA).  Then in the morning, he picked us up and we drove to see the sight of the Shot Heard Round the World, then Walden Pond, then their home – all in the pouring rain.

Then it was off to the airport for us……..where we ran into Kathleen and Michael Livingston who were on our flight – totally a coincidence – they on their way home from Maine!!! Figure the odds on that!

What a fun trip! We had a blast and hope you enjoyed the ride!

Beth