A few years ago, my friend, Hannah, and I did a road trip around New England in mid-October. The trip was one of the more relaxing and beautiful vacations I've ever been on. My pictures of the fall leaves simply don't cut it - in reality the trees were full of bright reds and oranges, and looked to be on fire! And the apples, fudge, and crisp New England air were quite the treat.
On our busiest day we visited four states in one day: New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. We woke up in NYC, grabbed a bagel with schmear and coffee to-go before hailing a cab to Penn Station. We rode the train for about 1.5 hours to New Haven, CT. Here we got a rental car at the train station, quickly passed through Yale University to buy commemorative t-shirts, before driving to Mystic, CT, for a slice of Mystic Pizza. A slice of Heaven!
The drive from Mystic, CT, to Newport, RI, was easy. It was mostly highway to my recollection. Once in RI, we took the Claiborne Pell/Newport Bridge into Newport. The bridge was rather steep, allowing for views overlooking the harbor. This made for a grand entrance as we drove into Newport proper.
The town looked very quaint - like an attainable Hamptons. The shops and hotels that lined the street were wood paneled with shutters and window boxes. In a way, it looked like a colonial port town paused in time, with a twist of old money.
We didn't have much time to waste, as it was nearing 3:00 p.m. by this point. We wanted to tour The Breakers, the Gilded Age Vanderbilt mansion along Easton Bay. There are several mansions in the area you can tour, but The Breakers is the pièce de résistance. We parked across the street and walked through the large gate and gravel drive up to the house.
You half expected to see Jay Gatsby around every corner, as the mansion looked a bit like a Hollywood set for The Great Gatsby. The details were incredible, and each room had a different color scheme or influence. "...Cornelius Vanderbilt II... commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house which was destroyed by fire the previous year. Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to create a 70 room Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin. Allard and Sons of Paris assisted Hunt with furnishings and fixtures, Austro-American sculptor Karl Bitter designed relief sculpture, and Boston architect Ogden Codman decorated the family quarters" (Newport Mansions). The house was spectacular, as were the views of the bay from the East side of the mansion and well-manicured lawn. This is as close as we get to American royalty.
As the sun began to set, we grabbed a quick meal near the wharf. After a 1.5 hour drive, we ended our day in Boston, MA.
AB
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