the best of Newport, Rhode Island 2010

we all took the ferry from shelter island to greenport; and then dave and i took the 11am orient ferry from long island, new york to new london, connecticut. dave's aunt picked us up and drove us to newport, rhode island



first thing we did when we arrived in newport was to take a walk a long the cliff walk.
it goes along the coast, and the backside of all the mansions Newport has to offer.



(and yes, i did go beyond the sign, into the private beach area)
the second day in new port we took off and toured the city by foot.
we saw the first lending library of the united states, we toured the church where george washington and queen elizabeth have both sat in. we saw the organ that george berkeley (the man whom the city in california was named after) donated to the church. we saw and visited the international tennis hall of fame, we saw the church where JFK was married.




we saw the place where the tomato was introduced to our country
(i was pretty excited as this past year has been my year of appreciating and loving tomatoes)

we had dinner with aunt maureen every night, which was really fun and appreciated; i enjoyed getting to know her as i haven't spent much time with her.
she was adventurous and ate crawfish with dave


dave was pretty excited to attend a newport gulls game,
they claim they have the oldest baseball field in the united states.

almost everyday of our trip, there was a starbucks along the way.


we had drinks and took time to write in the oldest tavern in the united states, established in 1673.


we toured the largest mansion Newport has to offer, the Breakers.
it was the summer home of the Vanderbilts. it has 70 rooms, 20 bathrooms, a kitchen and pantry that is larger than my apartment complex.
the audio tour was amazing, with extra channels with extra information on the home, the staff, the vanderbilts and the extravagant ornate decorating that is on display throughout the mansion.





luckily, one afternoon there was a thunderstorm, so we had to slow it up a bit.
we took naps, and ordered in chinese food for dinner.
a lovely way to end our time in newport....and then off to boston we went.