Newport is much more famous for its numerous mansions, built by some of the most wealthy families in the history of the US. We decided the mansion tour was a must-do, but choosing which ones to see was difficult. We settled on "The Breakers" named for the crashing waves breaking on its property and built by the Vanderbilts. At 48,000 sq. feet and valued at 6 billion dollars today, it did not disappoint! In it's heyday, it took 80 servants to keep the place running, and keep in mind this was just a summer home! Couldn't take pictures inside, but here's what the exterior looks like.
and here's the "backyard"...
We also toured "Marble House", another Vanderbilt mansion built using all marble, inside and out. It was famous for the protests held to secure the right for women to vote held on the lawn by Aida Vanderbilt, who made sure she served tea on the thick rugs laid out for protesters! After that, we walked/drove by so many mansions, we lost count, but scroll down to look at a selection.
...and those were just the ones on the main road! Never thought we'd get tired of seeing mansions, but we did, so decided the 5-1/2 km famous cliff walk would be a nice respite. The rugged coastline was beautiful with steep cliffs and crashing surf, but try as we may, we just couldn't get away from mansions! Here are a few views from the coast.
Now that we've decided to move to Newport, all we need to do is purchase a house on this street.
Luckily we had prepared ourselves for all this luxury as Priceline secured us a sweet deal in a swish, boutique hotel at the top of "Mansion Row". For $70 bucks, we lived like the Vanderbilts, even dining on the special for the evening... $9.95 for a full lobster dinner, including a glass of wine! Just the way we like to do it - live like the rich and famous, but spend like teachers! Here's our digs for the night and if you can ever get here, the place to stay is the Viking Hotel.
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