Each and every single day on this New England vacation was just absolutely perfect in its own special way, but this particular one would undoubtedly be my favorite of the nine. I took a whopping 3,400 photos across this trip and this day alone I took nearly 550! Hopefully this helps you understand why I’m crawling through these at a snail’s pace trying to prepare these blogs for you all. Limiting myself to 40 photos each time really makes the selection process a difficult one when I have as many pictures to choose from as I do.
As you’ll soon see, Rhode Island was simply the best. Returning to Newport during the summer is an absolute must for me. I felt so alive there. We arrived to this enchanting seaport village by taking two stunning bridges, which unfortunately for me I didn’t get any photos of as I was driving, but just know they were two awe-inducing edifices of enchantment. There was a university there near Breakers, which is the first gilded age mansion we visited, and the students walking all around really added to the overall ambiance of the culture for me. I love towns with universities because they have a lot more of the shops and restaurants I love and Newport was certainly no exception. I immediately understood why the New York elite chose this location for their summer “cottages.”
Like I said, the first such “cottage” we visited is The Breakers. It’s the grandest of Newport’s gilded age mansions and was the former summer retreat of the Vanderbilt family. It was one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever laid eyes on inside or out.
I love a beautiful grand staircase and this one definitely stole my heart.
These chandeliers and ceilings just left my jaw on the floor. To think they only resided her two months out of the year is just mind-blowing. Oh, the lifestyles of the rich and the famous.
These marble walls in this billiards room probably cost more than half the houses on my street – combined!
Give me all the candelabras. If I ever get rich I’m installing dozens in my future home. Also, this is the debut of my $700 coat. It felt like a necessity for this trip and garnered me a solid 250+ compliments from various strangers days three through nine. You can’t put a price on kindness and sincerity, so all those compliments paid for this coat twice over.
The tea that must’ve been shared in this room.
As you’ll soon see later, the second level there looks out over the Atlantic. Stunning.
I’ve never felt so at home in someone else’s house before that day.
Kamber and Melissa looking as adorable as ever.
The bathrooms here were quite simply the best.
I would’ve spent half my summer on this balcony writing blog after blog and working on my next literary manuscript. The smell and sounds of the ocean and the coolness of this open interior just gave me life.
This kitchen was so grandiose. Cutesville Confections would never have any issue filling anyone’s baked goods order with all this space for baking and decorating! This picture doesn’t do the size true justice.
The gated drive. I loved, LOVED those lamp posts!
Their gardens were as elegant as you would imagine them to be given all else you saw.
I love this photo of us so much. THANK YOU to the two kind ladies that took it for us. They were awesome!
Now onto Rosecliff Mansion, which has been used as a filming location for a multitude of Hollywood blockbusters including True Lies, The Great Gatsby, Amistad, and many, MANY more films!
I can only imagine some of the high end parties they threw in here. Gorgeous.
Again, their gardens were just stunning.
The suit on the left, which I loved immediately, was designed by no other than Ralph Lauren himself and worn in the original “The Great Gatsby” film. Ralph is my man, I just love his clothing.
I was really vibing with the gardens here. They were laid out in such an intricate manner that I would’ve started and ended every day with a pensive walk through them.
I recognized this “backyard” as soon as we entered it from “The Great Gatsby” film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This fountain and that view of the ocean immediately triggered my memory.
I love the ocean and this view was mesmerizing for me with these vines running along this wall. Loved the old money feel.
Our tour of Kingscote was our third and final of the day. It came recommended to us by one of the gate’s keepers at The Breakers for the mass amount of antiquities inside the home, which were quite stunning.
I was instantly obsessed with this tree. It was like an entire house inside. You could walk around underneath its branches and even climb up it. I would definitely have set up a bench or chair and table or something to spend the afternoon reading away.
Loved this dining room. Looks downright poor compared to The Breakers, but nonetheless, I just loved it.
I hadn’t been to the beach outside of the summer in a great long while and I’d forgotten how different the air smells. It’s a nice change of pace and the saltiness and freshness really just made me happy. Love it so much.
Heading to the seaport. It was just so damn cute down here I could’ve died twice over.
I cannot wait till the day I return to Newport, Rhode Island. It was just phenomenal and I wish I had an entire season there because I fell so hard in love with it.
My stuffed lobster! My goodness it was good! Seafood is my favorite genre of food, so I was loving our restaurant selections throughout the course of this entire trip! GIMME MORE SEAFOOD!
The lobby of our Graduate brand hotel in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. I LOVE this brand of hotel and will ALWAYS stay in one when available.
Cuteness.
If you don’t get instant Tower of Terror vibes from this picture then you’ve clearly never been to a Disney Park before because right away all of us thought of that iconic attraction.
This really was spectacular! I cannot get over how absolutely phenomenal of an evening we had at the Providence Zoo! I would go back to this attraction every single night if I lived in town!
There were over 5,000 hand carved jack-o-lanterns on display here at we took our time to see each and every single one! I was just in awe and in love at this entire attraction!
This is Halloween!
The theme was television through the decades and I was loving that too! It was just outstanding! I literally cannot say enough wonderful things about this jack-o-lantern attraction at the zoo in Providence! Everyone should do it once in their life that’s how strongly I feel about it!
Again, amazing.
There was so much to see!
This kid clearly is shook by how phenomenal this experience was! He can’t even walk right!
The five of us were happier than ever by the end of this day!
This day in Rhode Island wasn’t just my favorite from our trip, it was one of THE BEST days I’ve ever had in my entire life! Everything about this state just spoke to me spiritually and I will – like I keep saying – return one day for an extended period of time. I was just entranced by how absolutely amazing it was there. Everyone NEEDS to go to Rhode Island! If it was this amazing in October, I cannot wait to experience it during my favorite month of the year: June!
As always, THANK YOU all SO much for viewing! I appreciate you greatly! Please feel free to leave a comment below as I LOVE reading and responding to them! I’ll be back shortly with Day Four, which had us taking a pitstop in Cape Cod, Massachusetts as we made our way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire!
More haunts and happenings from our New England vacation:
Working hard everyday towards achieving my goal of becoming an international best-selling author. Wrote the book, just need the agent and publisher. Received the ultimate endorsement when Britney Spears wrote me saying she'd be one of the first in line to buy my book! #FreeBritney
I enjoyed your post so much it makes me feel like I was on vacation too. And your comments under the photos are outstanding I just love it and I read all of them. Pictures are great what a neat place. You do a fantastic job.
I cannot thank you enough for these kind & generous words! Means a lot! We had THE BEST time on our trip & I love being able to share all the amazing places we experienced! I appreciate your continued support! You’re simply the best!
I love love LOVE these photos! What a wonderful post.
Thank you! This day was simply the best! I cannot wait to get back to Newport one day!
I enjoyed your post so much it makes me feel like I was on vacation too. And your comments under the photos are outstanding I just love it and I read all of them. Pictures are great what a neat place. You do a fantastic job.
I cannot thank you enough for these kind & generous words! Means a lot! We had THE BEST time on our trip & I love being able to share all the amazing places we experienced! I appreciate your continued support! You’re simply the best!
How did I miss this set? These pics looked awesome! Super cool!
This was my absolute favorite day of this trip! I loved everything about it! Glad you found these photos! Better late than never!
Touring all those old mansions would’ve been awesome! Definitely something I’d like to do.
In a trip full of nothing but highlights, it was one of the highest! Loved seeing them so much!