Our next stop on the great New England adventure of Mark and Rhoda brings us to Newport, RI, a destination we have been to before, but it’s been 5 years so we were excited to see Newport again. We loved it the first time around and did a few different things this time. You can see this post from 2018 on our Newport visit and follow along to see what we did this year.
We would have stayed in the same inn we stayed in last time, but unfortunately it was booked up. I looked for another inn in the same location and found the Marshall Slocum Inn. It’s in a good location and only a few blocks from the other inn we visited, so this area is residential and very walkable to downtown Newport and the waterfront. I did sort of make a mistake and booked a room that had a spiral staircase that led upstairs to the bathroom. I didn’t notice that and then a few days after booking, the inn sent an email making sure I knew what I had booked. I told Mark about the situation and we laughed at the thought of going up that staircase as seniors to use the bathroom and shower, but they were booked up so we decided to keep it. How bad could it be for 2 nights? It really wasn’t that bad, but it would have been nice to have a larger room. I won’t book one that small again. The inn was cozy and pretty, but the Snuggery queen room we were in was really tiny, so that was the downside to that room, plus the spiral staircase. One more thing about the inn was it didn’t serve breakfast. Again, this was my mistake as I didn’t read the fine print on some of my bookings, so be sure you do that if you’re looking for a true bed and breakfast. This one had pastries and a few cold things in the fridge like juice that were for purchase, so no free breakfast. I thought that was a little cheap on their part, but it was fine overall. I’m the only one who got anything for breakfast on one morning. The inn was very charming though and in a good location.
Newport is such a walkable city and that’s one of the best things about being there. Walking those historic streets and taking in the old historic homes is the best. The old churches are special too. We set off on the first afternoon we were there to walk around some of the same streets we walked 5 years ago.
This church caught my eye last time and it’s still just as beautiful. Built in 1726, the Trinity Episcopal Church is a stunning piece of history.
All the pumpkins surrounding the church added so much charm for fall.
I couldn’t get enough pics of it.
And this one as the sun was going down was just gorgeous.
We went back to Touro park and the historic tower of Newport. The tower has been carbon dated to being over 500 years old, but the origins are a little cloudy.
I took even more pics on our trip 5 years ago of the tower, but it sure is an interesting piece of history and architecture. I love rock anyway and it’s a masterpiece.
It sure is an imposing structure in the park in Newport.
And of course all the houses caught my attention again. I took so many beautiful New England house pictures that I’m going to do a whole post just on the houses we saw in each area.
All the brick sidewalks were so charming as well.
It is amazing how old some of these houses are.
This one dates to 1744, truly amazing.
We hit the fall leaves just right this time too and saw plenty of beautiful turning trees.
Enjoy these homes that I’ll include here from Newport. The neighborhood we were in was just stunning and I was gawking at so many homes.
Walking in Newport is the best. Luckily, we had good weather this trip.
We drove out by the water too along the winding road on the coastline.
We didn’t walk on the Cliff Walk but saw parts of it on our way along the water. It was tricky parking down there and parts of it were closed due to part of the walk collapsing. It’s a beautiful walk though from what I hear.
We walked to it in one area and took some pics.
Lots of cruise ships go to Newport.
This park by the water was really pretty.
Looking at the Newport Harbor from another area.
I couldn’t get over all the gorgeous hydrangeas and we caught them at the end of season too so many of them were still just gorgeous.
US Naval Academy
Eating in Newport
Our first night back, we went back to Benjamin’s, which was a favorite from our last visit.
I ordered a haddock fish with mashed potatoes and it was delicious.
We had lunch not far from our inn one afternoon at Annies, a cute little diner spot.
I had lobster bisque and a huge salad, which was a good lunch for me.
Our next night out, we went to the Red Parrot, a favorite it seems for many. It was plenty packed and we sat upstairs with a pretty view outdoors as the sun was setting over the water.
I got lobster mac and cheese and it was delicious. As you can see, we got our fill of lobster dishes on this trip!
Mark got lobster quesadillas and they were delicious too! I had part of his leftovers.
That’s a wrap on our Newport trip for this year and I hope you enjoyed going along with us. We did visit one more of the mansions this year, Rough Point, home of Doris Duke and it was breath taking, with the setting on the cliffs and wide expansive green lawn. These homes are true masterpieces and I’m so glad they were all saved. It would be a travesty to lose any of these mansions. I’ll share that visit soon too! It deserves a post all its own.
If you missed the other previous posts, see them here:
Janet says
The brown Tudor house you show in your first hydrangea picture is where I lived in the 3rd grade in 1962. My dad was at the war college and the navy used some of the less famous mansions in town for temporary officers housing. The house was called Nethercliff on Ruggles Avenue and had been subdivided into three living quarters. The captain of the base had the entire first floor and we lived in a 3 bedroom apartment above them. Scattered around the house were various “bachelor rooms”. The house was eventually purchased by Salve Regina college and used as a dormitory.
We only lived there for about 10 months and it was well before the historic committees took over the mansions so we had pretty much full run of the grounds of those that were essentially abandoned. We played on the lawn of the Breakers! President Kennedy was visiting someone living in a nearby mansion and we crawled through a big concrete pipe to see him swimming in the pool until the secret service chased us away. I think it was the Young mansion but I can’t trust my memory because everything looks different when you’re 9! It was a wonderful place to be a kid in those days. Completely safe and so much fun to explore. Thanks for sharing your visit! We were there on a cruise about 10 years ago and the memories flooded back!
Rhoda says
Wow, Janet, I loved hearing your stories of Newport. What a wonderful place to be as a child. I can’t imagine the impact those mansions must have had on you. I never saw anything that grand as a child.
Jane says
I love your shares of such wonderful places, Rhoda. So glad you and Mark are getting to enjoy these experiences. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Linda Hickey says
WOW, such beautiful sites and places y’all have been and seen. Thanks for sharing them. New England states are so lovely.