Weekend in Newport, RI [March 2005]

The winter blues started to descend upon us during the first weeks of March. The ides were here and it was clear that we needed a diversion. A furious exchange of e-mails lead to a quick decision that we needed to go somewhere fast. Not enough time to go to a real warm desitnation but a beautiful weekend was promised by the meteorologists and we decided to give Newport, RI the honor of hosting us for the weekend at the Newport Hyatt Regency. Jill was also set to for a royal pampering at the Hyatt's Stillwater Spa.

Leaving work somewhat early Friday afternoon, we drove through sludgy traffic until we hit route 24 south, onwards to route 114 and finally, getting to Newport at sunset. After a short walk and mild freezing (the ocean breeze was pretty harsh) we found ourselves at Yesterday's, a bar-restaurant of the type very common to Newport. The beer was great - JW Dundee Honey Brown Lager and the food was decent. The onion soup was generic but the grilled tuna in wasabi mayo was spectacular; the red snapper
was decent. Prices, like anything in Newport, are on the higher end, although the service across the board was spectacular.

We arrived at the hotel around 8:30 PM and after checking in parked our car in the hotel's rather weird parking lot. The hotel charges $14 per night to park your own car and you have little choice as the hotel is pretty much located on its own on Goat Island. Still, hotel of its level are known to levy penalties of this kind. The room was very nice and roomy, with a great bed, a very practical desk (though the power sockets were not easily accessible). The hotel offers T-Mobile WiFi service but instead I just used my phone's Bluetooth and the free MyFreeI.com service. At 9600bps, it was just useful for e-mail, which was what I needed the service for.

The view from our room that greeted us the next morning was great and the beautiful sun and calling of the sea gulls assured us of a fun day. After a visit to the breakfast buffet, Jill headed on to the spa, emerging 3 hours later as a very happy and relaxed lady indeed. A massage and a herbal wrap helped. At the same time I was getting deeper into The Twenty Seventh City which so far I enjoy a lot.

For lunch we visited the less-touristy Broadway area and dined at Sapo - a great little Mexican diner. We both had a burrito, with Jill coming on top with a shredded chicken burrito that outshone Yuval's grilled chicken burrito. The really nice owner was a dot-bomb refugee who returned to Newport after trip around the world that was paid for by her severence check...

We then headed for a walk along the beaten path of Thames Avenue, visiting the little and not so little gift and souvenir stores. We also checked out our options for dinner that night, eventually deciding on Percy's Bistro. After resting we returned to the restaurant and had a lovely meal - Shrimp and Lobster ravioli for Jill and grilled Mahi-Mahi accompanied by glazed peaches and sublime rice. The service, again, was very kind, but the kitchen was especially slow and when the food finally showed up it had go return to the kitchen for reheating. Nonetheless, excellent food.

Being the party animals that we are, we returned to the hotel and watched Friday Night Lights. A great movie telling the story (based on a book with the same name) of the 1988 campaign of the Odessa, TX Permian high school football team to win the state championship. The team members, mere teens, have to withstand super-human pressure by anyone from their family members and neighbors, to strangers all around town. Great movie.

Sunday morning we left the hotel and went to visit Newport's pride an joy - its 'Guilded Age' mansions. After purchasing tickets from a thoroughly bored reperesentative at the Newport Visitor Center we proceeded to visit the largest of the mansions, The Breakers. Built by the Vanderbilt family as a summer cottage at the end of the 19th century, the mansion was indeed a marvel. Apparently sparing no cost, the building was outfitted with the best designs and fashions from Paris, enormous amounts of marble from across the globe and still managed to do it all without being outlandishly garish. The guide walking us through the mansion (included in the price of admission) provided us with a pleasant experience and a wealth of knowledge.

A front-side view of the Breaker's mansion
Ocean views from the back of the Breakers.	Jill, doing her best Vanderbilt impression, on the Breakers back porch.	A planter on the Breakers' back porch.
Details from lamp posts in the front drive way leading the the Breakers.
Note: All photos taken with my camera phone.