There seem to be just a few things a 3-day visitor to Newport can do to get the most out of the visit. (Like a real travel writer, I like to figure out the essence of a place quickly. I know that is not really possible without friends who live there, so I may BS a bit.)
Here's what I figured out:
1. Take a stroll down Thames St. and look at the boats and all of the cool piers and pubs.
2. Bike or take a hike down Bellevue Ave. from town out to the end, or, better, continue on and make it a bike ride all the way around the Ocean Drive back to the harbor. It's only about 12 miles.
3. Walk a few segments or more of the Cliff Walk. Do it early in the morning and beat the rush.
4. Scout out the antique areas of town where the tourists and drinkers don't go, and there are no shops. The Point is one such neighborhood. Also, around Spring St. Probably plenty more nooks and crannies we didn't find.
5. If you must, check out the interiors of one or two of the grand "cottages." ("Cottage" means that they aren't really winterized. Summer places.) I don't really like them or want to see the insides, but it gives one an idea of what life could be like for an ambitious entrepreneur before the income tax, the corporate tax, and the SEC. And with 20-30 servants to keep things functioning smoothly.
6. Rhode Island seafood always seems to have a Portuguese spin on it. Even a bowl of steamers has hot peppers, red peppers, chorizo, and onions in it. Not bad at all, but not my favorite. Mrs. BD loved her grilled salmon with sweet barbecue sauce on a bed of pickled red cabbage. People say The Mooring has the town's best seafood. It is housed in the old Station #6 of the New York Yacht Club, which has moved to a quieter side of the harbor.
7. On a rainy day, I'd probably stop by the Tennis Hall of Fame, right on the main drag.
Photo from along the Cliff Walk, facing the Atlantic Ocean on the right. I think that is the charming Little Compton in the distance.
More random Newport pics below the fold.
The inner harbor on The Point:
View from inside The Mooring restaurant:
A tasteful cottage out along the Ocean Drive, overlooking the Atlantic and the Spouting Rock Beach Club:
Another very similar one, down the street:
The Ida Lewis Yacht Club - one of the most modest and yet most important and exclusive yacht clubs in the world:
Shingle style, right off Bellevue Ave. Nice, but why the ladder?
From across the inner part of the large harbor. Lotsa very nice sailboats:
A better shot of that Dunkin Donuts truck:
A little cove on the Ocean Drive:
This humble cottage is towards the southern end of Bellevue:
Typical street in the Point neighborhood. Nobody goes there. All 1700s:
Another street in the Point. Clearly just a typical New England turn of the century development. Regular America:
Another non-grand Newport house around Kay St:
Typically elaborate entry to one of the grand rock piles on Bellevue:
Pretty boats:
Folks watching the World Cup and drinking on Thames St:
More Thames St:
More fun pics later -
