Wed Oct 1, 2025
Hi All! Happy October! Is it Halloween yet?? That’s what my grandkids ask! Lol. Today we are anchored near Newport and had to tender into the town. Newport was founded in 1639 by a group of religious refugees from Massachusetts. Because of the excellent harbor at Newport, the town soon became one of the most flourishing seaports in colonial North America.
Newport is a stylish, world famous yachting center with a long tradition of elegance. The colonial sections boast many authentic historic buildings, some dating back to the 1600’s. Most impressive are the opulent summer “cottages” built by industrial-age tycoons.
During the Gilded Age from 1840 to 1912, the likes of the Vanderbilt’s, the JP Morgan’s and other wealthy families came here to enjoy their summers. Current day celebrities are the likes of Jay Leno and Judge Judy!
Our excursion today was a trolley tour around Newport to see lots of those stately mansions and we also stopped and toured the Breakers Mansion. It was built in 1895 by the Vanderbilt’s (same family that built the Biltmore in Asheville). It was modeled after the 16th century open air Genoese palaces in Italy. But the amazing thing was it was built in Europe and disassembled there and reassembled here. Crazy!
Our trolley driver and tour guide was very funny. He was an Irish guy with a great sense of humor. He said Newport has a very large Irish population and that you can get a 7 course Irish meal for $12.95… which is a 6 pack of beer and a baked potato! Lol
After our tour we came back and had lunch. Then did some afternoon activities which was afternoon tea, an enrichment lecture on Cloud Computing and another one on the Hidden Gems of Provincetown and Boston (our next two ports of call). Very educational!
We then got ready for dinner. I’ll post again later this evening. Happy Hump Day to all!
The Wandering Italian 