Mystic:
I’ve wanted to go to Mystic, Connecticut ever
since I saw the movie “Mystic Pizza" with Julia Roberts. So, of course we went and ate pizza at the
Mystic Pizza restaurant! I had been told
by a friend that this town was also a great place to visit and found that it
truly is a gem. We spent an entire day
at the Mystic Seaport Museum and learned much about the whaling industry in
this area. We had a delightful surprise,
again featuring music! We met a
chanteyman who taught us about life at sea through sea chanteys.
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| Yummy pizza! |
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| Mystic Seaport Museum harbor |
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| Ship Figureheads |
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| Charles W. Morgan wooden whaleship |
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| Mystic Seaport Lighthouse |
Newport:
More Vanderbilts! In
Newport, Rhode Island we went to the famous Breakers, summer “cottage” of
Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his wife Alice.
The views are fabulous and the house amazing! In one room, platinum was used on the
wallpaper to make it shine, and it still shines today!
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| The Great Hall |
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| Bathroom |
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| Kitchen |
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| Beautiful view of the breakers! |
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| Gardens in the back |
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| More beautiful views! |
William K. Vanderbilt, brother to the above Cornelius II,
built a “cottage” down the street for his wife Alva. It’s name, Marble House, is very appropriate
since most of the house is made of marble – 500,000 cubic feet of marble!
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| Gothic Room |
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| Alva's lilac bedroom |
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| Marble everywhere! |
Since
we love sculpture so much, I thought it might be fun to see a different type of
sculpture. In Portsmouth, Rhode Island
there is the Green Animals Topiary Garden which is the oldest and most northern
topiary garden in the US.
Providence:
I missed seeing a friend
while in Providence ☹ However, she
had a very good excuse as she delivered a healthy baby boy during the days that
I was in town! So I reached out to one
of my past colleagues who had lived in the area for ideas. Thanks Jamie – we loved these suggestions!
- Lunch at Timmy’s Grilled Pizza
- Dessert at Patische Fine Desserts
- Providence Athenaeum
- Swan Point Cemetery
Oh! And we saw the state
capital building, but couldn’t get close since we were in the middle of a
marathon race that was about to begin!
Next, we’re on a hunt for lighthouses!
