Handstands Around the World

Next up in the continuing saga of my obsession with Groupon: a trip to Newport, Rhode Island, which began when I found a $49 per night hotel stay. And this wasn’t some crappy hotel. It was clean, three minutes from the beach, and that price got us a king-sized suite for the night!

(Of course, it was also during the off-season.)

So, on a Saturday morning in early March, we tossed our bags in the car and headed off for a weekend in Newport.

When I mention Newport, I’m assuming one of the first things that comes to mind (for those who have heard of it) is the giant mansions. Yes, I’m talking about that Newport. And yes, the mansions really are that enormous. Excessive, really, is the most appropriate word to describe them.

Also, beautiful.

But mostly just completely excessive.

In addition to the mansions, there’s quite a bit of history in Newport. The majority of the buildings we saw are on the National Register of Historic Places, including houses built in the 1700s, the old library and athenaeum, many statues of historical figures, and other stone structures in the local parks.

Since we’re budget travelers, we did our Newport exploring on our own and on foot (which was a little cold since it was March, but thankfully it was a sunny weekend). We began at the visitor welcome center before setting off through the town, stopping approximately every ten feet to take pictures of all the old buildings.

Before venturing too far away from the coast, we wandered across the short bridge to Goat Island, home to the Goat Island Lighthouse. From here, we were treated to views of Long Island Sound, the 11,250 foot (3430 m) long Claiborne Pell Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in New England, which we’d driven over in order to reach Newport), and some of the town itself.

After crossing back to the mainland, we began meandering the streets and wandering through a couple of parks, stopping to read signs and contemplate the statues. Highlights included the Touro Synagogue (built in 1763, the oldest existing synagogue in the United States), Touro Park, and Queen Anne Square.

We ended the day at the White Horse Tavern, which is the oldest continually operating tavern in the United States! Built in 1652 as a private residence, it later became a meeting place for the local colonial government before eventually being granted a liquor license.

This is by far the fanciest restaurant I’ve ever been to (we were a bit underdressed… lesson learned) and also the most expensive.

But we were considering this trip to be somewhat of an anniversary celebration, so it was a good time to splurge. We ordered beer and our entrees, and it was absolutely the best chicken I’ve ever had! The restaurant itself is small (reservations are a good idea), very quaint, and has managed to retain its wooden decor and historic atmosphere.

The next morning, we parked at Easton’s Beach and headed out to the Cliff Walk – the famous waterfront walkway that passes by the majority of the Newport Mansions. For those who are interested, there are tours available to go inside three of the largest mansions, but we opted to skip those for the sake of time and money. Instead, we just followed the Cliff Walk from one end to the other and back again.

It was very snowy in places (on the plus side, there weren’t many people there) but that didn’t stop us from oohing and ahhing at the mansions and also enjoying the beautiful views of the Rhode Island coast.

In the end, my impressions of Newport are mixed. The history was interesting and the architecture is undeniably beautiful. But as someone who came from a family without a lot of money to spare, I just can’t quite get over the theme of excess on display in Newport. Sure, it’s nice to have a vacation home in a pretty place, but no one needs a giant mansion with 8 bedrooms and a pool that they only live in for a few weeks a year. There are so many other things – more useful things, charitable things – that money could be spent on.

The US is already an extremely wasteful nation with a penchant for material things, a condition which is magnified a thousand times in Newport. And that’s something I’m just never going support. The mansions are magnificent, yes. But truthfully, Newport probably isn’t a place I’ll ever return to.