About a week ago I visited Newport, Rhode Island for a brief getaway. Newport is one of the most beautiful small cities in America. It’s truly rustic and scenic in so many ways. This is a great town to visit. Yachting, surfing and seafood dining in unique establishments are the perfect compliment to the scenic and historic walks one can take around this town.
Points of interest in Newport, RI include: Easton’s and 2nd Beaches for surfing, Thames street for shopping and antique browsing (The Armory), and Cliffwalk for a brisk walk along the cliffs of the Atlantic lined by Mansions such as “The Breakers”. If you enjoy tennis, you must visit the National Tennis Center (where the US Open first started in the late 19th century). They also have a Court Tennis Court on the grounds – “ The Casino.” Jamestown is just a short boat ride across the harbor or drive across the bridge for rustic and rural farm scenery along with gorgeous homes and great cafes and trattorias.
For restaurants in Newport try 22 Bowens, on Bowen’s Warf. At Bowen’s try the 2lb Maine Lobster and a good bottle of white wine to compliment. A great café on the West side of downtown Newport is Salvation Café. Salvation is an American/Asian fusion café with an emphasis on seafood. It is sure to delight the pallet. Dessert at Castle Rock Inn down on Ocean Drive is a great way to wrap up an evening out. Bars are aplenty on America’s Cup downtown for late night partying in Newport.
One of the best day trips to enjoy by Newport is to take a quick jaunt out to Block Island. You can take a fast ferry right out of a couple of places around Newport. It’s about a 1+ hour trip out, but a fantastic way to spend a day. I was lucky enough to have a great friend who took us on his boat across to BI, but the ferries are pretty frequent, so check it out.
One great Bed and Breakfast to stay in is the Touro Park Inn at the top of the hill near Bellevue Avenue.
As a side note, I was astounded by how clean the waters are in Rhode Island. It’s reassuring to see that at least in some aspect organizations such as Save the Bay, residents and businesses are steward a recovery of the ocean in the area. Ten to fifteen years ago when I would vacation frequently in Fisher’s Island, NY (Long Island Sound) the waters were not nearly as clean as they were when I saw this time in Block Island and Newport. It was so great to be able to look into the water and be able to see no less than 6-10 feet clear through to the bottom of the ocean floor! Congrats, Rhode Island and Connecticut for cleaning up a bit. I’m sure that New York is making the effort too with organizations like Save the Sound.
What does Huis mean?
Posted by: skore | October 16, 2006 at 02:24 PM