Hi all! The first stop on our New England Cruise was Newport, Rhode Island. Its such a cute harbor town with such fantastic architecture, history and brick buildings everywhere.
We took a narrated tour through Newport before touring 2 of the extravagant Vanderbilt Mansions.
I love that both tours were self guided with audio so it allowed you to hear the stories of the mansion and rooms as you walked along.
First up was The Breakers Mansion, named after the waves you hear crashing along the coast.
The attention to every detail in each room was amazing.
I cannot imagine cooking in this kitchen – the entire wall long cast iron stove would heat up to cook each meal.
The view from the terrace where they often ate their meals during their annual 6 week stay.
View of the back of the house from the walking path.
The next mansion was Marble Mansion. The entire house has over 500,000 cubic square feet of marble throughout.
I think the daughter talking throughout this tour was my favorite. She totally fit the heiress profile I’d imagined. She had her husband build this house in her name just before she divorced him.
While the marble was amazing, I actually loved the stained glass windows even more.
This house was designed with women in mind with the stairs being made smaller to allow for their grand entrances into the rooms.
In the back of the house, they have this Chinese Tea House which also overlooks the ocean.
My “action” shot…I was really trying to take a picture of the ocean but somehow caught this bee buzzing by too.
Once we returned, we got dolled up for our first formal night. I love my Fibi & Clo sandals.
And my super hot date who made friends with the elephant left on our bed <3
Daily Snap Recap: My goal for our vacation is to eat mindfully trying to make good choices, not eating when I’m not hungry and focusing on good eats 80% of the time so I can have treats 20% of the time as part of being on vacation. I find tracking a little helps keep me in check.
B: I did eat my entire cinnamon bread, about half the eggs and bacon. I had orange segments not pictured.
L: We shared BBQ pork at Binge BBQ…I ate the sides (coleslaw & greens) and 1/3 of the meat.
S: a cup from the ice cream bar before dinner 🙂
D: I ate all my salad and shrimp with bites of the burrata with bread and tiramisu.
Today we walked the Freedom Trail in Boston and tomorrow we head to Bar Harbor to see some Lighthouses.
Night all!
We were there last year at the end of October–loved your pictures–brought back great memories. We did a 14 day cruise and boy was it cold. Loved the mansions–so much history and to imagine how much money people had back then–it’s mind boggling. Have fun–I always eat too much on my cruises–it’s all so good and I’m not doing the cooking!
You look terrific Danica! Have a great time! I may be the only person to lose 7 pounds on a cruise (Alaska). I was sea sick the entire time. UGH
Loved your photo’s as always; especially the Sunflowers – my favorite flower, next to the daisy. The mansions reminded me of the Biltmore House which was also from the Vanderbilt’s. It is gorgeous at Christmas! Your gold sandals went smashing with your little black dress. Enjoy your vacation 🙂