Christmas in Newport

Jim and I spent last weekend in Newport, Rhode Island, touring some of the mansions that we couldn't fit in on our trip back in September, strolling through the historic district and reveling in the Christmas delights. During our previous trip, we discovered that a few of the mansions are decorated for the holidays, so we immediately started planning our return.

The Breakers, the Elms and Marble House are all decorated, and coincidentally we had skipped the Elms and Marble House on our first tour. I had been to both once before on my first trip to Newport, but I had never been in the off-season. Photography is usually off-limits inside of the mansions, but exceptions were made in each house for some of the more elaborately decorated sections.

All three houses were beautifully decorated, with trees in almost every room, garland-covered banisters and elaborate mantlepiece scenes. The Breakers even had a display of gingerbread Newport Mansions—I loved the renditions of the Chinese Tea House from Marble House and Kingscote, which we toured back in September.

Of course all of the decorations are really just for show—most of the mansions were strictly summer homes and sat empty in the winter months. Historically accurate or not, the mansions are perfect backdrops for the opulent reds and golds of Christmas and every grand staircase looks even more grand wrapped in evergreen.

Of course I also enjoyed the more humble wreaths and candy-cane-striped porch columns that we spotted on our walk around town. I've always thought that New England is a quintessential fall destination, but it turns out that the colonial, federal and shingle-style houses with their dark green siding and bright red doors are pretty perfect for the Christmas season as well.

Downtow Newpot

Last weekend Jim, Katie and I went to Newport, RI for two days of mansion tours, delicious food, cemeteries and general New England-y delights. I'd been to Newport once before, but I never turn down a chance to explore and there's definitely a reason why Newport was the summer destination for anyone who was anyone in the Gilded Age.

We bought a five-house mansion tour ticket and chose the Breakers, Rosecliff, Kingscote, Chateau-Su-Mer and the Isaac Bell house. The Isaac Bell house was my favorite on my first trip, and it still manages to hold onto that title 7 years later. It's a shingle-style lovers dream, with a wraparound, two-story porch that I would probably never leave.

We also walked a portion of the Cliff Walk, which overlooks the ocean on one side and the backyards of gorgeous mansions on the other, and features some of the best warning signs I've ever seen (totally to scale). We had breakfast at Ma's Donuts and More, where I had one of the best sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches I've ever had (bold claim) and I took an apple cider donut to go, which I did not regret.

Saturday we saw the Newport Casino (now the International Tennis Hall of Fame), designed by Charles McKim of the famous architecture firm McKim, Mead and White, and ate lunch at the La Forge restaurant that overlooks the tennis court. Sunday we ate lunch at White Horse Tavern which was founded in 1673 and claims to be America's Oldest Tavern (definitely haunted).

We drove along Ocean Drive, stopped for a Del's Frozen Lemonade—always delicious, despite Jim's having a bee in the bottom—and of course I made sure there was time for a stop at the Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery, which is on Farewell Road (!). I couldn't find the colonial-era slave grave portion of the cemetery, but there were a lot of very old tombstones, which I can't get enough of—the winged skulls are my absolute favorite and this cemetery had quite a few in relatively good shape, especially considering they were from the early 1700s.

Newport was the perfect weekend trip and getaway from the city, which I definitely appreciate, despite my love of all things New York. Every time I go to New England, I fall in love with its charms a bit more and I take comfort in knowing that when I eventually tire of city life, I can start the next chapter of my life in New England—where I will buy a rambling haunted house, fill it with cats, tie cornstalks to the porch, pretend like it's always Halloween and live happily ever after.