Day 2--mansion tours

Newport is famous in part for its amazing mansions built by the rich and famous of the late 1800s and early 1900s in America. Think the Vanderbilts, who were responsible for more than one of these homes. We toured 4 of them while we were in Newport, and this is a snippet of Day 1.

Sadly, no one is allowed to photograph inside the mansions. Which is a shame, since I would have likely used up all my memory cards and a couple of camera batteries in the process of trying to capture the opulence. Instead I'll send you to the homes' websites and you can check them out for yourself. I can only give you exteriors *sigh*

We started the day walking to the Cliff Walk. It's a path several miles long that runs literally along a cliff above the Atlantic Ocean. On the other side of the path are several of the mansions that were built back in the day. We were taking it slowly, since we had walked ALL DAY the day before, and we're both out of shape, to put it mildly. Plus I learned that spending the entire day walking in a pair of Converse sneakers isn't the best idea if you don't like pain.

But I digress...

A view of the ocean from the Cliff Walk, and my rugged husband enjoying the view

The Chateau-Sur-Mer. Built in the 1850, added on in the 1890s by a couple who were on a 10-year honeymoon. Must be nice to have that kind of time...

The Breakers. Tied for first as my favorite mansion (so far). The stone and mosaic tiled patios were unbelievable. Can you believe this was only used as a "summer cottage"???