Travel Tuesday

Hey All! This is going to need to be quick. I'm traveling quite a bit the next few weeks. So between trips, movie Monday, playing bridge, stitching, theater, book club---there's not a lot of time for blogging. This week, we're going to NOLA and the weather is supposed to be awful----sooooo, I'm bringing my computer. We'll see how much time I actually have.

Anyhooo, this past weekend was our mother/daughter trip to Newport, Rhode Island. We flew in to Providence and rented a car. The drive was really easy. Once we got to the Vanderbilt Hotel we didn't use the car again.

The Vanderbilt Hotel is a mansion that Alfred Vanderbilt built for his mistress so he could keep her close. The place was incredible. We could easily have spent all of our time at the hotel. It was pricey, but since we were here during the off season, they had an offer---pay for 2 nights, get one night free. Totally worth it!

 They greeted with champagne!

 This was what awaited us in our suite!

 Of course it's like any other hotel with the rip-off stuff you can "buy." These little airline style bottles were $12.00 EACH!!

 This is an old school from 1915 right down the street from the hotel. It looks almost exactly like St. Aloysius where I went to grade school.

Now that I'm "in" to martini's, this was my first drink of the trip---sugar cookie---and it tasted exactly like that!

Our breakfast in the atrium was complimentary. I had the lobster benedict the first day. It was fall of huge chunks of lobster!

The hotel manager recommended we try Liberty Donuts. We got them to have later that evening in our room.

 Mine, on the far left was some sort of maple. I only took one bite---it wasn't that good. The girls offered to share theirs with me, but I was hungry anyway. Theirs were delicious.

 We had a private cooking class at the hotel. That was so much fun! We learned all kinds of new tricks. They gave us the recipes, but honestly, all of the dishes were really more work than I'll do.

The chef said that this imported rice was the best for risotto. It was really good. He said you can find it in the grocery store.

 Chef Peter showed us a good way to prepare Cornish game hens and how to use the hen's skin to secure the legs.

After our 2 1/2 hour "lesson", they sent us to the dining room where they served us courses with the appropriate wines to accompany each course. Our appetizer was enough for our whole meal! You can' really tell how big these scallops are. They were served with English pea risotto and a buerre blanc sauce (Omgosh! That sauce was divine! Not hard to make, but a lot of very specific steps. I realized that I'm the sort of cook that just wants to rush things).

 Our main course, Cornish game hens with duchess potatoes and sautéed spinach.

Cappuccino creme brûlée. I wasn't thrilled about this during the preparation because I don't like coffee. But when we got it, the flavor was so subtle, that I nearly ate the whole thing! Every bit of the meal was so delicious. In fact, the people at the table next to us wanted to order what we had. The chef came out when each course was served. He talked to the people at the next table and they booked a private lesson for the next day! Just being in the hustling and bustling kitchen was a lot of fun. They were preparing for a big event later that evening. We were in a little corner with the head chef. The whole thing lasted 4 hours. It was definitely our favorite activity on this trip.

Oooops, I forgot to mention this. This was some sort of coffee flavored beer served with our dessert. I didn't even try it. It's a combination of two things I don't like!

We had a couple hours of free time after lunch. The girls browsed the shops while I talked to the manager/concierge about our plans so that I could get everything organized. That evening, we went to a dinner theater. I wasn't too concerned about eating so soon after our big lunch because usually the food at those kind of places isn't all that good. It wasn't. The show was a little goofy but we enjoyed it. Still, we didn't get back to the hotel until midnight, so we were pretty tired.

 The next day, we did the "Cliff Walk." It's a 3.5 mile walk behind the mansions along the ocean.

 We lucked out with the weather. It was a little chilly, but sunny, so was actually beautiful.

The walk was a little overrated since you couldn't really see any of the mansions. There was either trees and landscaping or fences. Still, we got to say we did it! It's not just 3.5 miles, it's 7! It's not a loop--you have to turn around. We entered the walk in the middle. I don't know how far I went before I turned around. I went back to a sunny spot to read while they continued on. As it turned out, it wasn't much further from where I turned that the path turned to uneven rocks. Definitely would have been a falling feature for me! I don't need that on vacation!

After the walk, we had planned to go to the White Horse Tavern--the first tavern in America. Just our luck, it was closed for a private event. We went to Brick Alley instead. We had a drink until it was time for our mansions tour.

The tour was supposed to be an hour and a half and included touring The Breakers mansion. Well, as it turned out, the mansion was an additional hour and a half. By the time we finished, we were pretty hungry so decided to go straight to dinner.

 On the way, we stopped at the first gas lamp in the United States. Steph argued with me about that. I said, "of course they've electrified it now!" She insists that it isn't even an original light. The plaque just commemorates the street. She might be right, but I prefer to think it's the real light. Otherwise, what's really the point!

 We had delicious seafood here for dinner. We started with lobster nachos. I love the fact that when you are in the east, lobster is cheap!! We shared some fabulous clam chowder too.

We had happy hour a couple times in our hotel.

When we got back to the hotel after dinner, they had the fire pit going with a s'mores bar set up. We ended up not doing that. Instead, we went inside to a little private sitting area and had after dinner drinks. Of course, I ordered Bailey's with hot chocolate. This was my only disappointment of the trip---and of Bailey's with hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was semi sweet, so didn't taste as luscious as usual.

It was a whirlwind trip, but we had a great time---as usual. Next year, we're going back to New York. The decision has already been made because Hugh Jackman is reprising the lead role in The Music Man. Sutton Foster has been cast as Marian. I am so excited!!! It's a long way off, but it gives all of us something to look forward to.

Honestly, best of all with these trips is spending this time with my girls. We don't get to do it often enough. Since Sandy will be moving closer soon, we're hoping to get together more often!