Friday, October 31, 2014

Newport Mansions

While in Newport Rhode Island we got to see the "Newport Mansions", many of which are built along the coast and have beautiful views of the ocean.
Some are owned by The Preservation Society of Newport County and are available to tour.  Some are still owned by individuals and lived in as regular homes.
The house in this picture is cool, but seriously, this tree has great character :)



We walked around the neighborhood and I snapped several photos of homes that were unique and interesting, or the walls around the homes that were interesting - like this photo on the left.


 Most have gated drives....


The one we chose to tour is this one, called The Breakers, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1895.  He made his fortune in the railroad industry.  You cannot take pictures inside, but as the brochure says, "It's interiors feature rare marble, alabaster, and gilded woods throughout."
I am a Downton Abbey fan so I felt a little bit like I was walking through Highclere Castle.  We took an audio tour so it was very interesting to see the furnishings and hearing about their lives during that time period.

The next morning we took an ocean walk which runs along the backside of many of these mansions.  It was a beautiful walk.  This picture is just below the backyard of The Breakers.



The pictures below are views from The Breakers "backyard".








Here is The Breakers from the back - the ocean is right behind me as I'm taking this picture.


Another pretty mansion - not sure what this one is called, and it is not on the tour.




I have a thing about interesting trees.


I believe this is the backside of Rosecliff, but I am not positive.  If it is, it is one that can be toured.  We just saw it on our ocean walk.

I kind of feel like I've been to Downton Abbey!

No comments:

Post a Comment