Rhode Island Travel Diary

When we went to Honolulu, Hawaii in Fall 2019, we didn't foresee it as our last vacation for a quite few years. Well the pandemic came and hung around and we didn't actually feel it was safe enough to try to travel until this year. We had friends recommend Rhode Island and we decided that it would be a good destination for us. Since it isn't too far from home, it wouldn't be a long trip, making it easier to travel while taking precautions.  

The name Rhode Island originated from the Greek Island of Rhodes. This name was used by Dutch explorer Adrian Block, who called it "Roodt Eylandt" meaning "red island" because of the red clay on the shore. The name was officially adopted in 1644. The state borders Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east and the Atlantic Ocean to its south. Providence is the capital and most populous city with 200,000 residents. We were actually trying to decide between Providence and Newport and it made the most sense for us to stay in Providence and do a day trip to Newport. We went the first week of September which was ideal since it was back to school though the weather turned out to be quite hot. If we waited a week, we would've been dealing with hurricanes though so...

GETTING THERE
One of the reasons we chose Providence is because it's accessible by Amtrak. We chose taking the train rather than renting a car because the travel time is shorter and we just didn't want to deal with the hassle of traffic and parking. The Providence train station is centrally located in the downtown area and there were plenty of train times available for our route. We ended up going there on the Northeast Regional which is the regular train and coming back on the Acela which is their business class only train. The Acela costs more but for us it was worth it because we could pre-choose our seats, they were more comfortable and the ride was smoother and more quiet. Plus it was quicker because there are less stops. If we travel by train again in the future, we'd definitely choose the Acela. The train leaves out of Moynihan Station in midtown which is very easy for us to get to from lower Manhattan.

STAY
Aloft Providence
191 Dorrance Street, Providence, RI 02903
Aloft Providence appealed to us because of it's prime downtown location as well as it's modern, high tech and clean design. It was very clean and secure as well as being an easy walk from Providence Station. It was convenient to be able to check-in and out and make requests and inquiries through the Marriott Bonvoy app. The toiletries were from Drybar and their shampoo/conditioner is incredible. We stayed in a City King room. The sleek decor felt fresh and there was no tacky bedspread or extraneous decor pillows that we needed to remove from the bed which was firm yet comfortable. We made use of the the mini fridge in our room for all the drinks we bought and there were plenty of outlets to charge our electronics. We had a good stay there.

GETTING AROUND
We stayed downtown and most everything we wanted to visited was walking distance. When we went to Newport, we took the SeaStreak Ferry there and the Rhode Island bus back. The ferry ride cost $12 per person and took 45 minutes. It was pretty smooth and a nice scenic experience. We ended up taking the public bus back because there were no ferry departure times that worked for us. The bus was $2 per person and took an hour and 10 minutes.

SEE/DO
Providence is known as a picturesque college town that is home to Brown University and RISD. It has  much to offer in the way of history, architecture, culture and a thriving arts scene.

RISD Museum
We really enjoy visiting museums so the Rhode Island School of Design Museum was high on our spots to see. The RISD Museum) is an art museum integrated with the Rhode Island School of Design that was co-founded with the school in 1877.  It is the 20th-largest art museum in the United States, with 7 curatorial departments, serving as museum to the public and a teaching facility for RISD students. RISD Museum offers access to ongoing programming and a rich collection of fine art, design and decorative arts from around the world. Van Gogh, Picasso, and Monet originals are displayed alongside contemporary art as well as ancient Chinese sculptures, mummies, furniture and textiles. The standout exhibits for us were the Asian Art and European galleries. I especially enjoyed seeing Claude Monet's A Walk in the Meadows at Argenteuil which is one of my favorite paintings. The 12th century 10 foot Buddha was also quite impressive.

Providence Athenæum
Founded in 1836, the Providence Athenæum is an independent library that has been in operation for nearly 200 years. It was a library before public libraries which has hosted literary luminaries like Edgar Allen Poe, Ann Patchett, and Colson Whitehead. Housed in a Greek Revival style building, the library has been beautifully preserved and renovated. This place was a real treat.

College Hill
Home to the campuses of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). College Hill showcases both academia and historic architecture. The area is a study in historic preservation with many historic houses in various notable architectural styles including Georgian, Federal and Renaissance Revival that are protected by the city. It's a nice are to explore though it really is a hill so be prepared to walk. The yellow Fleur de Lys Building on Thomas Street is a historic first example of Arts & Crafts architecture that is home to the Providence Art Club. Thayer Street is a eclectic shopping and dining area popular with the college crowd. An example of Art Deco architecture, the Avon Cinema has been around since 1938. 

Westminster Arcade
Built in 1828, the Arcade is the oldest indoor mall in the country. With it's distinguished Greek Revival columns, granite walls and classic facade, the first floor is now home to over a dozen small businesses and restaurants, including a coffee/whiskey bar, jewelers, high end consignment shops, clothing boutiques, and home decor/gift ware shops. 

Waterplace Park
Situated along the Woonasquatucket River, Waterplace Park is an urban park that is connected to 3/4 miles of cobblestone-paved pedestrian walkways along the waterfront known as Riverwalk. Venice-styled pedestrian bridges cross the river. This was nice to walk along though the water was quite dirty. It looked dirtier than the East River in NYC. This park is also the site of WaterFire, a sparkling bonfire art attraction that travels down the river, twice a month between April and October.

Rhode Island State House
The Rhode Island State House is located right next to the train station. This landmark building is a majestic example of Neoclassical architecture. Topped by a statue called “The Independent Man,” symbolizing freedom of thought and entrepreneurial spirit, the dome is the 4th largest self-supporting dome in the world that was inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Downcity Arts District
This area is home to Providence’s performing art venues and visual arts destinations. It's a great place to shop and eat. 

EAT/DRINK
Thanks to immigrant influences and Johnson and Wale, the world-class culinary school, Providence has quite a vibrant food scene. With our concerns about COVID, being able to dine outdoors was a priority. There was also trying to eat healthy. We decided to stick with our intermittent fasting and only ate twice a day. We did take-out a few times and the one time we did eat indoors was our dinner at the Blu Violet because it was just so hot and muggy outside. But it was early enough that there weren't many people and we were able to grab a secluded table with air venting nearby.

Blu Violet Roof Bar
191 Dorrance Street, Providence, RI 02903
Blu Violet just happened to be in our hotel and we knew wanted to dine there after seeing good reviews and the pictures of the spectacular views so I actually booked a reservation prior to our trip. The modern and airy dining room provided a nice atmosphere. Not going to lie, we had a bit of anxiety because this was literally the first time, we ate inside of anywhere that wasn't our house since the Spring 2020. We kept our masks on unless we were eating/drinking. The staff was very respectful and gave us our space. They feature a seasonal tapas style menu. Since we were on the two meal a day program we ordered six dishes. The tuna crudo and the steak and chicken skewers were particularly delicious. Also really enjoyed the greek style salad (not pictured).

Xaco Taco
370 Richmond Street, Providence, RI 02903
We had an early dinner here on our first night and since we dined before 5PM, we were able to take advantage of their $2 taco happy hour. All the tacos we had were so tasty. My husband's favorite was the al pastor and the wild mushroom was mine.

Ceremony
406 Brook Street, Providence, RI 02906
We noticed that Providence had a lot of cute cafes and tea houses. We visited Ceremony after lunch on the day we went to College Hill. Ceremony is a café, tea house and market close by Brown University. They serve Asian inspired beverages, tea ceremony, pour overs, and sake mixology. They also carry traditional Asian pastries & snacks as well as a curated selection of local pottery and tea wares sourced from China, Taiwan and Japan. It has a minimalist decor with a cool vibe and the place was bustling. I was able to get an unsweetened matcha latte and my husband got a mocha latte. Our drinks were so refreshing.

NEWPORT

As I mentioned, we took a day trip to Newport, Rhode Island. Newport is a neighboring seaside town on the coast. We spent the day there and it was enough for our interests.

Cliff Walk
Located in the National Historic District, the Cliff Walk along the eastern shore is a world famous as a public access walk that combines the natural beauty of the Newport shoreline with the architectural history of Newport's gilded age. This was what we came to Newport for and it didn't disappoint even though it was like the hottest day of the year. Fortunately we were able to catch the free trolley to the entrance of the walk. It was very sunny and hot but the views were stunning. On one side you get the ocean and ton he other side you get mansions and Salve Regina University. The majority of the path is paved and flat so it is fairly easy to navigate but there are unpaved rocky areas that were more challenging. This was a really cool experience and quite a workout.

Mansions
Newport is home to a number of gilded age mansions that offer tours. We ended up going to The Breakers, a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial pre-eminence in the Gilded Age that is known to be the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages." This cottage is indeed a mansion and a fine representation of Renaissance Revival architecture. It was all very lavish and grand and tacky. It was interesting to see how the rich live and frankly the excessiveness was kind of gross.

Umbrella Sky Newport
Umbrella Sky is an art installation consisting of 500 colorful umbrellas suspended in the sky above Brick Market Place. Sun-kissed shadows are cast through a canopy of floating umbrellas onto the pathway of the tree-lined street flanked by shops. This was fun to walk through and there was a light breeze that moved the umbrellas around which added to the visual interest.

Kaffeology
359 Thames Street, Newport, RI 02840
We had lunch at this charming cafe and it has such a adorable and cozy vibe. It also felt very New York to me for some reason. I had a Modern Cobb salad and hubby had a Pressed Pavo sandwich with roasted turkey breast, crispy bacon, avocado, tomato, lemon aioli and artisan lettuce served on our 5 grain seeded bread. Our food was fresh, filling and really good. Our matcha latte and strawberry fields refresher were excellent as well. They had a really extensive drink menu and everything sounded amazing.

This 3 day, 3 night trip was the perfect length and it was a good way to test the waters of travel again. Even though it was really hot, we were lucky to avoid any rain because there were some serous storms the week after. We were able to take things at a leisurely pace and there was a lot walking on this vacation. I actually lost 3 pounds and it wasn't even intentional. Crossing the streets was interesting because cars there were very yielding towards pedestrians which is not the case in NYC. The people there were really nice. No one gave us a hard time for wearing masks and being COVID conscious. We even saw a number of students wearing masks. Anyway it was good to travel again and know that we could do it and still protect ourselves from catching COVID. And we really liked the Amtrak experience. So much that we're already talking about taking another trip by train in the Spring. Have you been to Rhode Island?

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