After spending Saturday with family in Massachusetts, we drove the hour or so to Rhode Island for three days. It managed to rain all but one day we were there, but it was an awesome chance to take a break from work and imagine a future in yet another new city.
It was a little risky for my camera with the rain on Sunday, so unfortunately I only have bits and pieces to show, but we parked near Brown and walked all through College Hill before settling on a pizza place to eat on Wickendon Street. The area had a casual vibe perfect for college kids grabbing an afternoon brunch, but I also saw some younger families ducking in and out restaurants to avoid the rain. I loved Wickendon's proximity to the more affordable East End homes surrounding Brown, and it was also nice to see many people about, despite the weather.
After lunch, we checked into our B&B at the Christopher Dodge House. Our room was beautiful, and we immediately started a fire to warm up. I enjoyed the simplicity of the room (minus the rooster statue on the armoire), and with a view of the statehouse, it was a great option for our stay in Providence.
For dinner, we took advice from friends and visited Andinos, in Federal Hill. While the portions were overkill, we appreciated the generosity. Each glass of wine was double the average size, and paired with my three (!) chicken breasts and heaping plate of pasta, I left the restaurant needing bigger pants. I'm usually a less is more kind of girl when it comes to eating out, but the food was good, and I managed to save room for a piece of limoncello cake.
On Monday, we continued our tour throughout downtown, and again battled the rain. Some highlights from the walking tour are below.
Beginning in June, all three rivers in Downtown Providence are lit ablaze in a display created by sculptor, Barnaby Evans. Water Fire must be absolutely beautiful on summer nights, and it was a letdown we didn't plan our visit two months later.
One of our favorite parts of the visit was our tapas lunch we had in Downtown Providence. Flan y Ajo was by far the best Spanish sampling I have ever eaten having never been to Spain. I have had extremely expensive tapas in Philly, and they didn't even come close to Flan y Ajo. Yum.
Our evening in Providence was spent wandering the streets with Brown students (Thames in particular) and trying more local cuisine. (I'm still full from this trip.) For such a small city, we loved the busy feel. There are plenty of fun shops and restaurants mixed in with tall office buildings and five colleges all within walking distance. Even in the rain, we never failed to see people wandering the streets.
On Tuesday, after a delicious breakfast at the Inn, we checked out and drove the 40 or so minutes into Newport, RI. It was far from a beach day, but it was nice to be able to do the Cliff Walk without having to dodge tourists. We joked that Salve Regina University was the East Coast version of our alma mater. The views were just as breathtaking as those from our old dorm rooms, but with an East Coast vibe and several mansions thrown into the mix.
We left RI for home with plenty of time to beat the traffic, so when we were both hungry and needed to stretch our legs, I searched for a place to grab a bite off the Mystic, CT exit. Apparently the Sea View Snack Bar was nominated for an award by Rachel Ray (told to us by a tourist from Arkansas), so we didn't feel slighted by the lobster roll we shared. The view wasn't bad either!
