Newport & Block Island Get-Away 25

Day 1

Welcome Aboard! Travel in comfort aboard our deluxe motor coach to the legendary town of Newport, Rhode Island, and discover a world of exceptional American elegance and inspirational architecture. Our first destination today is Mystic, Connecticut. Upon our arrival, enjoy some leisure time at Olde Mistick Village, a recreated picturesque 18th-century New England town with small independent shops, boutiques, restaurants and more. Following our visit, we travel to Middletown, Rhode Island, a suburb of Newport, where we spend the next three nights at the Wyndham Newport Hotel. After checking into our hotel, rest, and refresh in the comfort of your spacious room before we are treated to a delicious dinner at the hotel.

Day 2

After breakfast we meet our step-on guide, and depart for a tour of Newport's two famous scenic routes. First, we will visit Bellevue Avenue which is lined with opulent "summer cottages", and then we travel along Ten Mile Ocean Drive where we will view more stunning estates and enjoy spectacular views of the ocean! Next, we will visit Rosecliff, for a self-guided audio tour. Commissioned by Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs in 1899, architect Stanford White modeled this mansion after the Grand Trianon, the garden retreat of French Kings at Versailles. The magnificent ballroom, the largest in Newport, was the site of fabulous parties, including a fairy tale dinner and a party featuring famed magician Harry Houdini. Rosecliff has been the setting for several movies including "The Great Gatsby," "True Lies," "Amistad" and "27 Dresses". Next, we will enjoy a visit to the Brick Market Place for some shopping and lunch on your own. Containing over twenty-five unique shops and eateries, Brick Market Place includes three parallel rows of businesses offering everything you could dream of from Fashion to Shoes to handmade Gifts and Souvenirs. After lunch we climb aboard the "Amazing Grace" for a narrated cruise through Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay. The scenic cruise includes close-up views of the lighthouses, sailing ships and yachts, grand ocean front estates and more. Tonight, enjoy dinner on your own at the hotel's restaurant.

Day 3

After breakfast we depart for Narragansett, Rhode Island where we will board the Point Judith traditional ferry to Block Island, "The Bermuda of the North". Block Island is located thirteen miles off the coast of Rhode Island, and it is noted for its great beaches, wildflowers, and miles of stonewalls and rolling terrain. We will begin our visit to the Island with a narrated driving tour, (by school bus) that will take you past beautiful meadows, moors, and marshy ponds, and stopping for photos at the Southeast Lighthouse, which overlooks the dramatic clay cliffs known as Mohegan Bluffs. The lighthouse built is 1874, originally had three hundred feet of land between it and the edge of the bluffs and the ocean. Over the next hundred years the bluff eroded to within seventy-five feet of the light. On August 13, 1993, the lighthouse began its nearly three hundred foot move inland. It took nineteen days to move it to its new location. Later you will have some leisure time to explore the shops and restaurants along the main streets in Old Harbor, before we re-board the ferry and cruise back to the mainland. After returning to the mainland and our hotel, you will have time to unwind and freshen up before a delicious dinner is served at the hotel.

Day 4

After breakfast we visit The Breakers, for a self-guided audio tour. The grandest mansion in all of Newport is a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence during the Gilded Age of the late 19th-century in America. After lunch we depart for home with fond memories of some of New England's historic landmarks and its miles of pristine coastline.

B=Breakfast, D =Dinner