WOW, WOW and WOW on Friday

Today was just a jaw dropping day of seeing how the other side really lives. Amazing doesn't even begin to tell you all about it. There is so much money in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island and when you think that all these seaside houses are just summer "cottages" that are used about six weeks a year.  Oh my !  Let's start with the tour of one of the Vanderbilts' summer cottages called The Breakers.  It is so ornate on the first floor that you cannot possibly take in all the details in a reasonable amount of time. One room has platinum leaf wall panels with rare marble, alabaster and gilded woods throughout. Even saw gilded leather on the walls in a library. It has a 50 high ceiling in the entry, has 15 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms.  They had electricity when no one else did and the elaborate chandeliers also had gas just in case the electricity went out.  Everything was about appearances so the first floor was very Victorian and ornate and their living quarters on the second floor were relatively plain.  I was very surprised by how plain the linens on the beds were. It turns out that since guests did not come to the second floor, it was very toned down. The "staff" lived on the third and fourth floors where there were 37 rooms for 40 staff. The staff and the silverware traveled from house to house with them. Pictures were not allowed inside the house so it is impossible to share all that this house has. It also faces the ocean with, of course, an incredible view. Wonder why they didn't put in a pool like the Hurst Castle in California?

From Providence we went on to Newport, Rhode Island.  Oh my.  It is huge money with mansion after mansion after mansion and not always a lot of land. Newport has a lot of water front property. Sometimes it is surprising how close these huge houses are to each other. To tell you the truth, I cannot keep the Providence houses straight from the Newport houses so I will just post a few and then tell you another story.

The quality is not always good as most were taken out of the bus window while we were moving or from the boat while we were moving.

We took quite a boat tour around Newport and saw a lot more from the water. The most interesting story and the one that I loved the most is that General Dwight Eisenhower (R) had his summer Presidential White House in Newport. We were told that he was an avid fresh water fisherman so two huge ponds were built and continuously stocked with fish so that he could fresh water fish even though he lived in a prime salt water fishing area. Right next door to him lived Jack and Jackie Kennedy (D) in a house that Jackie's stepfather owned.  It is told that Ike and Jack played golf together all the time at the course right across the street from them.  Jack & Jackie were married in the small Catholic Church right in the middle of Newport where only 300 guests could attend and thousands stayed outside.  They then held the reception for 1200 of their closest friends at her stepfathers house on the shore. Apparently this is the only time and place in the US where two consecutive Presidents lived right next door to each other at any time. 

We saw thousands of boats in the bays along Newport.  One figure we heard was $150,000 to have a small dock in the bay and a ten year waiting list. Interesting day...