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Newport: it's a lot more than mansions
Author: By Jerry Morris, Globe Staff
Date: SUNDAY, July 7, 1996
Page: B2
Section: Travel
Fortunately for me, Mrs. Astor wasn't at home. You see, I was peeking in
her bedroom. Lulu, a singer I just met at the party downstairs, said it was
OK. Who could resist not checking out the bedroom of the woman who created
``The 400,'' America's first social register.
The Astors' Beechwood home on Bellevue Avenue in Newport is not the biggest
of the ``cottages'' located here, but it is a fun place to visit, day or
night. I was attending a dinner in the lavish ballroom downstairs, and the
vast majority of us commoners toured the estate, meeting Mrs. Astor's family,
staff and friends, all courtesy of the Beechwood Theatre Co. The players amuse
you with tales of life from this bygone era.
It's a great way to learn the history of this part of town, with its
so-called cottages that rival Europe's finest palaces. Beechwood was the first
of the cottages, and while the newer of these grand palaces from the late
1800s may dazzle your eyes more, you'll come away from the Astor homestead
with a smile on your face. For information, call (401) 846-3772.
These days, though, Newport has gone to the dogs. Which just proves the
city offers a lot more than high society.
From now through Sept. 29, ``Newport Goes to the Dogs: Selections from the
collection of The Dog Museum,'' will be a celebration at the Newport Art
Museum of the age-old human-canine relationship, illustrated in 77 works of
art borrowed from the St. Louis Dog Museum. Also featured at the museum in
connection with the show will be a ``Hollywood Hounds'' film series, lectures,
children's days and even times when you can bring your own dog. For
information, call (401) 848-8200.
``The Newport Flower Show: Rosecliff Revisited,'' July 12-13, is set at
one of Newport's most elegant mansions, known for its legendary parties and
rose gardens. Twelve prominent floral designers will adorn the mansion's
bedrooms, sitting rooms and libraries with a colorful display of blossoms.
Also on view will be flowers re-creating some of Rosecliff's most notable
parties as well as its extraordinary rose garden with more than 200 hybrid tea
bushes. A garden marketplace will also be available. For information, call
(401) 847-1000, ext. 120.
One of Newport's best events is the 13th annual Black Ships Festival
July 18-21. The festival celebrates the establishment of friendly trade
relations between the United States and Japan in 1854. Until Commodore Matthew
Perry of Newport negotiated the Treaty of Kanagawa, Japan had isolated itself
from the rest of the world. Americans with their ``black ships'' were turned
away until the treaty was signed.
Among highlights of this year's event will be the Festival of Drums,
featuring Taiko drumming groups, sumo workshops, karate demonstrations, sushi
demonstrations, mask making, Shiatsu therapy, martial arts and a festival of
foods featuring Japanese-style menus at area restaurants. For more
information, call (401) 846-2720.
Tennis fans will find new exhibits at the Tennis Hall of Fame Museum in
Newport. Among new displays bringing early tennis alive are ones on the birth
of lawn tennis, early stars, a chronicle of developments in women's tennis and
the original patent for the game of lawn tennis. The exhibit is in the Newport
Casino at 194 Bellevue Ave. For information, call (401) 849-3990.
Opening Aug. 1 will be the Marco Polo Trail at the Roger Williams Park Zoo
in nearby (everything in Rhode Island is nearby) Providence. Along the trail,
visitors will encounter animals native to the countries Marco Polo visited.
Also, visitors will journey through a Venetian plaza, ``sail'' on a
13th-century trading vessel and step into a Middle Eastern desert of 700
years ago. With the opening of the new exhibit, the zoo becomes one of the
first in the country to adopt the biopark concept, integrating zoological,
cultural and historical aspects into one experience. For information on one of
the best zoos around, call (401) 785-3510.
Newport, as you can see, is more than big mansions. It is colonial
history, sailing, weekending and lots of fun.
For more information on things to do and see and where to stay in
Newport, call (800) 326-6030.
Jet Express
An economical way to get to Myrtle Beach, S.C., Savannah and Hilton Head
Island, as well as the Olympics in Atlanta is via Jet Express, which offers
service from Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia
with tickets as low as $59 to $139 each way. For those bound for Atlanta, the
suggestion is to fly to Savannah, then rent a car and drive for four hours.
For information, call (800) 386-2786.
The food scene
No visit to New England is complete without taking in a lobster bake. And
one of the best places to do so is at the Parker House, right on the Freedom
Trail and in the hotel's famed Last Hurrah restaurant. Now in its fifth year,
the bake includes Maine lobster, clam chowder, corn on the cob, steamed clams
along with two of the hotel's inventions: Parker House rolls and Boston cream
pie. All this for $16.95 at lunch or dinner. For information, call (617)
227-8600. The feast has been so successful that Omni Hotels is now offering it
at many of their other properties.
If you are in New York, the place to be is the Rainbow Room, high above
Rockefeller Plaza. Now through Sept. 2, the famed room is offering ``Hot Fun
in the Summertime,'' which includes two new dance bands (this is the place for
pre-theater, dinner or supper along with dancing and romancing) and summertime
specialties. In the Rainbow Promenade Bar, there are new cocktails on the menu
and even a feast for two served in a picnic basket ($22.50). For reservations
or information, call (212) 632-5000.
Erni Johnson, who along with her husband, Daryl, operate the Hannah Dudley
House Inn in Leverett, Mass., claim they have the best lobster dinner for two
reasons: the way Daryl prepares the lobsters and the fact that they are free
to overnight guests on Wednesday and Saturday nights. The inn, located on 110
acres in the Pioneer Valley, also has hiking trails, an inground pool, ponds
and hammocks. For information, call (413) 367-2323.
Two of Food & Wine magazine's winners of its annual Best Chefs award are
from Boston: Michael Schlow of Cafe Louis and Barbara Lynch of Galleria
Italiana. And one of the best chefs in Boston now can place ``Dr.'' before his
name. Executive chef Daniel Bruce of the Boston Harbor Hotel recently was
awarded an honorary doctor of culinary arts degree from Johnson & Wales
University, from which he graduated in 1980.
You don't have to go to Switzerland to get a taste of that land's wines and
cheeses. At the Swissotels in Boston, Chicago and the Drake in New York you
can join a tasting session weekends July 12 to Aug. 25. The hotels are also
offering special weekend packages for those wishing to participate. For
information, call (800) 63-SWISS.
Happy birthday
A Coral Gables, Fla., landmark is celebrating its 70th birthday this year.
The Biltmore Hotel, a Mediterranean-revival style property with a tower
designed after the original Giralda tower at the Cathedral of Seville, Spain,
has seen its ups and downs, but has been completely restored and renovated.
For information, call (800) 727-1926.
Sunsplash
The 19th annual Reggae Sunsplash returns to Jamaica's North Coast from
Aug. 1-4. Travel agents have details on festival packages. For Jamaica
information, call (800) 233 4JTB.
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