Nora Eschenheimer: Newport, Rhode Island,
is one of my favorite places in the whole wide world. Not only because I’m born and raised here,
but Newport is this gorgeous walking town. It’s right on the water. You can’t go anywhere without
having a spectacular view of something. Cliff Walk is one of the most popular
destinations in Newport. It’s a gorgeous walk that takes you along the water with
all the gorgeous mansions on one side and a dramatic view of the ocean on the other.
The beautiful mansions that you’re going to see here in Newport originally weren’t considered
mansions. These were the summer cottages of the Gilded Age if you can imagine. Back then,
these were really only meant to be lived in for a couple months out of the year. They were all
modeled after European architecture. Rosecliff mansion is one of the most beautiful. The inside
of the mansion is equally as breathtaking. It really gives you a glimpse into how
people lived back at the turn of the century. When you visit this place, you have to get out
on the water, and the best way to do that is to jump on one of the many tour boats here in
Newport. The best boat you can go out on is this really neat classic motor yacht called
the Rum Runner II. This boat was built in 1929 specifically for the purpose of running alcohol
during Prohibition. Now you can go out on this boat and enjoy a cocktail and look at all of
these gorgeous mansions from the waterfront. Easton’s Beach is a really great place to check
out because it’s actually walking distance from sort of the heart of Newport. You can
really just walk from Bannister’s and Bowen’s Wharf up and down Memorial Boulevard and you’re
there. So, whenever I got to Easton’s Beach, the reason for it is because,
not only do I want to go put my toes in the water, but also because they have twin lobster rolls. So,
it’s two lobster rolls for a very economic price. This is definitely the place to grab them.
Newport does seafood in every way you can imagine, but we’re best known for our lobster rolls,
for clam chowder and for stuffies, but what’s also really neat and sort of surprising is
that we have a vineyard here in Newport. It’s called Newport Vineyards. The restaurant is
gorgeous. Everything over there is incredible. Newport, Rhode Island – definitely a place to
check out if you want to go to the beaches, if you want to relax, if you want to go grab
a cocktail on the water. The reason Newport was so popular is because of its location. So, it’s smack
dab in between New York and Boston, so it’s always been a popular destination for that reason.
Rosanna Ortiz: I love Providence
because Providence provides that big city feel with a small, intimate camaraderie.
So, RISD, which is the Rhode Island School of Design, is located here right in Providence,
and they have a RISD Museum, which is open to the public. And anyone can come and view wonderful,
curated masterpieces from students to alumni to some pretty historical artists. I think
it’s one of the best kept secrets in the New England area, specifically Rhode Island.
One of my favorite places in this city is Benefit Street. Now I have a little bit of a love with
supernatural tales and Benefit Street is known to be one of the most haunted streets in America.
Outside of the whole ghost culture of Benefit Street, it is a beautiful street to take a very
long walk. There are a ton of historic houses, beautiful colonial houses on Benefit Street.
I have to say one of the cooler things to do here in this city is definitely WaterFire.
There’s not very many places that you can visit where you can go and walk around with a ton of
people viewing a huge basin and river that is lit on fire. And you can walk through all
of these wonderful vignettes and installations. Even when WaterFire is not happening in the city,
you can take a gondola ride during the spring and summer months and early fall through
Waterplace Park, which is gorgeous during the day because you go through our big Waterplace
towers and you can look up and you get all the scenery, and you see a lot of the city
of Providence when you take a gondola ride. My most favorite thing to do in this city
is really taking advantage of our amazing restaurant scene. We have a great Italian
community here in Providence, Rhode Island. I’m sure you’ve heard of Federal Hill – huge Italian
community with amazing Italian restaurants. Sarto has great Italian fusion food and their menu
changes with every season. Sarto is located in the G building, which is right downtown in Providence,
and after you eat at Sarto, you can actually go up to the G rooftop and enjoy a beautiful
view of the iconic Superman building and have an after-dinner cocktail.
Knead Doughnuts is probably the best donut shop in Providence and Rhode Island. They
definitely have a donut for everyone’s palate. I love the different communities that we have
here, and especially for a visitor who’s visiting our town, I can guarantee you that if you come
and sit at a bar, you will meet a local who is full of knowledge about this great city.