Before I start with vacation I want to catch you up on the tree, the one the neighbor is having cut down? Well, it’s down! There is still a stump, and I don’t know if he’s going to get it ground out or not. But let me tell you; the back of my house is SO HOT in the mornings without the shade from that tree. I am looking into getting shades of some sort for the kitchen. My bedroom already has them. It really made a big difference to my yard and the view.
So – back to Newport! After we toured The Breakers we went down Bellevue Avenue a few houses to tour Marble House – so named because of all the marble used in building it – 500,000 cubic feet of marble. It was built in 1892 with 50 rooms. William gave Marble House to Alva for her 39th birthday. He made his fortune in the New York Central Railroad. Basically Marble House is a family home – the summer home of William and Alva Vanderbilt. Alva spent $11,000,000 to make the cottage the way she wanted it. Alva was a trend setter in an unusual way, in that she did not put up with her husband’s ‘antics’ or unfaithfulness (which was very common) and filed for divorce, the first of their set to be brave enough to do that.
After the divorce, a year later, Alva married Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and moved to his home, Belcourt, also on Bellevue Avenue. She basically kept Marble House for storage and to do laundry, because that house had better facilities. Alva was a strong advocate for women’s rights and made a huge impact with her campaign. Here are more pictures of Marble House.
When Alva married Oliver and she moved to Belcourt, she had to insist that his horses stay outside. He would ride them up the steps and into the house and let them stay there all night as the first floor was entirely stables. He was a huge horse lover and also a fan and supporter of the Belmont races.
By now it was close to 5pm, and we had to find our way to our AirB&B, Lafayette Place, about 20 minutes away. Although it was neat and clean and quaint and quiet, it was very, very small. Once we got used to it and settled in, we were fine. We went out again and had supper, got gas in the Kia, and bought a few items we needed for our breakfasts. Bertha settled in as well, and Kath and I went out on the patio and wrote out our postcards. It was very relaxing and a great way to end the day.
Tomorrow we will start at Rosecliff. Can’t wait to share it!
June 26 – Describe a few of the favorite hair styles of your youth. “The one most girls liked was the Page Boy. I couldn’t get my hair to go into the smooth, under-curl. I sometimes wore my hair pulled up on top of my head. We all went through the turban phase. Some of us tried wearing the fancy ‘snood’ – (hair net).”
TOMORROW June 27 is:
- National HIV Testing Day
- National Ice Cream Cake Day
- National Onion Day
- National Orange Blossom Day
- National PTSD Awareness Day
- National Sunglasses Day
I love sunglasses. I’m so thankful for them. I have three favorite (but very inexpensive) pair. Tomorrow Kelly is coming up for a few days, with assorted sons. Not sure who is coming but it’ll be fun anyway. Have a wonderful day and a great week. God bless…
So nice!
Thanks Mary – more to come!! 🙂