The Breakers

Today we went with Terri to tour the grandest of the Newport Mansions: the Breakers, built in the 1890s by Cornelius Vanderbilt II. It's a 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palazzo and reminded us in scale and magnificence of the Doge's Palace in Venice.

We toured on our own, guided by the best audio tour I've ever encountered, entitled "The Breakers Revealed!" It pointed out and described features of the architecture and decor, but also placed the mansion in historical and personal context. In each room after the main part of the tour, we had an option to listen to more detailed or additional information. The voices of people who lived and worked in the mansion described their experiences. A staff of 40 servants was required to keep the household running smoothly.






I fixed enchiladas, calabacitas (Mexican squash and corn with onions and cheese), and taco rice for dinner. Everything turned out pretty spicy, which is how we like it, but Terri and Blake might have appreciated a more toned down version. For dessert I made cherry clafoutis, with some of the cherries we picked in Door County (still have a couple of bags in the freezer).

I worked some more on the bike cover and started on making a curtain to hide the printer and stuff out of the extra couch fabric we bought.