Weekend in Rhode Island

I recently had a long weekend trip to Rhode Island, which I consider to be my “home away from home.”  When I went to Rhode Island for the first time about 3 years ago I just fell in love with the atmosphere.  Little shops and dining by the waterside, dog friendly locations, and the most gorgeous scenery.  I was able to explore Providence, Rhode Island and Newport, Rhode Island, but I’ll be honest my soul resonates in Newport, Rhode Island.  If you’re a city person you would love Providence, Rhode Island as there is always something to do especially with the night life.  They also have a ton of great restaurants if you’re a big foodie like me.  Newport, Rhode Island on the other hand is more quaint and outdoorsy, which is my style.  It is against the water and has a bunch of cute stores to walk into and restaurants on the water. 

One main attraction in Newport Rhode, Island we were able to visit was the “Cliff Walk.”  This part of Newport is full of Mansions that you can actually pay to have tours in and see inside what they look like.  The “Cliff Walk” is a paved path right against the ocean on your left and a view of all the mansions on your right.  It is absolutely stunning.  Walking this path 1 way is about 3.5 miles long.  Walking the whole path down and back is around 7 miles long, so make sure you wear your walking shoes!

Make sure when you put in the address for the “Cliff Walk” to put in the address for “Memorial Boulevard and 1st Beach.” If you just put Cliff Walk in the GPS it will not bring you to the entrance of this walk. This took us a good 15 minutes of driving around aimlessly to figure out, so please make sure to use the address listed to save you the trouble and time.

John, Mia, our Rover dog Butler, and I drove from South Jersey all the way to Newport.  This was around a 5 hour drive.  When we first arrived to Newport we decided to do the “Cliff Walk.”  It was much needed after being in a car for 5 hours!  When we first arrive we parked on the side of the road next to the beach, where people usually park.  We decided to explore the small beach and bring the pups.  It was Butler’s first time at a beach so it was really fun to see him try to understand what sand and ocean waves were! 

Off of the beach there is a sign that guides you to the “Cliff Walk” and so we headed towards the trail.  They do remind you every few times when doing this trail to stay off of the beaten path for your safety.  There were many signs showing how easy it was to fall off the Cliffs if you did not stay on the paved path.

I’ll be honest, signs like that usually grab my attention but John and I decided it would be a much more fulfilled adventure to risk it all!  I advise you NOT to do this but in all honestly some of the paths leading down to the water weren’t as dangerous as you may think it would be.  As long as you’re paying attention you should be fine, NOT that I’m encouraging any of this of course.

Well, if you don’t listen to my advice and decide to explore off the paved path they did have some neat little hideaways against the water.  One of my favorite parts about this was how relaxing and calming it all felt.  I adored the tranquil sound of the waves crashing lightly against the rocks while overlooking the vast endless sea.  Mia loved it as well.  She’s an amazing sport who loves to jump on the rocks and explore!  She’s not much for going into the water but she loves to get as close as possible to it without her paws touching. 

Towards the middle of the walk there was a large stone staircase you could walk down.  I think that’s what made this “Cliff Walk” so unique and special is that there was always something a little different every five minutes.  Not only was it stunning with the ocean against your left but seeing all the Mansions to your right was super intriguing.  Even from a distance you could just see all the Mansions lined up against the water and it was so pretty. 

As you start to near the end of the “Cliff Walk” you will notice the path becomes more jagged with rocks that you need to carefully navigate yourself through.  Again, if you plan to do the full 7 miles make sure you wear the proper walking shoes.  I’ll be honest, my crazy self wore boots to look “cute” and my feet were hurting at the end after those jagged rocks.

The entire walk there and back took around 3-4 hours (only because of so many photo opportunities). You know you are reaching the end of the “Cliff Walk” once you start to walk through tunnels.

Once we completed the walk, and were now starving, we headed into the car to our Airbnb towards Providence, Rhode Island.  Providence and Newport are about a 40 minute drive, so not too bad at all!  We booked the Airbnb for 2 nights, Friday-Sunday, but I had to stay in a hotel in Providence Friday night since I was in Rhode Island for business and had a meeting to attend Saturday afternoon.

Our Airbnb was called “Providence/ Johnston – Birch Lodge ” and was dog friendly of course. It was just the cutest place to stay!  It’s about a 10 minute drive outside of Providence, which we honestly preferred because again we are not city people.  The Airbnb also included a fenced in backyard for the dogs to run around and play in which was fantastic. 

When we first arrived to the Airbnb, set out on the kitchen counter was a cute welcome sign and some complimentary snacks.  This made our visit feel so personal and inviting! 

They even had a binder on the counter with a list of information about their house and a comment section in the back for any feedback on our stay. 

Though I do not drink coffee John does and thoroughly enjoyed their large variety of coffee to choose from.  John tried their “Cinnamon” based coffee and said it was very tasty!  In addition to this they even had some waters for us in the fridge.  We felt so completely taken care of right as we walked in the door, it was fantastic. Highly recommended!

Our Airbnb host was also very responsive and gave us great restaurant suggestions, which we went to all of them and they did not disappoint.  The house itself had a small living room with an office off to the side, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and of course a kitchen.  I definitely felt like we were staying in a cute getaway cottage.

After settling in, starved, we went out to dinner in Providence.  We decided to try an Italian restaurant called Pizzico. 

The ambiance was relaxing and personal. 

We were given a bread basket, which always makes me excited, and ordered Fish Tacos for an appetizer.  They were delicious and did not disappoint!

For our entrees John ordered the “Lobster Penne alla Vodka” and I ordered the “Lemon Chicken Parmesan”.  Sometimes I get nervous when ordering Penne Vodka because the sauce can be runny or the cheese is not melted properly but everything about this dish was perfection.  The pasta with the lobster all delighted my taste buds swimmingly and I would definitely have that dish ordered again.  For the “Lemon Chicken Parmesan” dish, it was more unique than I imagined, and was more like a salad dish. On top of the Lemon Chicken, which actually didn’t taste too lemony at all sadly, had lettuce and arugula on top of it with cheese.  My dish was good, felt light, and filling.  It had a clean and fresh appeal but I think I would try something else next time I went.  There was nothing wrong with it I just would have preferred if the dish had more lemon taste to the chicken. Regardless, it was a yummy meal.

Keep in mind if you visit here it is on the pricey side and I would definitely make reservations and/or call a head.  I could see how it could easily become a very popular place to go that fills up fast, especially on a weekend. Prices are listed on the menu online you can find by clicking here.

Down the street, about a 10 minute walk, there was an ice cream place called “Three Sisters.”  I would definitely recommend this place!  The atmosphere is very organic and trendy.  Their ice creams are listed above on a board and they had so many unique flavors!  Some of the more unique flavors were Green Tea, Maple Walnut, FlufferNutter, and Dirty Garden Mint.

This neat joint serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner but we only came for the ice cream. John and I instantly knew we had to break out of our comfort zones and try something fun!  John ordered the “FlufferNutter” which was Peanut Butter ice cream with Marshmallow Fluff.  I was a little doubtful how Peanut Butter and Fluff could taste but it was SO good.  Who knew that would make such a slamming combination?!  I got the “Dirty Garden Mint” which was essentially their version of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream on a WHOLE different level.  The mint ice cream LITERALLY tasted like a mint leaf you would take out of a garden. I was extremely thrown off by this at first but it slowly grew on me.  Even writing about it now makes me hungry for it.  Now I don’t think this taste is for everyone but it was a pretty good taste for me!

The rest of the night I went back to my hotel to prepare for my meeting the next day while John went to the Airbnb to watch the dogs.  I stayed at the Hilton Providence and it was a pretty nice place to stay if you are ever looking for a hotel in Providence.  I appreciated that they had a gym, pool, and complimentary water bottles.  I wouldn’t say there was anything super unique about my experience there but the staff was friendly and gave me a map of providence. It was a good place to stay if you are more of a hotel person rather than an Airbnb.

The next morning John and I met up for breakfast at this place called “The Lighthouse” which was outside of Providence in Johnston, RI. This restaurant seemed like the local place to be.  This breakfast joint was PACKED and everyone seemed to know each other which was such an inviting atmosphere.  They had a ton of fun breakfast options and the portions were HUGE. 

John got the “Big boy breakfast” which consisted of 2 large pancakes, eggs, toast, hash browns, and bacon.  I got the same meal but replaced the pancakes with cream cheese stuffed French Toast.  It was SO good.  I’m honestly not sure if I could ever go back to regular French Toast after this meal.  Unfortunately John’s pancakes were just normal typical pancakes, so I say my meal took the cake this round.

After completing my work meeting in the afternoon John and I headed into Newport for the remainder of the day.  We arrived around 3:00 PM and though the forecast warned us for rain we got nothing but sun!  I was SO incredibly happy.  It felt like a dream come true!

We decided to treat ourselves to a little snack before dinner at the “Red Parrot.” 

They are known for their fun drinks.  I got a “Raspberry Lava” and John got a “Swedish Fish Drink”.  Mine was good and tasted like fruit!  John’s drink was supposed to taste like Swedish Fish but did not. 

His drink mostly tasted of alcohol, tinted by fruit.  The concept was cute though and they even provided Swedish Fish on top of his drink, which I selfishly stole from him and ate.

We also ordered a dish called “Lobster Nachos.”  Since Newport is right against the water we felt it was essential to order nothing but Sea Food, even in our nachos!  Let me tell you, I HIGHLY recommend these nachos, they were fantastic!

After we got some food in our bellies we had to check out all the cute shops that run along the water.  They had shops that included fudge, candy, dogs, trinkets, tourist, books, antiques, fashion, and so much more.  They even had a small arcade which would be great for kids!

Me, being the silly/annoying girlfriend I am, decided to head right into a tourist trap of a store that was all 70% off and buy John and I matching Sweatshirts.  I wish I could say he secretly enjoyed it but I highly doubt any of that (picture of this at the end, keep reading)! We also headed into a cute dog store and bought Mia and Butler some little dog snacks.  It is amazing how dog friendly Newport is.  There are alot of places for outdoor seating for your dogs and lots of water bowls outside stores for pups to take a drink and then continue to walk on their merry way.

On our way walking around, we discovered a small little popcorn shop called “Inpopnito“.  This place was so neat!  We ended up buying 4 bags, buy 3 get the 4^th free.  I can never say no to a deal!  We got the “Sea-Sprayed Caramel”, “Newport Cheddar”, “Cinnamon Toast”, and “Monkey Munch”.  If I had to rate them in order I would say Sea-Sprayed Caramel was first, followed by Cinnamon Toast, Newport Cheddar, and than Monkey Munch.  All the flavors tasted EXACTLY how you would imagine.  It was kind of crazy how on point in flavor the “Cinnamon Toast” tasted.  Just in case you were curious, “Monkey Munch” was banana flavored popcorn. 

Before our dinner reservations we even got the chance to take a nice stroll by the ocean and watch boats sail.  It was gorgeous and had a sweet underlying romantic vibe. 

For dinner we went to “The Black Pearl” which was highly recommended by many folks for the “Best Clam Chowder.”  This venue you DEFINITELY need to make reservations for as it is extremely packed.  I was so excited to be able to eat here as last time I went it was impossible due to how busy they were and the wait was about an hour long!  The restaurant has essentially three rooms.  The bar room, the fancy dining room with views of the location, and an outdoor bar area.

We ate in the fancy room off to the side, away from the bar, and it was so serene and romantic.  They had large windows which let you look out into the water, and of course my favorite, provided us with a bread basket!  This is another place that is on the pricier side but highly recommended, as the views right on the water were lovely. 

We ordered an appetizer of Garlic Bread, which is hard to not make correctly. With that being said, yes, it was yummy! 

John, intrigued by the “Best Clam Chowder” ordered exactly this and I ordered the “Teriyaki Salmon“.  We actually used our garlic bread appetizers and dipped it into the Clam Chowder which was pretty good!

The Clam Chowder was the second best he has ever had. This dish was not a chunky Chowder but more on the liquid side. Overall though I think it was a highly successful dish.  My Teriyaki Salmon was AMAZING.  You could tell the chef who cooked this dish took time into their meal and really perfected the whole entree.  I would DEFINITELY come back here without a doubt.

Rhode Island is truly just an incredible place to visit.  John and I definitely want to go back this summer of August 2019 for a longer stay.  We have so many more places we want to see and do in the area and the food alone was just SO delicious.  We want to explore more into Providence and then do the Mansion tours we didn’t have time for!  Either way I highly recommend all of Rhode Island and again if you’re a city person Providence will definitely be more of your scene; but if you’re an ocean/lake lover like I am Newport is the place for you.  Of course Mia will be coming with us again when we come back so I can also give you the scoop on everywhere dog friendly for all you pet parents out there with fur babies! I seriously cannot wait to go back.

If you have any experiences in Rhode Island or suggestions of places to visit please feel free to leave any and all feedback in the comments below.  I love hearing new ideas and experiences other people have had so I can check it out myself!