Step back into the past with a Gilded Age tour of Newport, Rhode Island. Learn more about the treasured time and the big names of this era, and maybe even experience a lesson regarding proper etiquette!
Itinerary
Day 1 - Newport, RI
Meet Mrs. Caroline Astor, the Grande Dame of Newport and New York society in the late 1800s. Mrs. Astor is the step-on guide who will take us on a time-travel Gilded Age tour of Newport. Our tour route includes the famous Ten-Mile Ocean Drive, the “cottages” of the Gilded Age which are along Bellevue Avenue, and plenty of gossip! Be sure to bring a camera as there will be opportunities to get off the motor-coach and take photos.
During the driving tour, there will be crystal ball moments where Mrs. Astor can peek into the future. She will tell us about such events as the sinking of the Titanic, on which her son perished, and the wedding of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport.
Lunch will be served at La Forge Casino Restaurant which is situated on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and overlooks the first grass tennis courts in America. The Crowley family of Newport has owned and operated La Forge for over thirty-five years. The restaurant’s menu, style and friendly atmosphere reflect the Crowley family’s Irish heritage.
During dessert, Mrs. Astor will talk about Gilded Age dining etiquette, calling card customs, and how Newport is the American side of the Downton Abbey story. She will also give updates about the current owner of her former mansion and tell about today’s descendants of the Gilded Age Astor and Vanderbilt families.
