Mini-Honeymoon Recap: Newport, RI

ryan and i got married on saturday, november 18th. on sunday morning, we woke up, had breakfast with family and friends who stayed at the hotel, dropped off our pup, amber, at my parents' house, and then headed up to for our mini honeymoon in newport, ri. the ride up took about 3.5 hours, most of which i was in and out of sleep. when we got up around 5pm, we were both absolutely exhausted. people always tell stories about how tired they were after their wedding; i didn't believe them until this moment. we checked into our room and passed out for three hours. when we woke up around 8pm, we felt refreshed and ready to get something to eat.

the first place we went was the red parrot, a cozy bar with a huge menu and good cocktails. we both got a bowl of chowder (we vowed we would try chowder at each restaurant we went to...) and split thai egg rolls. we chatted with the bartender who gave great insight to the town: "there are about 50 restaurants within a few square miles. if a place isn't outstanding, it's not going to stay in business." this really was a preview for our stay in newport - every single place we went was unforgettable.

the next morning we woke up and headed out for the day. we left the hotel around 9 and stayed out and about until 5, when we returned to get ready for dinner. it was a fun, full day.

some highlights from the first day was our coffee and breakfast at the coffee grinder, where we enjoyed tasty pastries and conversation with the owner, lunch at benjamin's, a raw bar with a home-town, dive atmosphere. other than eating our way through day 1, we walked through shops and did some christmas shopping. it was so nice being there in late november because the streets, shops, and restaurants were all calm. we loved it!


day 2 was filled as well. we spent the daytime doing the newport cliff walks. it was so, so cold and windy, so we bundled up and headed out. this was ryan's favorite part about newport; he was climbing and jumping all over. 

we worked up an appetite and actually headed back to benjamin's for lunch because we loved it so much. we highly, highly recommend stopping here anytime you're in the area!

that night, we headed to the black pearl, an inviting restaurant with local seafood (and incredible chowder, obviously!!)

the rest of our trip included touring the mansions, a trip (or two) to kilwan's ice cream shoppe, an incredible dinner at the mooring, which ryan's parents were kind enough to gift to us, walks on the beach, and breakfast at the corner cafe. everywhere we went was nothing short of amazing. it was so nice to spend a few days relaxing with ryan after all of the hype and excitement from the wedding. we've said many times since we got home that we will definitely need to visit newport again soon! on thursday morning (thanksgiving), we woke up, got ready, and drove back to new jersey to spend the day with our family.

next stop: jamaica in march for our real honeymoon! we can't wait!