We woke to a good bit of fog on our first morning back in Newport.
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Of course we’re those annoying resort neighbors who are up at 4:30:-5:00am to start the day so we often beat the sun.
As we sat on the balcony with tea and coffee, a friend was making his presence known directly below us.
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Most people who live on or near the coast hate seagulls…
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But we love all creatures… so naturally the husband started feeding him.
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This is not recommended.
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Before long, our friend from down below became our friend up top.
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Seagulls are opportunists.
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If they find a food source, they’ll take full advantage.
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My husband started with Cheetos, but then laid out a wheat bread buffet.
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And though the railing proved a bit slippery.
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Our new friend soon figured out a drive (fly) by maneuver.
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And then he told a friend.
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And another friend.
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Three squawking, circling gulls at 5:30am was enough to prompt the man staying on the sailboat below us to holler up at my husband to please stop feeding the birds, which he did.
Reluctantly.
And as we were sitting on the balcony ignoring the still hungry and now pissed off birds…
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My husband realized the nice little cafe where he had breakfast every morning on our previous trip was over there.
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A not insignificant distance, but you know he got dressed and walked over there anyway. Every morning …to eat breakfast and more importantly, chat with the locals.
After unpacking and making a grocery run for the week, it was early evening so we headed out on foot to search for food.
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Our resort was right on the harbor… but technically its address and check in office (white turret) is Thames Street, the busiest part of Newport, Rhode Island. One way streets, little to no parking and a constant flow of tourists make navigating the area by car challenging . On our last trip we weren’t able to explore, this time we were staying right in the heart of it.
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Right next to the Sailing Hall of Fame.
Did you know there was a Sailing Hall of Fame? Neither did I, but it was an interesting building.
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At the corner of Thames Street and Americas Cup Avenue (notice a trend?), we found the Red Parrot.
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The Red Parrot building is listed on the National Register of Historical Places in Newport. It was built in 1898 by John Alton Barker as a meat packing house where it employed hundreds of people during the era known as “The Gilded Age”.
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Through the years this building has housed a variety of eating establishments serving heads of state, diplomats, royalty, movie stars, the thousands of people visiting Newport each year and now you.
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Nearly empty when we arrived, I dove straight in to their lengthy cocktail list.
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Tempting as a rubber duck margarita was, 48 ounces seemed a bit much… even for me.
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I chose the Luxe Berry instead.
Citrus vodka, Chambord, pink lemonade and a splash of raspberry puree, served on the rocks with fresh lemon.
I wish I could copy and print the whole menu for you because it was large and extensive.
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As well as humorous.
(If you’ve never seen the Godfather? Never mind.)
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For appetizers…. husband had a wonderful and almost overwhelmingly cheesy French onion soup while I struggled to eat half of my amazingly rich ‘Shroom flatbread.
(Fire grilled dough, with caramelized onions, Portobello mushrooms. Topped with garlic herb Boursin and mozzarella cheese). That was a meal in itself… but we had to move on.
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Cocktail #2?
The Refresher… Prairie Cucumber vodka, raspberry puree, fresh lime over ice splashed with club soda.
Dinner was a tropical grilled Mahi Mahi with asparagus and mashed potatoes for the husband, pan seared scallops with spicy plum sauce, jasmine rice and sautéed spinach for me. Both meals were fabulous with generous portions and though I was honestly stuffed…
I decided to put myself in a sugar coma and drank my dessert.
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THIS DRINK IS BANANAS…B.A.N.A.N.A.S.
Rum Chata, Banana liqueur, White Crème de Cacao, fresh banana, vanilla ice cream and a splash of honey simple syrup blended frozen and topped with whipped cream.
By the time we waddled out of the restaurant there wasn’t an empty seat to be seen …
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(Vacant table on the left was the one we just vacated). And yes, that’s my husband on the far right chatting with someone at the bar.
The man loves to talk.
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Back at the resort, we relaxed on balcony #1 and enjoyed the end of our first day on Newport vacation Part Two.
River's world..... 