February 19, 2023
After visiting the Touro Synagogue, I drove to an access point for Cliff Walk, the Northeast’s first National Recreation Trail, and first walked to the northern endpoint and back, then continued to the southern terminus (taking the detour to avoid the bit that recently crumbled into the ocean).
The walk itself is an easy 3.5-mile paved stroll by the ocean, with parts in the southern areas on boulders/rocks. It’s a lovely walk, and there were tons of people out there with me enjoying it.
What I did not realize at the time, since I had not done any research about Newport before driving there for the synagogue and the trail, was that all those opulent backyards and mansions I could see as I walked (on the other side of fences and vegetation) are famous, and a few are open to the public for touring. I did not take photos of those mansions since I never post photos of private homes. Had I known they are famous and regularly used in movies/TV, I would have taken and posted pictures. The big building in one of the photos here is part of Salve Regina University, which also sits along a section of Cliff Walk.
After the walk, I exited at Bellevue Avenue, which I now know is THE street with all the famous mansions featured in a ton of movies/TV shows/magazines, and not at all far from the mansions now housing Jay Leno, Judge Judy, and other celebs. These mansions are Gilded Age homes, built when ultra-wealthy NY and Philly one percenters wanted insanely decked-out and sculpted homes by the sea. However, when I was actually walking down this road to get back to my car (instead of doubling back on Cliff Walk), I did not know this and just kept looking around agog wondering where in the hell I was and thinking WOW aren’t all these huge mansions insanely opulent. I even walked right by Clarendon Court thinking it looked familiar…of course it does, it was the home of the van Bulows. Now I want to rewatch Reversal of Fortune.
