The weeks since Thanksgiving have been a blur. I felt as though the last two weeks were wasted planning all the things I need to get done before Christmas, rather than actually executing them…which is frustrating. But finally this week I feel as though I have been chipping away at the list, and stuff is starting to get done around here. Although I still have Christmas garlands to put up, a dog to get, a party to help put together, and a ten page detailed list of all my Christmas blog and IG posts to do…I’m freaking out a little bit.
With that being said, is was super nice to get away for a bit of a relax earlier this week. We headed to Newport, RI for a night’s stay at the beautiful Hotel Viking. For a long time I have been wanting to see Newport at Christmastime, so this was a real treat.
We started our day out with lunch at The White Horse Tavern, the oldest tavern in America…I felt like I was back in England, I loved it!
The Hotel Viking, which was built in 1926, is magnificent, and so festive with all the wonderful Christmas decorations! It perfectly reflected the old Newport elegance with modern twists. The Fjör Spa at the hotel was excellent, and I had their signature Balinese massage, which is exactly what my body and mind needed. Dinner at One Bellevue, the hotel’s restaurant, was spectacular! I ordered the chicken was pesto gnocchi…heaven…
What time we didn’t spend enjoying massages, and diving into plates of gnocchi, we spent bopping around Newport, soaking in the Christmas spirit. Every corner is decorated to perfection, and there is a Christmas door competition that happens in town, so almost every house has a wreath on the door!
We enjoyed brunch at Stoneacre Brasserie, and our meal consisted of French toast bread pudding, grapefruit brûlée, pommes frites with aoli, yogurt with granola and poached pear, a biscuit with honey and sea salt butter, hot chocolate, and orange juice. We stuffed ourselves and weren’t ashamed.
Afterward, we rolled ourselves down the street to see the Breakers all decked out for the holidays. It was pretty incredible, with a Christmas tree in every room, each one with a theme. After getting a taste, I wished we had gone whole-hog and seen ALL the mansions decorated…next time.
We spent the rest of the afternoon photographing all the doors in town, meeting Deb Cohen of The Front Door Project, for coffee, and having a grand old time.
Thank you Hotel Viking for the amazing stay!