“Get Gilded” at the Newport Flower Show and Explore the Quaint Island of Nantucket
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Saturday, June 24 – Wednesday, June 28, 2023
5 Days - 4 Nights
This garden-themed tour takes you along New England’s Coastline from the Gilded Age in Newport, Rhode Island, to stately whaling captains’ mansions and charming seaside cottages on Nantucket Island. You’ll witness grandeur beyond belief, majestic formal gardens and the signature, petite window boxes in Nantucket. Follow “Mrs. Astor” on a tour of spectacular coastal scenery along famed Ocean Drive, visit the renowned Rough Point and stroll your way through the displays at the Newport Flower Show. On Cape Cod you will have a private ecology tour along the shoreline and on Nantucket, you’ll learn of its fascinating past and witness historic homes and landmarks. And, there will be plenty of time to shop in the island’s renowned boutiques and galleries. This outing is a great way to kick off your summer.
Come along and “Get Gilded!”
Day One, Saturday, June 24:
Arrive by 1:00 pm at the Visitor Center in Newport, Rhode Island. Your tour begins to blossom when you are greeted by “Mrs. Astor” herself. Mrs. Astor will board your coach and together you will set out on a windshield tour that will offer an insider’s look at the colorful, and often scandalous, history of Newport, as you view spectacular coastal scenery along the famed Ocean Drive. A picnic lunch will be provided to enjoy during the tour.
Say goodbye to “Mrs. Astor” and get ready to be bedazzled when you visit Rough Point, once home to heiress, Doris Duke. The home was originally built for Frederick William Vanderbilt in the late 1800’s and was purchased by James Buchanan Duke in 1922. Duke was the founder of fortunes in electric power and tobacco, and benefactor of Duke University. When Duke died in 1925, he bequeathed his enormous fortune and Rough Point to his only child, Doris Duke.
As time passed, Miss Duke began purchasing art and antiques for the house that she collected during her wide-ranging travels. The residence also served as home to her two Bactrian camels, a gift from a billionaire Saudi businessman.
Rough Point maintains a clever mixture of grandeur and homeyness that others lack. The house has stayed how Doris Duke left it since her death in 1993. Your visit includes a self-guided tour of the house and a guided tour of the fabulous gardens, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead’s firm.
Depart Rough Point and travel just a short distance to your hotel and home for two nights. The hotel is known for its generously sized rooms and well-crafted common areas. Their customer service is outstanding. There will be time to relax and refresh before dinner.
Board the coach and travel to your dinner destination. This locally owned eatery offers traditional fare with a unique twist that you won’t find anywhere else! Every thing on the menu is made from scratch and the only food that comes from the freezer is their ice cream.
Day Two, Sunday, June 25:
After breakfast in the hotel, board the motor coach and travel to the beloved Newport Flower Show, positioned on the grounds of the elegant Bellevue Avenue mansion, The Marble House. The theme of the 27th annual show is “The Grand Tour,” the Gilded Age tradition of an extended voyage abroad to immerse oneself in art and culture. You will be enriched by surroundings steeped in cultural and social history while delighting in all the color and beauty of the floral world.
This premier flower show presents garden, horticultural and floral exhibitions and it also offers displays, free lectures, workshops and demonstrations by noted experts. The shopping experiences are amazing!
After the show, head into Newport for lunch on your own at one of the local eateries along the wharf.
Then, return to Bellevue Avenue and explore the grandest of Newport’s summer “cottages,” The Breakers. This mansion is a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. The 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin inspired this 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palazzo.
Depart The Breakers and travel a short distance into the “downtown” area where you will enjoy time for independent pursuits. With shopping, site seeing, ship watching and sipping a beverage at a sidewalk café, there’s certain to be something for everyone.
Later this afternoon, reconvene as a group for a truly magical Newport experience, as you board a 19th century-style schooner for a scenic sail. Sip a glass of champagne as you glide by coves and inlets and through the open waters of beautiful and historic Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay.
Dinner is included and served in a casual restaurant, once the Newport Casino. This exceptional building, one of the finest examples in the country of Shingle Style Architecture, is a National Historic Landmark.
Day Three, Monday, June 26:
After breakfast in the hotel, pack your bags and check out of your rooms. Board the motor coach and travel to the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the United States, Green Animals. There are more than 80 pieces of topiary throughout the gardens, including animals and birds, geometric figures and ornamental designs, sculpted from California privet, yew, and English boxwood. Your visit includes a self-guided tour.
Depart Green Animals and travel across the border to New Bedford, MA. Your first stop is at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum, a National Historic Landmark.
Built by shipwrights in 1834 for whaling merchant William Rotch Jr., the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum epitomizes the “brave houses and flowery gardens” described by Herman Melville in Moby-Dick. Because of this, the house is part of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.
The property encompasses a full city block of gardens which include a boxwood parterre rose garden, a boxwood specimen garden, a woodland garden and a cutting garden. It is the only whaling mansion open to the public in New England that retains its original configuration of grounds and outbuildings.
The Greek-Revival style house is a two-story yellow building with a front porch and a balustraded balcony on either end. Several tall chimneys emerge from the roof. The current physical appearance and arrangement of the house is characteristic of its 1834 construction date. The house has large, well-proportioned rooms and large windows with paneled folding shutters. Varnished mahogany doors have walnut veneered panels and are trimmed with painted casings. Cornerblocks and baseboards feature elliptical echinus profiles that are the hallmark of Greek Revival interiors.
The property is opening exclusively for our group and your visit includes a private tour of the house and gardens.
By this time, you’ll be ready for lunch. Gather at a locally owned eatery that was established to honor the seafaring heritage of New Bedford and the world-famous seafood bounty landed in its port. Dine on fresh and innovative cuisine while overlooking the harbor.
After lunch, board the coach and travel to the Cape Cod Shoreline. Here you will meet your guide, ecologist Gil Newton, who will lead you on a fascinating ecological tour along Town Neck Beach. Gil is considered THE expert on the Cape Cod Shore habitat and has written 7 books on the subject.
You will learn that the Cape was left behind by a glacier and that it has a unique place in the geography of New England coastal environments. Your tour will focus on seaweeds and their natural history and uses as food and fertilizer. You’re certain to depart with a new respect for these amazing marine algae.
Board the coach after the tour and travel just a short distance to your hotel and home for two nights. Situated in the heart of historic Plymouth, this is hotel located a short walk from the breathtaking waterfront. There will be time to relax and refresh before you head out for dinner on your own at one of the many restaurants located near the hotel.
Day Four, Tuesday, June 27:
After breakfast in the hotel, board the coach and travel a short distance to Hyannis. Board the high-speed ferry for a 9:30 am departure to Nantucket Island.
The National Park Service cites Nantucket, designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1966, as being the "finest surviving architectural and environmental example of a late 18th- and early 19th-century New England seaport town.” It was the world’s former top whaling port. Nantucket's nickname, "The Little Grey Lady of the Sea," refers to the island as it appears from the ocean when it is fog-bound.
Nantucket is a tourist destination and summer colony. The island is a treasure trove of historic homes and has over 800 pre-civil war buildings. Forbes magazine cited Nantucket as having home values among the highest in the US. The island has been an art colony since the 1920s, whose artists have come to capture the natural beauty of the island's landscapes and seascapes, including its flora and the fauna.
A local guide from the Nantucket Historical Society will meet you upon arrival and lead you on a walking tour through historic downtown Nantucket. The tour will transport you on a journey through Nantucket’s past. You will learn the story of the rise and the fall of the whaling industry, the rise of tourism and the impacts the island’s economy had on social and racial development.
After your tour, there will time to visit the charming downtown area, browse through the boutiques and galleries and to have lunch on your own in one of the many local eateries. You will also have the option to visit the Whaling Museum or to walk out to the Brant Point Lighthouse.
Gather at the ferry dock and prepare to board the 2:15 pm ferry back to Hyannis. On your way back to the hotel, stop for photos at Plymouth Rock, the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620.
Once back at the hotel there will be time unload your packages, unwind with a refreshing beverage served in the 1620 Bistro, or simply put your feet up and relax.
Your farewell dinner is served at a locals’ favorite dockside restaurant. The casual setting, delicious fresh fare and exceptional customer service meld for an ideal ending to a busy day.
Day Five, Wednesday, June 28:
After breakfast in the hotel, pack your bags and check out of your rooms. Before you depart Plymouth, you have been invited by the President of the Pinehills Garden Club to tour some of their private gardens. Discover how these small plots have been turned into havens of garden art. You’ll depart with a bounty of ideas to try in your own garden.
Depart Plymouth at 10:30 am and travel to the Boston Logan International Airport for flights departing after 1:30 pm.
Your Package Includes:
4 Nights accommodation
4 Breakfasts
1 Lunch
3 Dinners
Guided tour of Newport led by “Mrs. Astor”
Visit to Rough Point with house and garden tour
Admission to the Newport Flower Show
Tour of the Breakers
Time at leisure to explore downtown Newport
Afternoon champagne sail aboard a 19th century style schooner
Admission to Green Animals Topiary Garden
Private house and garden tour at the Rotch-Jones-Duff house
Private Cape Cod Ecology Tour
Round-trip ferry passage to Nantucket Island
Guided history tour of Nantucket
Free time to explore Nantucket
Photo stop at Plymouth Rock
Private tour of the Pinehills Garden Club’s gardens
Services of a full-time tour manager
Baggage handling for one piece of luggage per traveler
Private motor coach service throughout the tour
Taxes and gratuities (NOTE: Gratuities for the local guides, tour manager and coach driver are not included and are at your discretion based on service.)
Air transportation to the T. F. Green International Airport in Providence, RI and from the Boston Logan International Airport in Boston, MA is not included in the prices below.
Pricing Information:
Per person double occupancy: 2,100.00
Per person single occupancy: 2,699.00
Prices and itinerary are subject to change.
Copyright2022ArtInBloomTours, Inc.
Copyright2022ArtInBloomTours, Inc.