We started our visit to Newport with lunch in a pub. We then visited Touro synagogue, which is the oldest synagogue building in the US and dates back to colonial times. The building was inspired by the great Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam (the chazzan who was president of the Jewish community at the time had trained in Amsterdam) and indeed it looks a lot like the Portuguese synagogue - only much much smaller which makes it rather cute. Interesting info: the oldest Torah roll in the synagogue was a gift from the Amsterdam Portuguese synagogue 300 years ago (at the time it was already 200 years old) and it is on display. When President Obama visited Israel earlier this year, he took a piece of the hardwood floor of this temple as a gift. The synagogue is also known for the George Washington letter: a letter from the first president of the US confirming the freedom of religion for all in the US - not mere tolerance. After the synagogue, we walked around a bit in the shopping district and the wharf and harbor. After dinner, we drove past some of the mansions that Newport is famous for. It was Esther's first encounter with these huge houses, at the time referred to by their owners as "cottages".
The next day, Saturday, we had planned to visit some of the mansions. We had chosen The Breakers (picture, the largest of them all), The Elms (the most modern for the era) and Marble House (the most kitsch but also the one where its owner was a champion for women's rights). Unfortunately, it started raining by the end of the morning and kept on drizzling for the remainder of the day. Of course, the mansion tours - very interesting! - were inside, so it did not bother us too much, but still.
We then drove on Ocean Drive (picture), a beautiful driveway along the Atlantic coast. Despite the rain, there were lots of sailboats, and even a kite championship.
Esther made some nice pictures of the sea and the kites.
Had a memorable evening also - about which more soon!
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