Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Weekend In Providence, RI

We had a wonderful weekend in Providence, RI. We drove down on Friday night and checked into our room on the 12th floor. This was our view on Saturday morning. Dunkin' Donuts arena is below us. The Westin Hotel is in the middle and the Hotel Biltmore is on the right. I'm not sure what the building on the right is.
When DH and I are in a new city or town we always ask the locals where to find the unique shops - the artsy and boutique-type stores. No chain stores for us. The hostess at breakfast told us three places to check out - Thayer Street, Wickenden Street and Federal Hill.

After breakfast we hopped on the trolley and got off on Thayer Street. We didn't find many shops, but we did stock up on candy at the Candy Cafe. DH chose gummy worms, gummy bears and sour patch bears. I chose sour fruit balls. Armed with sugar we kept on walking and stopped in a couple more shops.
From Thayer Street we walked down to Wickenden Street. We still didn't find a lot of shops, but we did buy a pound of coffee from a local coffee shop, a pair of Stitching Girl Socks for me, a box of sugar packets with sayings of "Sweet Pea", "Sweet Stuff", etc. - something fun to put on the table when guests come over for coffee. Our last stop of the early day was Cellar Stories, a used book store. I found three Dr. Seuss books to add to my grandbaby library.
After lunch we headed to Federal Hill - the Italian part of Providence. We indulged our sweet tooth (yup, the candy was still in tact) with a stop at Nancy's Fancies Cakes and had cupcakes and an espresso. DH had a s'mores cupcake and I had a lemon meringue one. They were yummy. The Italian grocery stores were a totally different experience for me. Full of fresh Italian meats and pastas. Wonderful smells and beautiful sights. I wish we had an Italian restaurant like them close to us.
This was our view on Sunday morning. The snow started after we got back to the hotel on Saturday and had stopped by 10 am on Sunday morning. What a difference 24 hours can make.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Showcase Live was awesome! There were many dancing couples and they were fun to watch. The music was happy and bright and we smiled all the way home.

The temps are going to be dropping here into the sub-zero range for a few days. The only good thing about that is I have the coldest day off. So while DH has to go to work that day, I'll be able to stay home and play.
Sweet P

10 comments:

Brenda said...

You described your trip in such a magnificent way; I could imagine myself looking around also. Boy the cupcakes do look scrumptous and such a beautiful display (almost would make it hard to eat....but yeah the taste buds would win). So glad you shared and had a grand time, especially with all the wonderful treasures.

Libby said...

Sounds like a fun trip filled with lots of new experiences. I bet the concert/show was great!

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on looking for more unique shops rather than the chain stores we see everywhere. I'm also that way about restaurants. It's great that you had a very enjoyable time away.

Lurline said...

What a nice change - glad you enjoyed it all so much!
Hugs - Lurline♥

cityquilter grace said...

did you get to al forno's? great grilled pizza there...it's their specialty.

Carolyn said...

Nancie's Fancy's was closed when we were there, we wound up at a little place down the street with the most amazing limoncello ice. Isn't Federal Hill nice? Did you stay at the Hilton? We had the same view...

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

Sounds like a wonderful get-a-way weekend! DS will be going to college in Providence staring in August. I can hardly wait to explore some of the same areas. :)

Teresa said...

Looks like fun! Stay warm and safe in these frigid temperatures. Its supposed to get into the single digits here in South Carolina and I am sure dreading it. There is a reason I live in the South and it isn't because I like cold.

Finn said...

What fun! And all your treasures look so inviting! Good job on finding books for the Baby Library *VBS* I'll bet you can hardly wait! Hugs, Finn

DebMc said...

Sounds like a refreshing trip. I love the small treasures you picked up, especially Green Eggs and Ham, a family favorite.