Lifestyles of the Rich and the Dead

Last week I went to Newport, RI with a friend and found myself surrounded by more marble and gold leaf than I thought possible.
Newport has been the summer playground for the fabulously and obscenely rich for over 100 years. The Gilded Age, the age of the Vanderbilts, where railroad and coal tycoons saw their income come rolling in without the touch of income taxes, allowed these families to build monuments to their money. And sure they vacationed in these monuments oh, about 6 to 8 weeks a year.
I was struck by the immense extravagance and luxury of these homes. 500,000 cubit feet of marble in one house alone. 50 foot ceilings and entire walls of fireplaces flown in from France. Intricate hand-carved woodwork and mosaics that took nine months to complete. These people surely knew how to live it up.
The town of Newport easily divided by money lines. Bellevue Avenue, Mansion Main Street as it were, is a far cry from the homes and businesses of the regular folk. (We got mighty lost trying to find our way out of Newport and saw quite a lot of those regular homes.) I can only imagine what the disparity was like when people actually lived on Bellevue. The central tourist area was along the water, and all things being equal not too terribly touristy. A lot of local shops selling things you might not necessarily pick up elsewhere, including a fantastic make-up store that allowed me to indulge in make-up talk with the very enthusiastic owner.
I could have used another day to visit some of the museums in Newport, including the National Museum of Illustration (they house a lot of Rockwell and Parrish) and I'd love to have spent on full day on the water. But just getting a glimpse at the famed Newport Mansions and walking along the cliffs along the Bay...totally worth fighting the traffic on Rte 24.