Trip Description
Gilded Age Driving Tour of Newport
with lunch at La Forge Casino Restaurant
Meet Mrs. Caroline Astor, the Grande Dame of Newport and New York society in the late 1800s. Mrs. Astor is the
step-on guide who will take us on a time-travel Gilded Age tour of Newport. Our tour route includes the famous
Ten-Mile Ocean Drive, the “cottages” of the Gilded Age which are along Bellevue Avenue, and plenty of gossip! Be sure to
bring a camera as there will be opportunities to get off the motor-coach to take photos.
During the driving tour, there will be crystal ball moments where Mrs. Astor can peek into the future. She will tell us
about such events as the sinking of the Titanic, on which her son perished, and the wedding of John Fitzgerald Kennedy
and Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport.
Lunch will be served at La Forge Casino Restaurant which is situated on the grounds of the International Tennis
Hall of Fame and overlooks the first grass tennis courts in America. For your entrée, choose one of the following: Turkey
Club, Open Faced Chicken Salad (sweet pickles and celery on grilled sourdough), Veggie Wrap (roasted eggplant,
chickpea mash, feta and fennel on a pita) or the Casino Burger (American cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo). All entrees
will come with Soup, Coffee, Tea, Iced Tea, and Dessert.
During dessert, Mrs. Astor will talk about Gilded Age dining etiquette, calling card customs, and how Newport is the
American side of the Downton Abbey story. She will also give updates about the current owner of her former mansion
and tell about today’s descendants of the Gilded Age Astor and Vanderbilt families.
After lunch, we bid adieu to Mrs. Astor and have free-time to explore the wonders of Newport.
Cost: $105
Includes: Round trip motor coach, tour director, driving tour with Mrs. Astor, lunch and discussion with Mrs. Astor, free time in Newport, all taxes and gratuities
Itinerary subject to change and availability.