ECLAIT VOYAGER : Travel

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"Any fool can make a fortune; it takes a man of brains to hold onto it," Commodore Vanderbilt

One of the things that I love to do the most when I travel, is to roam about the streets, aimlessly, and figure out which era a house, a cottage, a phenomenal church was built.

Kind of like a guessing game -- finding common patterns among all those architectural structures, lines and forms.

Newport is the perfect place for this, with mansions from the Gilded Age, colonial houses that ranged from Beaux-art, Renaissance Revival, Gothic revival to Queen Anne style, and Irish influenced "cottages".

However, there are two mansions in Newport, still erect today, to see the rise and the fall of the Vanderbilts.

The Vanderbilts
Commodore Vanderbilt, started the business of running passenger boats and steamboats, with a capital of $100 borrowed from his mother in 1810. By 1877, his wealth has reached $100m, which is more than what was held in the US Treasury. William Henry Vanderbilt, his son, took great care of the inheritance and managed to double it, in just 8 years after his father's death.

The bulk of William's inheritance was divided between two of his sons -- Cornelius Vanderbilt II and William Kissam Vanderbilt.

Cornelius V. II built the Breakers. William K. Vanderbilt built the Marble House.

The Marble House
The Marble House has the features of a Beaux-Arts architecture with flat roof, symmetrical design, arched windows or doors and a tint of classical design and forms. It was designed Richard Morris Hunt, who also designed the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The cost of the house was about $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on marble.

newport mansions, vanderbilt, the marble house

The grand dining room is covered in red marbles and 24K gold.

Study Room

Gothic Chapel

Another room for hosting guests

The room of Gloria Laura Vanderbilt, the only child of Reginald Vanderbilt. It is said that little Gloria had no say on whatsoever, and the Chinoise design of her room is totally her mother's idea. Little Gloria was also the subject of a "trial of the century" -- the battle for custody between her mother and her aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (American sculptor and founder of the Whitney museum -- we will see her room later!). She is also the mother of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

Mrs. Vanderbilt's room

A highly technologically advanced automatic water heater

To next post:
Newport Mansions, Gilded Age & Vanderbilts (2)

The Breaker
The Break had its Italian Renaissance influence and the entrance room is largely inspired by the French Opera House. When it was completed in 1895, it was considered as one of the most opulent summer "cottage" in Newport.

Porte-cochère. A covered entrance to carriages or cars from the weather.

The Breaker has one of the most advanced technologies implemented: centralized heating system and electricity. The main hall is inspired by 16th century palaces of Turin, and hence took the form of an Italian Renaissance style.

The walls are made of Caen stone, a creamy yellow type of limestone that are found in France.
The room has huge pilasters that are decorated with oak leaves and acorns, which symbolizes strength and longevity. You will be able to find these symbols throughout the house. The children are allowed to dance, ride bicycles or slide down the stairs in this hall!

Morning Room
At first historians couldn't quite understand what made the wall panels look "shimmering", and they thought it was plated with silver. In fact, this room was varnished with platinum, the most expensive metal ever. The ceiling resembles the four seasons, and the wall panels are painted with muses that represents music and poetry.

Muses

Music Room
The music room is where the Vanderbilts played the piano, and invite friends over for dance. The room is covered with gold leafs, chandeliers, and exotic oak furnitures.

Study Room
The study room used wood panels from Turkey and the side panels were made of leather. There are symbols of Dolphins throughout the room. The Vanderbilts usually read or drink tea in this room.
The fireplace was taken from the 16th century chateau d’Arnay le Duc in Burgundy, France.

Study room where they drink tea

Gertrude's Bedroom
Gertrude preferred to be a poor girl rather than the heiress of great wealth. She became an artist and a sculptor, and on the chest is one of her art piece. She is also the founder of the Whitney museum.

Mrs. Vanderbilt's room

The stairs are designed to be a little shorter than usual, for women to glide down the stairs without tripping.

17th century tapestry about Alexander the Great

The breaker was originally a wooden house and destroyed by fire, so in the re-design, Mr. Vanderbilt specifically requested the kitchen was designed on a different wing to prevent catching from fire. Tables in the kitchen are also covered in zinc, which is kind of like the modern day stainless steel.

This is the view from their Loggia, an indoor porch covered with mosaic tiles where they can sit, chill and watch the sea. The house is called "The Breaker" for a good reason -- you can see the waves crashing against the cliffs and the rocks are called breakers.

Both the Breaker and the Marble House gave us a glimpse of the upper class in the early 19th century. They may lack the noble pedigree, but the industrial revolution gave these people an enormous growth in wealth to splurge on impeccable grandeur and over-the-top designs.

To previous Newport Mansions, Gilded Age and Vanderbilts (1)

每次來到台南時，都有種莫名的溫暖。

總覺得台南人，有種不屈不擾的真誠，是其他地方所看不到的。他們溫柔，慢條斯理的把每件事做好。
運將不會為了賺錢而繞路，店家更不會犧牲家庭生活而每天開張。

台北人來到台南，除了享受愜意的慢遊，轉角間總是有著出戶意料的驚喜。

純薏仁之紅豆白玉薏仁

濃郁的薏仁香，配上帶點甘苦的抹茶白玉，綜合了紅豆的甜味，是一道清爽的夏日甜品。比起軟綿綿的口感, 更喜歡這種粒粒分明又扎實的薏仁口感。使用的食器都是以木材為主（應該是衫木？），很喜歡這種溫暖的手感。

深藍咖啡廳之千層蛋糕 (Mille Crepe)

吃過Lady M 的千層蛋糕，但真的覺得很.....普通。唯一的特點應該是他在每層的薄餅都有點焦糖香，不然其實台灣有很多間的千層蛋糕的口味都很相似。深藍的千層蛋糕最推薦的是栗子跟芝麻口味，跟清爽的奶香很匹配。

懿品乳酪菓子手造所之夏威夷塔與鳳梨酥

只能說這間應該是我在台南吃到最好吃的甜點了！！！

酥而不膩的塔皮，烤的酥脆，有著焦糖香的夏威夷果豆。雖然他們家主打是乳酪系列的產品，但是我覺得他們其他的副產品都很好吃。

江水號之八寶冰

江水號雖然沒有起眼的外觀，但卻有著莫名的親切感。剉冰機是小時候懷念的墨綠手動刨冰機台，加上淳樸的綠豆，薏仁，芋頭就是個懷舊的滋味。

遊走香港，台北與紐約的你我，人與人之間的相處有著若有似無的距離感，但其實這個台北人的後花園，除了好山好水，更有著樸實的人情秘境等你細細去發覺。跟著攝影師的腳步，帶這相機與畫筆，讓我們用心發現宜蘭的人文風景吧！

#1 合盛太平：

老一輩的人，總是鼓勵著自家的小孩不是當醫生就是商人，千萬不要搞政治。自幼聰穎的陳金波醫師於1919年開設太平醫院，許多宜蘭的民眾都給陳醫師看過，因為熱衷地方活動還跟蔣渭水先生共事過。

而這個過了大半輩子的老醫院也隨著陳金波兒子過世後歇業，直到某日合盛民宿希望重新給老屋一個新方向，才有了合盛太平這個咖啡廳。

當初陳老奶奶（陳金波醫師的媳婦）希望能保留老屋的所有回憶，所以原本一樓是診所，二樓是起居室的設計都被保留了下來。

原本了立牌與診所使用的椅子

二樓的和室與廚房都變身成小型的攝影展，新與舊的融合，既不違和也不突兀。

不像一般的老屋改建，有時會有華而不實的餐點，合盛太平的咖啡出呼我意料的順口。來這邊可以嚐嚐他們的培茶拿鐵。

#2：五峰旗瀑布

夏天或是冬天，五峰旗瀑布總是帶來驚喜。翠悅的鳥叫聲，可愛的鉛色水鶇（小名：東東），有如被山與露水環抱的大自然。路程不算長卻可以輕易看到三個延岩而下，姿態卻不同的瀑布。有些急溯而雄偉，有些輕快蕩然。

#3: 來星寶做蔥油餅吧

宜蘭的三星蔥會好吃，除了水質好，還有是這太平山吹下來的涼風，早晚溫差大，正好適合蔥的生長環境。微微的涼風，踏入扎實的土壤，別小看這蔥，他們可以實力派的緊抓這土攘，拔蔥還得靠點技巧。

星寶的阿姨很熱心的跟我們講解蔥的生長條件，更不留一手的教我們做蔥油餅。
”你們蔥要挖大大的兩瓢要像小山這樣才及格喔！不能偷工減料“

我還是第一次聽到有人說要這麼大方的放料（笑）果然是淳樸的宜蘭啊