Providence, RI

Us in front of the State House

Every summer, I like to do at least one weekend getaway and this year's pick was Providence, RI with Alexa! Neither of us had been before but it seemed like a great spot for a short stay and it was! It was about a 4-hour drive, close to the beach, very walkable and a cute town for wandering. There were tons of restaurants and we had a short list of must-do's (indie bookstores and ice cream, of course). But we were content to play most of our time by ear. We still ended up seeing a lot, got some beach and indoor pool time and super enjoyed the weekend. It was a perfect mix of exploring and relaxing! 

Photos and more details on our trip:

We kicked things off bright and early at Kitchen for breakfast. We ended up getting there a little before 8am, which I highly recommend doing. There's only one cook and it's quite small but the cozy atmosphere and delicious food was worth it. Just thinking their perfectly crispy bacon hash and croissant French toast is making me hungry. (PS. It's also cash only.)

I finally to went to the beach for the first time in years! We went to a small public beach in Warwick called Buttonwoods City Park and Beach. If you prefer to be away from the crowds like we do, this is perfect. 

After the beach, it was time to hunt down the bookstores on our list: Cellar Stories and Symposium Books. The former was definitely our favorite though. It had rows and rows of used books and unexpected finds for both of us. 

Some photos I took as we explored the downtown area and federal buildings. There were a surprising number of eye-catching graffiti and while we initially had no plans of seeing the State House, we really like walking the grounds (and taking selfies haha). 

We had dinner at Los Andes and I can't recommend this place enough. You definitely need a car or Uber to get there and it fills up pretty quickly (we purposely got there at 6 without a reservation and that worked out) but the food is just so good. It's Peruvian and Bolivian cuisine. The service is great. I got this half Jalea (fried seafood), half ceviche dish that was fantastic and the dessert was just as delicious. 

We checked out the Waterfire show which is something that happens on various weekends throughout the year, particular in summer. It's sort of like performance art? It's hard to say what I was expecting but a ton of people showed up to watch so it's definitely a thing if you're in the area. There's music, a whole procession of lighting the wood barrels and even fire dancers. It's a pretty cool spectacle and especially nice on a slightly cool night. I really enjoyed it and took dozens of pictures. 

Day 2! Hard to believe because we did a lot on the first day. But on Sunday, we got breakfast at White Electric Coffee and again, it's a must-eat spot.

When we arrived at RISD, we noticed all sorts of buildings and memorials near the street leading up to the college so we decided to check this out first. 

But then we got to RISD! We explored the campus, checked out various buildings (although the Athenaeum, which we really wanted to see, was closed) and stopped by the college store. This was another place where we took a ton of pics and I couldn't help wondering what it would like to be a design student there (instead of the computer science major I was!).

And of course, a trip wouldn't be complete without ice cream. Three Sisters was our very last stop by getting in the car to drive home and the perfect way to say goodbye to Providence. 

Detour! So a little less than halfway through the drive we needed to make a pit stop for gas in CT. I randomly asked if Book Barn was nearby because I'd never been. When we realized it was 15 minutes away, we knew we had to turn around and stop by. It's such a cool place for book lovers! I'm so happy we decided to stop by and I definitely want to go back again!

Until our next trip!

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Have you been to Rhode Island?

And what weekend trips do you have planned?