Spur of the moment trip down to Providence... known for it's art and food due to proximity to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Johnson & Wales University. Tried to see one of our favorite artists - Mike Bryce - we bought one of his oil paintings many years ago in Block Island, but unfortunately, his studio was only opened until 2PM. Coffee and bread from Seven Stars Bakery - amazing lattes and pretty damn good bread. Then hit up Atwells Ave (Italian Section) - saw some nice al fresco cafes including Venda Ravioli, which reminded us of an Italian market or any European Square. Good Italian grocery which had amazing looking homemade pastas, desserts, meats, etc. Strolled down Wickenden Street - stopped by some cool little boutique stores. Then hit Thayer Street by Brown University and checked out some of the shops / restaurants there. Tried to eat at Al Forno - but the place was a zoo, even at 6:30PM! Having come from a recent trip to Spain, it was mind boggling that this many people were eating so early! Settled on New Rivers Bistro, an America bistro-style restaurant - we ate at the bar, which we love doing. There was a jazz concert right outside, which shockingly we couldn't hear, but could only indulge with our eyes. Food was decent - we started with some quiche, then I had the homemade pasta with ham, while Lisa had the Squid. Dessert looked amazing, but we were late for Water Fire! Gotta say that Water Fire was a little disappointing - not sure what I was expecting, but it was a little more than a few mini fires on the Three Rivers. I did enjoy a few things about it: (1) they attracted a TON of people to the Providence waterfront, so great for businesses; (2) it was young and old alike... and stuff for everyone - balloons, fire, cotton candy for kids and wine/beer for adults. However, the show itself was nothing special - we didn't stick around for all that long. |
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