After a really wonderful three days on Cape Cod, whilst I felt ready to leave, I was also a little sad to be leaving and I missed it after I left - Im not quite sure why, but perhaps it was because if its tranquil nature, and different pace to the rest of the places I visited on my journey. Nevertheless, a Peter Pan bus was ready and waiting to pick me up at the Hyannis Transportation Centre, and take me off westwards on my next adventure for this trip - two nights in the tiny state of Rhode Island, Americas smallest state, and nicknamed the Funsize State - cute!
The bus travelled through some interesting looking places, namely New Bedford and Fall River, two sizeable settlements on the south coast of Massachusetts and both famous for being important whaling centres in the 19th century. They both looked in a sorry state of disrepair from the bus though, with a noticeable number of homeless types - I was actually really quite surprised at the amount of homeless people there were in various places of my journey, mainly the larger settlements, and I didnt really expect
Shortly after crossing the state border into Rhode Island, literally around ten minutes after, we arrived in downtown Providence, my destination for the next two nights. The state of Rhode Island traces its beginnings back to the early 17th century, when in 1636 Roger Williams founded the city of Providence. Williams was a religious outcast from Boston, and was sent packing after being ostracised for his views that all people should have freedom of conscience. This sounds definitely like my kind of guy, particularly after having experienced these last two years of diktats sent from above. The state tiny, and at a mere 1,214 square miles is about the same size as the Spanish island of Mallorca. Nevertheless, despite its small size, it has a surprisingly long coastline of 400 miles, being sited on a large estuary of the Providence River and the wide expanse of the Narragansett Bay - thus it is also called The Ocean State due to its maritime connections.
Peter Pan deposited me in Providences very central Kennedy Plaza, which also serves as the citys transport
hub, which I crossed on my way to a bus stop to await a bus which would take me on to my Air BnB during my time there. The bus took me east of downtown, over the Providence River and through the leafy campus of Brown University, more on that below, to a beautiful leafy area with huge, substantial mansions centred around the grand and famous Blackstone Boulevard. I was staying in an suite in the basement of a huge mansion on this very boulevard, owned by a lovely couple, MJ from Brazil, and her very talkative and friendly husband, Chip - what an amazing name! They were very and the basement flat and cosy. After downing my backpacks and a short rest, I headed out to explore the lovely city of Providence - beautiful and handsome, busy yet quiet, with a metropolitan yet relaxed feel - I really liked the city actually!
My walk first took me through the bohemian area around Thayer Street and then onto nearby Brown University, another Ivy League Institution and one of three, out of the seven, that I visited on this trip. The vibe was friendly
and relaxed, and didnt feel quite so haughty as Harvard did. The sun was peaking out through the clouds, and there was a warm, feel to the day - this was very after the icy conditions back in Boston. Leaving the campus behind, I headed up to nearby Prospect Terrace Park for amazing views over downtown Providence below - Brown University and its surrounds are located on a majestic hill to the east of the downtown area, with views over the skyscrapers below. The park also housed a very statue of the citys founder, Roger Williams, proudly gazing out over the city below and admiring his domain.
