Have you heard of the Gilded Age? Call me ignorant or whatever, but I had not heard the official term until last month when I visited the astonishing mansions of Newport, Rhode Island.

In United States history, the Gilded Age is a period approximately spanning the final three decades of the nineteenth century; from the 1870s to 1900. The term was coined by writers Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873), satirizing what they believed to be an era of serious social problems disguised by a thin gold gilding.

Thank you Wikipedia, you’re the best.

Interesting where we stand right now, I want my life easier not more elaborated. Fancy dresses are uncomfortable and I can’t imagine having someone do every single thing for me, I actually enjoy cooking.

How did people live in such an age? I bet their attention span was intact and their knowledge of history was more maintained, with all the time they had in their hands I would not expect anything less. I bet if they come to our time now they would be beyond overwhelmed and wouldn’t know how to deal with it.

What’s next for people then? How can it get more intense, more technological or more progressive?

I think we are going back to basics in many aspects of life. Are we losing connection with ourselves? Are we going back to times we thought of as grand? Is that what every generation does? The Gilded Age line of thought was to replicate and bring back the grandeur of Europe, especially France. Are we always, in some way, looking back to the successes of the past? Will all of this Google glass technology mindsets collide with a simpler way of living?

I guess what I’m wondering is, what will future generations look back and see from our times? What are they going to want to replicate and what are they going to laugh about (besides Justin Bieber’s music)?

I’m going to let you think about that for a while.

On a lighter note, follow my Newport journey through my pictures below! 🙂

Walking around the ocean drive

This is just the backside of the Marble House. Mind you, this was supposed to be their summer house. Imagine where they lived all year.

This was their tea house. Tea house. A house for tea. I have a box for my tea bags, but these people had actual buildings for tea.

The front of the Marble House is even more amazing

Breakfast at Beech Tree Inn, such a nice stay!

This might not be the most flattering picture, but this dinner at The Mooring was absolutely delicious!

Walking by the water…

You have to drive by the ocean drive, it’s such a beautiful view… and this is not even summer!

I feel like I should remember this mansion’s name… potato, potato? There are so many mansions!

Cliff Walk -Some of it is still closed due to damage by Super Storm Sandy

Even when it’s not sumer, even if there’s a cold breeze, this walk was still worth it.

The Breakers, just your average American summer cottage. Seriously? This is basically a castle.

Going down the Forty Steps…