Snippets of a a Providence Birthday weekend…
I was told that we were leaving at 1:20 and that my costume should be casual-cute. Ok. So many options because casual-cute is my jam. We drive to an area that I wasn’t familiar with and, as I was on the phone with Creighton, I remarked, “Hmmmm….Dad brought me to a graffiti covered alley in Providence.” He responded that it was obviously a lesson in tagging. Then he added that “Birthday Graffiti Surprise” could be the name of his next band. Walking around the corner, however, I knew where we were going. Gather Glass!
We took note of these guys on our very first night in Providence. Waterfire was fully lit, I was in awe of the crowd, the sight and sound of the many fires and the smell of woodsmoke. We explored the vending area- artists and food trucks adding to my visual and olfactory delight. Gather Glass was there and we’ve been wanting to/meaning to attend a class ever since. I’m not sure how over 3 years have passed… but it was a perfectly fabulous birthday surprise!
After my little happy dance, we chose our colors and got down to the business of glass blowing- which, as we learned should be called glass turning because you literally do not stop turning the glass. Very cool experience.
Afterwards, we walked to my favorite street and hunted vintage clothes, books, handmade treasures and oddities in my go-to shops. The energy of Providence was almost normal. You could hear chatter and laughter and I felt my soul awakening.
We then walked to The Congress Tavern for dinner. This place serves up the tastiest, elevated pub-food. We both ordered their Breakfast-in-Bed special- a mid-rare rib-eye on a bed of deeply flavored gravy, fried eggs, lightly toasted garlic bread, outside-crisp but inside-tender steak fries and green beans. Just pause. Re-read and imagine. It was perfect.
Another walk to a post-dinner drink at The Walnut Room, a dimly lit elegant space that feels secret in a sexy way. Walking past the bar to our chosen loungey corner, I noticed several styles of bar glasses being chilled with ice cubes. Ahhh…yaaasss! There is a real bartender here. She made a recommendation. I followed. I enjoyed every sip.
Our last stop was another walk across the pedestrian bridge- Providence shines so beautifully at night. At this point, I was fast walking, trying to outpace the chill in the air. Nickanees was one of our go-to places during our Providence residence. It seemed fitting to stop in.
The night may have ended, but we headed back this afternoon to pick up our cooled blown glass, turned glass, spun glass bowls. A quick lunch at Union Station with one of their Cranston Thug-Life brews has me adequately satiated. Nap time. I mean, I cannot focus on this football game anyway because it’s a horrible costume match. Glasses off. Afghan on.
