My sister and I went to Newport, RI for our 55th birthday.  It was beautiful there.  I thought it was my first time being there.  Then, as I was driving on Bellevue Avenue, I saw the International Tennis Hall of Fame and realized I had been there before.

It was almost 10 years ago.  It was for Andre Agassi’s induction ceremony in July 2011.  It may as well had been in a prior life.  I was with Ex then.  Ex, the one that deserves no introduction, but I will clarify for new readers.  He is the one that cheated on me and broke my heart over 9 years ago.  He is the reason why I started this blog – to get the pain out of my being.

“What is past is past. never go back. Not for excuses. Not for justification, not for happiness. You are what you are, the world is what it is.” – Mario Puzo,  The Last Don

I guess I really blocked all the memories of those 3 years with him.  Speaking of him, he texted to wish my sister and I a happy birthday.  I just deleted it.  But it always angers me.  The fact that he thinks that it is okay to contact me after I went as far as telling him to pretend I was dead.  The nerve!  He is not my friend.

Back to Newport and our birthday.  It was beautiful and we had a great time.  We stayed at the America’s Cup Inn.  It was the perfect location for us, right in the center of everything.  So happens that the entire staff of this hotel was Brazilian, and all so nice and helpful.  As we Brazilians often are.

We drove around the island and at times parked and walked around the shore.  Newport is famous for, among other things, the Gilded Age mansions.  We visited the only one that was open: The Marble House.  It was beautiful, opulent and so rich in history.  (pictured below)

We shopped in the little stores in downtown for souvenirs and ate in delicious places. I failed to make reservations for a couple of places I really want to eat at, so we weren’t able to get in.  Better planning next time.  

We will definitely go back at some point!

As far as turning 55, it just feels so foreign to me.  But such a milestone deserves its own post.  I will be writing about it in a separate post.

“Be the celebrators, celebrate! Already there is too much—the flowers have bloomed, the birds are singing, the sun is there in the sky—celebrate it! You are breathing and you are alive and you have consciousness, celebrate it!” ― Osho