Travel Writing
The bulk of my Travel Writing is featured on my WordPress site, The Butterfly's Travels, an online portfolio created expressly for my Travel Writing class and expanded at the encouragement of my professor. Although I can do so much more than the free version of WordPress allows, I direct you there now to examine my writing. Just remember to return to this site when you are done!
WikiTravel Contribution
Although I am not a big fan of Wikipedia for research (only its citations), I have to admit that the premise of the WikiTravel guide is a great medium for up and coming travel writers. I may do more work with it in the future, if time allows. For this particular project I chose to write about my husband's home-town area of Fox Point, because it is so rich in history and culture; not to mention that Wickenden Street (which, for all intents and purposes is the Fox Point commercial district) is a great place for business travelers and families of visiting college students to visit while staying just outside of downtown Providence.
Since WikiTravel follows the same structure of Wikipedia, anybody can edit someone else's original work, so I would suggest comparing the original text (below) with what appears online - just in case my work has been altered! Please take a moment to review the WikiTravel Providence/Fox Point/Wickenden Street page that I created!
Providence/Fox Point
From Wikitravel
Providence County : Providence : Fox Point
Understand
Unlike Bourbon Street in New Orleans,
Traditionally a Portuguese neighborhood, Fox Point has held onto its roots; although
The use of public transport solves the issue of side-street parking during peak periods, and the convenience of public transport abounds on
See
India Point Park is a year-round area attraction; the site of many cultural festivals hosted by Providence’s various non-profit organizations. It is easily accessed from the India Point Park Walking Bridge that spans from
Back on
Boasting an open-area kitchen, patrons of Fellini's can watch the pizza dough being stretched by hand the old-fashioned way – by being thrown up into the air and caught on the way down. It makes for quite a show! In business since 1989, Fellini’s consistently ranks among Rhode Island Monthly magazine’s Best of Rhode Island. One taste will tell you why!
Do
If people watching is your thing, you can make your way down the block to The Coffee Exchange, an environmentally friendly, sustainable coffee serving coffee shop with tasty wares and a lovely, elevated view from the front porch or side and back decks. Inside, you will meet people from all walks of life; from college students to their professors and other non-academic types, with collars of every color. All are welcome, so long as they keep an open and respectful mind for the views of others. Often times, the conversations turn to spirited debate, making for interesting listening, too.
After visiting, you may find yourself a regular patron of
• Walking tours. Guided tours take place often throughout the year (check local listings for times and dates); and Brown University has set up signs at several locations of locally historical significance as a part of the “Speaking of Wickenden” cell-phone tour. Use your mobile phone to call (401) 415-0206 wherever you see a “Speaking of Wickenden” sign to hear a pre-recorded history of the site.
• Locally owned organic grocery stores; especially the East Side Marketplace (another Best of Rhode Island winner) which is just a short drive away in Richmond Square (the line of demarcation between Fox Point and the East Side). In addition to offering organic groceries, East Side Marketplace's Café offers a great, casual dining experience at reasonable prices. Every month the Café holds various social events, with a different food theme. Plus, there have been many celebrity sightings there – from the late George Harrison and JFK, Jr. to actress Natalie Portman (all connected to Brown University).
• Saturday Sidewalk Sales along
After spending some time here, you may discover, as many travelers have, that
Eat and Drink
You will find a criss-crossing of coffee shops and cafes offering breakfast and lunch, juxtaposed by their restaurant counterparts offering lunch and dinner. Regardless of ethnic tastes, everyone will find something to enjoy on
• Spicy dishes, like the curry at Taste of India
• Sushi from Sakura Japanese Restaurant
• Crêpes and other pastry fare at The Duck and Bunny (which is a unique little place called a “Snuggery”)
• Tastes from every culture imaginable at The Wickenden Pub, which serves over 99 beers from around the world (but no food; they do not have a kitchen, so it is strongly suggested that you dine before you stop in for a pint or several!).
Buy
Lest you get the wrong impression,
• The Ethnic Concepts Smoke Shop, which has been selling the finest in Hookah since long before it became fashionable to smoke them
• The Curatorium (“because everything deserves curration”)
• Round Again Records, for those who still know what an LP record is
• Curiosities, a type of place New Englander’s might call a “Secondhand Rose” shop (this term having been coined by the world famous New England author Stephen King in his horror-book It). Just because something is old does not make it an antique, but it does not make it worthless, either; and this is the sort of stuff you will find at Curiosities.
Just around the corner on
Also available for longer-term rental are store-front apartments right along
Contact
For more information on visiting
For hotel reservations, contact the Radisson Hotel, Providence Harbor (
For apartment rentals, contact Sampson Realty at (401) 454-5454; conveniently located at