Last summer, we planned a quick trip to Rhode Island. We landed in Boston around noon, ate lunch and drove by Tufts, Harvard and Boston College. Then we checked into our hotel in Fall River, MA and drove another half hour to Providence, RI to meet my cousin and his family for dinner.

Providence is beautiful!

Brown University

We stopped at Brown University and walked around the campus.

Although Brown is one of the country’s oldest universities, it got off to a somewhat rocky start. Originally known as Rhode Island College, the school began in 1764 with only one student and one professor in Warren, RI. After the prominent Brown family of Providence campaigned heavily to move it to Providence, construction began in 1770 and enrollment steadily increased. Unfortunately, the Revolutionary War prompted the college to close for six years.

However, after it reopened, the student population grew, the name was changed to Brown and more buildings sprang up on the campus. Brown admitted the first African-American student in 1877 and the first female student in 1891. Today, this Ivy-League university boasts around 9,000 undergraduate, graduate and medical students from all over the globe.

Most students weren’t on campus today since it was the end of summer term. We felt we had the place to ourselves and liked the feel of the campus.

Downtown

We met my relatives for dinner at Andino’s on Federal Hill – a neighborhood teeming with shops and Italian restaurants. Later as dusk approached, we found parking downtown and walked along the riverfront at Waterplace Park. The park features the WaterFire Providence show, concerts, jogging trails and restaurants.

For a Sunday night, the area was happening with people milling around. We enjoyed the vibe Providence exudes and hope to come back to explore more of the city soon.

Click here to read about our day in Newport and our day on Block Island.