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When it comes to seeing how the other half lives, I’m fascinated. Going to open houses of million-dollar homes, browsing through expensive furniture stores and watching HGTV all day, can be an exercise in futility for my husband, but I think it’s fun. Visiting mansions of a bygone era, however, is an experience everyone can take pleasure in.

If you ever visit Newport, R.I., don't only eat the lobster or shop in the idyllic village. Take in the gargantuan mansions sitting on the cliff. You can enjoy the view by walking on the path cut along the rock, but go inside to take a trip back in time. The most impressive to me is The Breakers.



The mansion was built by a Vanderbilt, and no one did mansions like these guys. The family (Anderson Cooper is an heir - no kidding!) made a fortune through railroads and steamships, and their many "vacation homes" served as symbols of American power and wealth.

Luckily many of them are still standing and now we call all take a glimpse inside how THAT half lived in the gilded age. Read this tidbit of history.



Moving toward the Mason Dixon line is another Vanderbilt vacation home: the Biltmore. This one boasts 250 rooms! You can’t stay the night, but you can book the Inn on the premises.

When I think about these mansions I can't help but apply it to today's economic times. The Great Depression made these super-duper mansions become nearly extinct and the Vanderbilt family eventually fell from prominence and wealth. Many millionaires today are doing the same. I read this article recently about how the current recession is forcing some of the rich to liquidate everything they own. Or some, as the couple featured, are simply yearning for a simpler life. Some say the days of excess are gone. I say, these days of excess are nothing like they once were.


But, whatever, this is America...dream about your McMansion. And there's always the local Tour of Homes to help with that.