{"id":45896,"date":"2014-02-09T16:28:56","date_gmt":"2014-02-09T20:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=45896"},"modified":"2022-03-27T11:51:30","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T15:51:30","slug":"rhode-island-travel-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/45896\/rhode-island-travel-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean State-ment: A Local Designer&#8217;s Rhode Island Travel Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe people, community, food, and family in Cranston inspire my creativity,\u201d says Carolyn Rafaelian, founder and creative director at <a href=\"http:\/\/alexandani.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alex and Ani<\/a>. \u201cAll of my family lives in RI; my roots are here. I\u2019ve traveled\u00a0and\u00a0experienced worldly places enough to realize that there is an extra energy in Rhode Island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Yorkers planning a city break might overlook the tiniest state in the country, but Rafaelian would argue that\u2019s a big mistake. Besides owning a sustainably-minded RI-based jewelry company, which recently launched a Team USA Winter Collection, Rafaelian runs a winery and a couple of popular coffee shops around town. Knowing RI and its locals is her business.<\/p>\n<p>While wearers of the new Sochi-styled line are meant to feel encouraged to \u201creach higher, live stronger, and love greater,\u201d we just find ourselves wanting to race north to the Ocean State with a weekend bag\u2014and Alex and Ani bangles.<\/p>\n<p>Make the most of your next Rhode trip with some help from Rafaelian\u2019s personal guidebook.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_45911\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45911\" style=\"width: 544px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45911   lazyload\" alt=\"Carolyn Rafaelian's RI\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/sfjlWDsxqHu8XoF9eqteZAo__Nppc6IVngAb62jTUXo.png\" width=\"544\" height=\"404\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-45911\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45911   lazyload\" alt=\"Carolyn Rafaelian's RI\" src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/sfjlWDsxqHu8XoF9eqteZAo__Nppc6IVngAb62jTUXo.png\" width=\"544\" height=\"404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/sfjlWDsxqHu8XoF9eqteZAo__Nppc6IVngAb62jTUXo.png 673w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/sfjlWDsxqHu8XoF9eqteZAo__Nppc6IVngAb62jTUXo-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/sfjlWDsxqHu8XoF9eqteZAo__Nppc6IVngAb62jTUXo-33x25.png 33w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 544px) 100vw, 544px\" \/><\/noscript> Carolyn Rafaelian&#8217;s Rhode Island travel guide shows just how much the smallest state has to offer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>For a weekend escape, <\/strong>I recommend a visit to my winery in\u00a0Little Compton called Sakonnet Vineyard. The sacred grounds are waiting for people to make memories there.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nWhen I need to relax <\/strong>in a natural environment, I go to <a href=\"https:\/\/rwpzoo.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roger Williams Park Zoo<\/a> in Providence.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nMy favorite quick breakfast spot<\/strong> in Cranston or Providence is Teas and Javas. I co-own this shop, which offers the freshest gourmet treats and my favorite Italian coffee and Jasmine tea.<\/p>\n<p><strong>One cool off the beaten path activity<\/strong> in Cranston is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.yelp.com\/biz\/emmas-back-porch-cranston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Emma&#8217;s Back Porch<\/a>. Antiquing is always fun and I love to visit Emma&#8217;s and hunt for hidden gems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For dinner, <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.plumptbistro.com\/#!\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Plum Pt. Bistro<\/a> is Saunderstown. It\u2019s a mix of Italian, French, and American foods and has a great after hours\u00a0atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The best hotel in the area<\/strong> is the\u00a0NYLO in Warwick. I suggest this hotel to our out-of-town guests because it has lovely loft-like rooms and is in a\u00a0convenient\u00a0location.\u00a0<em>The &#8220;romance getaway&#8221; special includes overnight accommodations, a chilled bottle of bubbly with chocolate covered strawberries, and breakfast for two. Rates start at $189\/night for this package.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Directions:<\/strong> Providence is three hours from Manhattan. Consult <a href=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/manhattan-to-providence-public-transportation-advisor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">oM\u2019s Providence Transportation Guide<\/a> and oM&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/2008\/02\/13\/renting-hybrid-cars-in-manhattan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">guide to renting Hybrids in NYC.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Check out the following stories for more ideas on things to do in Rhode Island: <a href=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/2013\/11\/20\/things-to-do-in-providence-ri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Treasure Island: 12 Gems of Providence, RI<\/a><\/em>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/2009\/09\/28\/providence-attractions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Closer Look at Providence\u2019s Cultural and Culinary Attractions<\/a><\/em>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/2013\/06\/11\/things-to-do-in-bristol-rhode-island\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Best Things to Do in Bristol, Rhode Island<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Photos: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jude_the_obscure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">*jude*<\/a><\/em><em>, @that_girl_who_, Alex + Ani, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Plum Pt. Bistro, Nylo, Emma&#8217;s Back Porch<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0\u201cThe people, community, food, and family in Cranston inspire my creativity,\u201d says Carolyn Rafaelian, founder and creative director at Alex and Ani. \u201cAll of my family lives in RI; my roots are here. I\u2019ve traveled\u00a0and\u00a0experienced worldly places enough to realize that there is an extra energy in Rhode Island.\u201d New Yorkers planning a city break [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[850,772,785,753,776,777,770,834,781,778,774,353,780,849,748,316,782,848],"tags":[116,293,226,125,130,299,133,65,57,282,84,243,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-45896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-antiques-shopping-2","8":"category-bakery-food-drink","9":"category-beaches-adventure-activity-2","10":"category-car-2","11":"category-farms-food-drink","12":"category-fine-dining","13":"category-food-drink","14":"category-gardens-culture-2","15":"category-outdoor-dining","16":"category-picnic-food-drink","17":"category-restaurants-food-drink","18":"category-rhode-island","19":"category-seafood-food-drink","20":"category-shopping-2","21":"category-train-2","22":"category-weekend-getaways","23":"category-wine-food-drink","24":"category-zoo-culture-2","25":"tag-amtrak","26":"tag-budget-friendly","27":"tag-drink","28":"tag-food","29":"tag-green","30":"tag-locally-sourced","31":"tag-outdoors","32":"tag-park","33":"tag-restaurant","34":"tag-romantic","35":"tag-shopping","36":"tag-vineyard","37":"tag-wine"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":45921,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/12402629665_c755ac7de6_b-300x200.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}