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

Fox Point-Wickenden Street is in Providence, Rhode Island.


Understand

Unlike Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Wickenden Street is not a destination street; but rather, a place to visit if you happen to be in or around the area. Running through the heart of the Fox Point section of Providence, Wickenden Street makes up the business district of this Providence neighborhood. Close in proximity to Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, visitors to these schools – as well as business travelers – often choose to stay in the area, rather than pay the exorbitant price of a downtown Providence hotel room. Business travelers who prefer not to be stuck in their hotel rooms for the duration of their trips give Wickenden Street high marks on Yelp.com.

Traditionally a Portuguese neighborhood, Fox Point has held onto its roots; although Wickenden Street offers a hodge-podge of various ethnicities and cultural traditions.

 

Get in

Wickenden Street is in the Fox Point section of Providence, RI, directly off of Exit 2 on I-195 East or West. It runs the length of the Fox Point neighborhood, for approximately two miles up and down the hills that mark Providence's famous East Side. Starting at the intersection of Gano Street, approximately 1/4 of a mile from the Radisson Hotel on the Providence waterfront at India Point Park, and ending at the traffic light where Benefit Street intersects at Point Street. From either starting point, you can move on up the hill that is Wickenden Street (Yes, it really is uphill, both ways, joined by the flat that is George M.Cohan Square, named after the father of the American Musical Comedy, who also happens to be a native son of Wickenden Street).

The use of public transport solves the issue of side-street parking during peak periods, and the convenience of public transport abounds on Wickenden Street, in the form of replica trolley cars can be caught at either end of Wickenden Street's hills. These trolleys route through the entire city of Providence before reaching the depot of Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence, which also offers transport to Wickenden Street for the price of $2.00/ride. It is suggested that you purchase the all-day pass for $6.00 – only $2.00 more than the cost of a round-trip, and good for unlimited rides!

 

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 George M. Cohan Boulevard across the I-195 highway. The walking bride runs parallel to Wickenden Street, and George M. Cohan Boulevard offers plenty of parking for patrons of Wickenden Street’s many businesses. A stroll down Wickenden Street can easily lead to a venture into India Point Park.

Back on Wickenden Street, you can travel through the generations of Americana at Adler's Hardware, a third-generation family owned store that offers everything under the sun, from old-fashioned wooden washboards and aluminum wash-tubs to high-end, custom-tinted paint. It’s the kind of place where if it has something to do with home-goods or hardware and Adler’s doesn’t sell it, it most likely doesn’t exist. It can be fun to simply browse the aisles and explore all that there is to see and, more often than not, you will see students from the Rhode Island School of Design shopping for project supplies, before heading across the street to Fellini's Pizzeria for a slice or two of freshly made thin-crust pizza (traditional or gourmet options, such as Philly Cheese Steak or Buffalo Chicken!) or freshly made canolli, a delicious Sicillian pastry.

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 Wickenden Street’s offerings – so feel free to inquire about the rest of what Fox Point and the East Side has to offer, including:

• 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 Wickenden Street occur every week, as merchants line the sidewalks with wares for sale and residents join in by hosting tables of their own unwanted treasures. It can be a lot of fun to peruse the one-of-a-kind items on display and for sale. If you plan to shop, be sure to bring cash because most residents do not accept checks or credit/debit cards, although the merchants of Wickenden Street do accept plastic.

After spending some time here, you may discover, as many travelers have, that Wickenden Street in Fox Point, Providence is a great place to return to over and over again!

 

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 Wickenden Street! There are:

• 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, Wickenden Street is about so much more than just food and drink. In addition to the pubs and cafés – and the one “snuggery”– there are several antique stores and art galleries; as well as public art found in the murals displayed on many storefronts, all done by local artists. Unique places to shop include:

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.

 

Sleep

Just around the corner on India Street, snugly nestled in the heart of Fox Point and directly off of the I-195 exit leading into the region, is the Providence Waterfront Raddison Hotel, which offers beautiful views of the Providence (RI) waterfront at rates that are quite reasonable for a 3-star hotel.

Also available for longer-term rental are store-front apartments right along Wickenden Street and duplex-style apartments off of the many side-streets that make up the Fox Point region. These apartments are especially welcoming of college students seeking off-campus housing.

Contact

For more information on visiting Wickenden Street and Fox Point, contact the Providence Chamber of Commerce.

For hotel reservations, contact the Radisson Hotel, Providence Harbor (220 India Street), Providence, RI 02903, (401) 272-5577, [1]. edit

For apartment rentals, contact Sampson Realty at (401) 454-5454; conveniently located at 345 Wickenden Street (Providence, RI 02903).