Providence

Providence, Rhode Island, was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams and his followers, after being kicked out of Massachusetts by stuffy Puritan theocrats.
Hundreds of years later, Silvio and I relived history by fleeing the Bay State and heading for our tiny neighbor to the south for a day trip.
We had heard some bad things about the town, so we weren't sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised to find Providence to be a more compact, friendly, affordable and pretty version of Boston. And way more gay-friendly. How gay-friendly? Well, the mayor is openly gay. And we were able to walk from gay bar to gay bar, all within a block or two of each other in the "Downcity" district. And we didn't even get to go to all of them. Can't do that in Boston.
Downcity is pretty cool. It has a breathtaking array of beautifully restored 19th century mercantile buildings, some which I took pictures of. People were extraodinarily friendly to us everywhere we went. And a slice of pizza is a buck, a cocktail is 4. Hmm...Maybe I should find a post-doc at Brown?
Any tips for next time we go to RI? I'd like to hear them.