Stretching out on a lush lawn, elm trees and blue sky overhead, listening to music. Grounds for a vacation.

The holiday’s even finer when the lawn is attached to a 1788 house in Providence, R.I., with a 50-piece orchestra organized in 1837 that I lucked into one June evening.

History mixes with modern all over this New England capital city and every bit is pleasant.

Just the view across the street from the John Brown house where summer concerts happen connects travelers of all ages with families from three centuries ago.

This neighborhood is all about houses -- modest and oversized -- built in the 1700s. Today some are offices, some rentals for college and university students and others are home for people lucky enough to live in Providence full-time.

Lucky for certain if they like good food, and lucky if they can’t get their fill of art in every dimension.

Johnson & Wales, the culinary university, is here, so chefs galore graduate and open restaurants; food scholars and famous chefs come to study and teach and the Culinary Arts Museum presents ever-changing exhibits to whet a visitor’s appetite even further.

Rhode Island School of Design is here too (if you’re in the know you say Riz-Dee) with an astounding 84,000 art and design objects in its museum collection.

The birthing of America is evident all around Providence, beginning with founder Roger Williams and tributes to his passion for freedom of conscience.

Civil law he approved, but not regulations controlling worship. The new colony he saw as “many a hundred souls in one ship.”

Those souls included the Wampanoag and Narragansett Indians and Williams defended their rights, published a language and culture guide and served as a diplomat helping Europeans understand the first settlers.

He also shared in the start up of America’s first Baptist Church. That was 1638. People worship and wed there today, and tourists can visit for $1, or $2 with a guide.

Old and new, always mixing. Being in Providence is living history because youíre always in or looking at centuries-old places while doing new things.

Walking tours with the Rhode Island Historical Society tell lively people stories. Good to get out of cars and into yards. Mid-June to mid-October is the season.

I did a houses and history mile on Benefit Street but there are lots of walking topics — gardens, dining, literary, art, rivers, downtown architecture, women’s history, even a sunrise stroll.