A New York State of Mind; The Cloisters

Saturdays in New York are like any other day, but BUSIER! if you can believe it. On Saturday we rode the subway as far as it could take us, past Harlem, Queens and the Bronx to the end of the island (Northern Manhattan) into Tyron Park and a part of the Metropolitan museum, the Cloisters.

Tyron Park is a beautiful park in its own right. It had lots of flowers in bloom, and the bedrock of the city remains more intact than in the centre where it has been used to build and create the foundation for many of the skyscrapers.

The Cloisters are only open in the spring and summer months. The Cloisters were assembled from domestic and religious materials brought primarily from France that date back from the ninth to fifteenth centuries. It houses primarily religious artifacts, but also some famous unicorn tapestries, as well as a unique and interesting medieval garden. The garden had a number of unique twig cages, and fences for the plants to grow along.

Another interesting feature was a number of fruit trees that had been pruned to fit into spaces alongside certain buildings. For instance, this pear tree, that has four main branches coming up from the trunk. It is then pruned all the way through, with ties to hold it in place as it grows to their desired pattern.

The doorways in the Cloisters are tiny. Maybe 6 feet high. However that makes sense as in the fourteenth century the average height of a man was less than 5 feet. In perspective to the stone work surrounding the doors, and in relation to the height of the ceilings, the small size of the doorways is really emphasized.

Apple Store outside.

The Cloisters is not large building, in comparison to many, but very interesting and we spent a few hours there.

Interior of the Apple Store

Later in the afternoon, I walked along Central Park on my own, as I needed some fresh air. I visited the Apple store right by the Waldorf hotel. It is an interesting store, essentially below ground. The entrance is encased in glass, with an elevator or stairwell for you to take down to the store. It was packed. I took a quick look and then kept on walking!

I wandered down 5th and 6th Avenues on my way to 7th Ave. and 53rd. St. where we are staying. I walked along Rockefeller plaza and said no to about a million (exageration) street vendors. Came back to the hotel room hot and sweaty!