Storming the castle

Cloisters
Cloisters

Yesterday my wife and  I took the little ones to the Cloisters. I have to confess that even though I am a native new yorker, I have never been to the Cloisters, although I knew of its existence. Sitting atop Fort Tryon park the first impression you get when you approach the building is that of entering a castle( even though it is modeled after a monastery). Crossing the cobblestone driveway gives you the illusion of entering into another era. The fact that its tucked away in a park and surrounded by trees adds to this otherworldly feel. I, like many others was under the impression that this place was some old property taken over by the Met Museum and renovated and re-purposed.  According to the tour guide it has always been part of the Met, since its opening in 1938. I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids, who really thought they were in a castle. One of my favorite parts of the museum is the central garden

garden
garden

which is pictured here. The marble around this garden is pink and if you sit in this space long enough you forget you are in New York City and it transports you to some ancient European monastery. The museum is filled with little nooks and crannies that hold surprises. Most of the doorways are from the 12th to 14th centuries and are ancient stone embedded into the modern structure of the building, providing an amazing dichotomy of time.

I wandered around a bit and found what I think would be an ideal room if I had the space and means to replicate it. It has perfect ambient light and a feeling of tranquility fills the area. When I stepped into this room i sat on a bench and just enjoyed the stillness. In the center is a font ( fountain) with a small bubbling spigot that reinforces that feeling of serenity. That room is here:

quiet room
quiet room

Afterwards we roamed the museum. It was interesting because even though the museum is filled with great pieces of sculpture, art and fantastic examples of tapestries (the Unicorn series standing out) it is the museum itself that fascinated us. The edifice is so unlike what we are used to living in this city that it held my children (and me) spellbound. They were content with just walking around and exploring the hallways and hidden spaces.

We were even treated to a morality play which, if pressed i could only tell you that it was in a language that resembled English. We sat there for over an hour while a troupe of actors assailed us with their play, the acting was surreal and quite humorous and the kids loved it. They were able to sit right in front of the space and actually took part in some parts of the play making it an interactive adventure for them.

At one point, I’m still not sure if this was the case even as I write this, I think they were asking for donations. It was so subtle that by the time we figured it out we were ten pounds sterling lighter( my wife felt this was an appropriate donation). The fact that we didn’t even give them US currency only adds to the surreal aspect of this entire experience. I haven’t laughed more in one afternoon in a long time.

Overall we had an excellent day. We stayed until they informed us we had 15 minutes to leave. Once we left we explored a bit of the park below, but it wasn’t as exciting as the Cloisters.  If you ever get a chance go visit this special and wonderful place. I enjoyed it so much I took some notes and will go back when I write my Ava James mystery later this year. I think the Cloisters will figure prominently in that book.

Its great to hear from you! Do you have any places you have visited in this city or anywhere else that you would suggest? Let me know in the comments below.

blogdragonfly

 

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