Today our main destination was The Cloisters Museum, which houses all of the medieval art of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is located toward the northern end of Manhattan. Before we got to the Cloisters, we stopped at a reportedly awesome bagel place up near 107th street called Absolute Bagels. Katy and I both got bagels with fruit cream cheese and they were the best bagels we had ever eaten. Once we filled up on bagels, we headed out for the Cloisters. We got off the subway at 190th street and walked across Fort Tyron Park, which had lots of landscaped gardens, walking trails, and scenic overlooks across the Hudson River. It was very hot today and that put a little bit of a damper on our walk (hike) across the park, but even sweating like crazy we had a great time getting to our destination. The Cloisters has been something that was on our list of things to do every time we have come to New York, but we never have gotten around to it. We were certainly glad we did today, because The Cloisters was one of the best museums we have ever been to. It has the benefit of both having the quality art and architecture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art main museum, but is small enough to be completely appreciated in one visit. The building was constructed from leftover pieces of a European monastery that were integrated into modern building blocks in the 1930s. The design kept the original look of the monastery and became as much a part of the museum collection as the pieces inside its rooms. There were many types of art represented including paintings, tapestries, stained glass windows, carvings, and sculptures. We had a fantastic time touring the museum and the gardens that were interspersed throughout. Afterward we went down to Columbia University, where one of our friends works and toured around some of the campus, stopping by the famed Low Library to see some of the fabulous architecture. We met our friend for lunch at Mel's Burger Bar where we all got some great food and milkshakes. The subway ride back to our friend's apartment was longer than expected with some delays, which might not have been so bad except for the terrible heat. By the time we made it back to Roosevelt Island, we decided to stop in the local ice cream shop for a couple of popsicles, which really hit the spot. Once we got back, we used our car to help our friends make their usual trip to the grocery store a little easier. All in all we had a great day doing some things we had never done before. Looking forward to what tomorrow has in store!
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