Saturday morning I visited the Cloisters, a very special museum of medieval art in Manhattan. I failed to realize until my arrival at Fort Tryon Park (in which the Cloisters can be found) just how removed the place is from the business of the city. The park and the museum sit high on a hill, and when I left the subway station by elevator I was shocked to find that I was surrounded by trees and could not hear throb of the streets. I found a place where I could look down upon northern Manhattan. I found the park serene, quite large, and neither crowded nor lacking in passers-by. The museum itself was supremely surreal, and the building was designed to showcase medieval architecture and even incorporate pieces of genuine medieval buildings.

My next stop was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There I got very lost in their massive and labyrinthine European classics gallery. The feeling was akin to being trapped alone in a windowless Victorian house with some very famous artwork. I also saw some of the main museum’s medieval art, a temporary exhibit on Dutch masters including Vermeer’s Milkmaid, the roof of a Jain meeting hall, some Korean art, some Chinese art, a nifty classical Chinese courtyard, and the Japanese art section. I waited in a very long line to pick up my backpack as I left the museum, only to find that I was in the wrong coat check; there are two!

Inspired by my trip to the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I wrote some thoughts in my journal that I later broke into lines and submitted to my school’s literary publication as a poem. I plan to be involved in that publication, and attended a meeting about it yesterday. Here are some other bits from my journals, not including the bit I submitted to the school publication:

October 3, 2009: Going to the Cloisters

From my lofty loft I descend into the deep depths of the city’s underworld, coming up for air only when my train has shuttled me to the autumn-clad park at Fort Tryon. I take stairs downward through a hole in man-made ground, an escalator further downward still, another escalator up to a great lobby, a flight of stairs downward once more, and a final escalator upward to reach the tunnel by which I shall be conveyed far from where I stand.

The shuttle to Times Square should be thought of not merely as a train, but as a motley collection of citizens, their faces displaying varying degrees of (forced?) solemnity, one of them suspiciously eyeing me as I sweat and scribble in my heavy sweater down here in the hot world underground. It may have been the bulky vintage headphones over my ears that communicated to her my oddness, and the other features that begged her gaze to settle upon me for some moments – until I glanced upward, so that our blank affects became uncomfortably acquainted.

To make my life more interesting, the Transit Authority has suspended downtown E service ate my station, and so I find myself running through corridor after corridor until at last, with damp hair and sweat in my sweater, I board the A and go express.

Now I am in a train full of dreamers. One of them seems for a time to be truly dreaming, his head resting gently on his raised knuckles, the passing lights highlighting his stillness and caressing his hair. When he awakes the peace of sleep does not leave his face.

I wonder to what visionary we owe the calming, thoughtful blue of these lights we encounter as we bore our way uptown. That and the constant swaying that makes everything amorphous melt my preconceptions, even my memories.

A group of gray-haired foreign tourists, wearing backpacks as I do, share my destination. When we at last ascend from the station – Oh! We have entered a domain of trees and stone.

October 8, 2009: Sleeping Wood

I am lost for a time in a dusty-hued apple orchard. The air just cold enough to bite at my skin, I steal furtive glimpses of the blue backdrop. Lanes identical, stretching into trees and more trees. Cracked wooden instruments of human labor napping gently among their natural cousins. Who says it’s in the American nature to busy oneself without thought of leisure? Am I un-American, transfixed as I am by the warm scents of earth carried on frigid breezes of a dying sun? Hidden somewhere among theses threes, my father and aunts zealously gather hanging apples while I, wandering the halls of a living museum, stop occasionally in wonder and carefully lay hold of an outstanding work of art. Faint fragments of sound surface on waves of chill air: my brothers gleefully collecting great armfuls of crisp apples. I would not mind stopping here to sleep, except that they would wonder where I was and worry, and so I seek to follow incomplete vibrations to their source beneath the openly outstretched limbs of a steady giant who holds Michael firmly in place some feet above the ground.

Back in the car, meandering along the lesser-traveled state highways, electron-tunneling through the wind-swept dormancy of wooden elders, I wonder why we never inhabited one of these places – these Sleepy Hollows all around us – and whether I – a better-fed Ichabod Crane – would ever find myself called back to this land of specters and witchcraft – of the coziest churches and heaviest libraries, of apples and honey distilled from acres of orchards like that where my intrepid, half-deaf aunt wanders rows in an autumn harvest for supplemental income – or maybe more for the joy of sleeping trees, for their crisp, rounded treasures filled with dew and rainwater. I admire here carefully cultivated lifestyle – her shelves of old volumes like the tales of Scheherazade or The Little Prince, The Saturday Evening Post and Vermont landscapes on her walls, well-worn toys from the age of Flower Power resting in the corners. A long dinner table and fresh salad, fresh pie, stales jokes – a masterpiece in the art of building a family home.

The family itself is just as much a masterpiece: the active and well-traveled mother, the skiing, diving army nutritionist, the happy children – one of them becoming an architect, another called “Doctor” and just married, all of them pursuing dreams they seem destined to reach. Their glowing smiles and flowing conversation echo in the places they inhabit. Yes, there is envy buried in the admiration, but also genuine delight. It is written in the stars, I think, that I shall never dwell blithely in a Sleepy Hollow, but shall always find myself pursued by the headless horseman of my own disquiet.

“One cannot too soon forget his errors and misdemeanors; for to dwell upon them is to add to the offense.”

—Henry David Thoreau

Photo taken by me, Sunday, Oct. 4, at Fort Tryon Park.

Bonnefont Cloister garden with wattle fence

The Cloisters, at the northern tip of Manhattan, on a hill overlooking the Hudson River, is not a church or a monastery but a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (“the Met”) devoted to the art and architecture of the European Middle Ages.

In 1925,  John D. Rockefeller, Jr., donated funds to the Met for the purchase of George Grey Barnard’s collection of medieval art, which became the core of the Cloisters’ collection.  Then, in 1935, Mr. Rockefeller gave Fort Tryon Park to New York City,  reserving the northern hilltop as the future site of the Cloisters.  And in the 1930s, he donated land on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission,  to ensure that the Cloisters’ beautiful views would be preserved.  Quite a gift.

Today the Cloisters’ collection comprises more than 5,000 works of art, mostly from the 12th to the 15th centuries — a profusion of illuminated manuscripts,  stained glass,  ivory carvings,  paintings,  wood sculptures,  and,  of course, the incomparable Hunt of the Unicorn and Nine Heroes tapestries. Both sets of tapestries were gifts from,  yes,  John D. Rockefeller,  Jr.

"The Unicorn in Captivity"

Maybe it is because those magnificent weavings are so well known and well loved that I chose the modest handwoven wattle enclosure in the Bonnefont Cloister garden as this week’s featured weave (see it at the top of the page around the quince tree, and in a close-up below).  The Bonnefont Cloister garden is one of three gardens at the Cloisters that were planted according to horticultural information gathered from medieval sources,  including tapestries.  Look,  for example,  at the amazing number of identifiable — and botanically correct — plants that were woven into The Unicorn in Captivity (shown above).   If you’re interested,  see The Flora of the Unicorn Tapestries,  by Alexander and Woodward,  an inexpensive booklet available on Amazon.

Wattle fence

European wattle work dates back to before the 12th century.  Mother Earth News defines wattle as the art of weaving flexible green sapling wood between upright posts.  Their excellent article gives great information for DIYers, but (as you can see from Lynn Karlin’s photo at the top of that article), while making it yourself is economical and may be satisfying, the structures produced by weaving sticks and suckers just aren’t as rustically beautiful as the ones in the Cloisters’ herb garden.  I was curious about who made those fences,  so I posted a question on the Cloisters’ blog and  got a detailed response from Deirdre Larkin, the Cloisters’ Associate Managing Horticulturist.  I thought her letter was so interesting and informative that I asked her permission to reprint it here, and she graciously agreed:

Wattle fencing made from willow or hazel was often used in medieval gardens, and appears in many garden representations.  The wattle in Bonnefont Cloister is woven from willow,  and was commissioned for The Cloisters from English Hurdle in Somerset, England: http://www.hurdle.co.uk.  The wattle panels at the center of the garden,  underneath the quince trees,  were installed in spring of 2007.

We have gotten willow fencing from this company for a good many years now.  We often have inquiries from the public as to whether there is an American distributor for English Hurdle, but there is none at this time to my knowledge,  although it is a very attractive and well-made product.  This is probably because it is not cost-efficient to import it for resale,  because of the following factors:  It is heavy,  and the shipping charges are significant.  It must be inspected by U.S.  Customs on arrival because it is made from wood, and could be a source of insect infestation or plant disease.  it must be replaced every four or five years,  as it does break down.  (In the Middle Ages,  willow was an important renewable resource, and there was plenty of cheap labor at hand.)

Once we have custom-ordered our willow fences,  and they have been shipped,  a customs broker acts as the Museum’s agent and sees to the delivery.

It is now possible to buy a much cheaper willow wattle fencing made in China,  in various sizes,  and this is available in garden centers and online at websites like www.gardensupply.com.

There are American distributors for the Chinese wattle,  but I have to admit that it is not as handsome or as durable a product,  and we don’t use it in the gardens here.

Deirdre Larkin posts on the Met/Cloisters’ blog, The Medieval Garden Enclosed. There you can find fascinating bits of information about the area where medieval art, gardening, and the history of the Middle Ages meet,  along with gorgeous photographs.

From "Medieval English Gardens" by Teresa McLean

Coincidentally,  I just read in the NY Guild of Handweavers’ newsletter that several of my fellow Guild members will participate in the 2009 Medieval Festival at Fort Tryon Park, Sunday,  Oct. 4.  They will demonstrate weaving and spinning in period costumes created by Desirée Koslin, a medieval art historian and a Guild member.  For more information about the Festival, click here.  Admission is free.

I am calling today Dalmation Day because my community service project involved painting a wrought-iron historic fence in Fort Tryon Park black–and the paint got on more than the fence. It took forever to scrub that stuff off. And since I am white and the paint was black, I looked like a dalmation. Or, my right arm did, at least.

There are still little flecks of it on me, flecks that hid from the scrubbing regime of my loofah.

I don’t know what I’m going to do with the rest of my day now–besides do laundry and my reading for Bio. Well, maybe that’s enough. I’m exhausted, anyway.

If you want to go to the Cloisters, do not take the M5. I repeat, do not take the M5. The only other way to get there, unless you have a car, is by taking the A train to 190th. I was already in the UES when I decided to go to the Cloisters.  I got on the M5, and the bus driver informed me it would take 45 minutes. An hour and a half later, I arrived. The Cloisters are affiliated with the MET, which means admittance is donation only. I would suggest going up there on a nice day, since the subway is about a 10 minute walk from the entrance.  You can enjoy a nice walk through Fort Tryon Park while you’re up there. The Cloisters is located in an area that feels far from Manhattan; it’s relaxing, honk-free,  and you can even take a deep breathe without inhaling too many contaminants!
 
The Cloisters isn’t as overwhelming as the MET – you can enjoy the entire premises in one afternoon. It boasts architecture, gardens, and internal exhibits, all dedicated to medieval art. There are several paintings, statues, and tapestries that fill the permanent exhibits, the most well known being the Tapestry of Unicorns. The gardens contain herbs and plants that were common in medieval times, some of which are poisonous, so if you bring children (or adults) who misbehave – be careful.

!!!

If you live in NYC, please come cheer me on during my first (and probably only) Half Marathon this Sunday, August 16th.

from the inbox:

		Visit us at www.nyc.gov/parks for the latest in Parks news and information.
Northern Manhattan Parks Programs & Events All programs are FREE and will take place during rain or shine unless otherwise noted. For more information about the programs listed here, click on the program title. Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events Cost: Free Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Free Tai Chi Lessons 6:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events, Education Cost: Free Inwood Astronomy Programs Clear sky dependant - Call the Inwood Astronomy Project Hotline for weather updates at (917) 529-2359 8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free Thursday, June 25, 2009 Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events Cost: Free Saturday, June 27, 2009 Mike Feller’s Fort Tryon Nature Walks 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Nature, Tours Cost: Free Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events Cost: Free Nature Adventures for Kids: Wiggly Worms, Lovely Ladybugs, & What Dinosaurs Ate 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Location: Lily Brown Playground, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free High Tide Canoeing 12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events, Education, Nature Cost: Free Nature Adventures for Kids: Wiggly Worms, Lovely Ladybugs, & What Dinosaurs Ate 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Location: J Hood Wright Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free Puppet Show: Sleeping Beauty 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Location: Highbridge Park, Manhattan Category: The Arts, Kids Cost: Free Dyckman Farmhouse Guided Tour 3:45pm Location: Dyckman Farmhouse Museum at Broadway & 204 Street Category: Culture Cost: Free RING’s 25th Anniversary Party 5:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m. Location: Lt William Tighe Triangle, Manhattan Category: Cultural, Nature, Tours Cost: Free Inwood Astronomy Programs Clear sky dependant - Call the Inwood Astronomy Project Hotline for weather updates at (917) 529-2359 8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free Sunday, June 28, 2009 Low Tide Fishing 9:00 a.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free Nature Adventures for Kids: Wiggly Worms, Lovely Ladybugs, & What Dinosaurs Ate 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Location: Bennett Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free Friends Committee Beautification & Cleanup Day 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Volunteer Events Cost: Free Garden Walking Tour in Fort Tryon Park 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Nature, Tours Cost: Free Nature Adventures for Kids: Wiggly Worms, Lovely Ladybugs, & What Dinosaurs Ate 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Location: Anne Loftus Playground, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free Monday, June 29, 2009 Free Sunset Qi Gong Classes 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events, Education Cost: Free Tuesday, June 30, 2009 Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events Cost: Free Sidney Horenstein’s Dyckman Street Valley Exploration 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Nature, Tours Cost: Free
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I realize I’ve yet to write about my mother’s recent visit to New York. I love having visitors because it means not only that I get to play tour guide, but that I get to see the city in a new light. And often I get to see new things altogether. This time around it was ladies only, my mother and her best friend, Aunty Bee, who was introduced to my mother through Gaga, much like my mother found me a good New York friend.

This trip we covered much ground, and found entertainment in some unexpected places Our travels started out at the tip top of the island, with  visit to The Cloisters. We didn’t do the museum itself, but wandered its gorgeous grounds and the lush woods that is Fort Tryon Park, so quiet and serene it feels worlds away from the city in which it resides. We made our way back on the M4 bus, which is a fabulous (and economical) way to see the city. We rode it down to Columbia, where we hopped off for a stint, only to jump back on to ride down Fifth Avenue past the parks and museums.

Other highlights included the stunning views of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, a few hours at the Chelsea Market and a couple more (no joke) ogling the dish heaven that is Fishs Eddy (this is what I mean about unexpected entertainment) and sundry incredible street entertainers. For more of the fun (and lost of street entertainer video), see here.

MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION

Opening Saturday and running through June 30, “It’s About Time — 244 Years at the Morris-Jumel Mansion,” a display of historic photographs of the mansion, as well as works by the present-day photographers Trish Mayo and Tom Stoelker; an opening reception and artist talk is planned for Saturday, 2 to 4 p.m.; free. Museum hours: Sunday, and Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 65 Jumel Terrace, at 161st Street, east of St. Nicholas Avenue, Washington Heights , (212)923-8008, morrisjumel.org; $5; $4 for students and 62+; free for 12 and younger.

116TH STREET FESTIVAL Saturday,
11 a.m. to 6 p.m., between Second and Lexington Avenues, and on Third
Avenue between 106th and 122nd Streets, East Harlem.

ANNUAL UPTOWN ARTS STROLL 2009
continues with “Art in the Park” on Saturday, 1 to 7 p.m., with music,
dance, storytelling and art workshops. Part of a monthlong series of
events in Washington Heights and Inwood, sponsored by the Northern
Manhattan Arts Alliance. Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights. , (212)568-4396, artstroll.com.</span

winter is over so it’s time to get off your ass, get out of the apartment, take a walk to the park and do something.  lot’s of these events are FREE. and you know how much i love free shit.

		Visit us at www.nyc.gov/parks for the latest in Parks news and information.
Northern Manhattan Parks Programs & Events June 1 through June 7, 2009 To read the full program descriptions, click on the program title.  Please note the CORRECTION for the July 11th, Nature Adventures for Kids program at the bottom of this message. Monday, June 1, 2009 Free Sunset Qi Gong Classes 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events, Education Cost: Free Tuesday, June 2, 2009 Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events Cost: Free Sidney Horenstein’s Geology & History of Fort Tryon Park 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Nature Cost: Free Wednesday, June 3, 2009 Free Tai Chi Lessons 6:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events, Education Cost: Free Inwood Astronomy Programs 8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Must See Events, Nature Cost: Free Thursday, June 4, 2009 Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park 7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events Cost: Free 3rd Annual Toast to Fort Tryon Park 6:30 p.m.–11:00 p.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Cultural Cost: $25 in advance; $35 at the door if space permits Saturday, June 6, 2009 Mike Feller’s Inwood Hill Park Nature Walks 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Nature, Tours Cost: Free Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park 8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Athletic Events Cost: Free National Trails Day 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Location: Highbridge Park, Manhattan Category: Must See Events, Nature, Volunteer Events Cost: Free Nature Adventures for Kids: Wiggly Worms, Lovely Ladybugs, & What Dinosaurs Ate 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Location: Anne Loftus Playground, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free but Reservations required Native American Ethnobotany with the Urban Park Rangers 12:00 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Cultural, Education, Nature, Tours Cost: Free Inwood Astronomy Programs 8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m. Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan Category: Education, Kids, Nature Cost: Free Sunday, June 7, 2009 Garden Walking Tours in Fort Tryon Park 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan Category: Nature, Tours Cost: Free Correction: The July Nature Adventures for Kids program was incorrectly listed in last week’s program advisory.  The correct date is Saturday, July 11 at 10 a.m.

Every time I come out of the subway, my cell-phone takes a few seconds to regain network connection. Sometimes it’s a little slow, such as the Manhattan Bridge crossing, but then there are usually some extenuating circumstances (it’s a giant Faraday cage, I’m inside a giant metal box, traveling fast, 7+ stories in the air, over a wide river). For the most part, when you emerge from underground (on foot), it’s a pretty fast reconnect.

Except for 190th Street on the A line. It’s like a cheesy Verizon commercial, for some odd reason, it’s a giant dead zone. Takes a solid 5 minutes to reconnect, and you need to walk a few blocks before signal is good. At first I thought it was my crappy T-mobile coverage, but the same dead zone phenomenom was with my new Peek Pronto. Can’t explain it, can only warn you about it.

Ok, maybe today wasn’t “the best day ever”, but it was pretty good. The court clerk dismissed us for lunch around 12:45pm and told us we didn’t have to come back until 2:15pm. Since I was pretty close to the Brooklyn Bridge and the weather was gorgeous (sunny and 70 degrees!) I decided to take a little stroll. I walked about half-way across, took in the view, and then turned around in search of lunch.

I happened upon Bouley Market and decided to try out one of their speciality sandwiches. I chose the grilled eggplant, tomato, sprout, and hummus sandwich on thick multi-grain (lots of seeds, yum!). I don’t have a photo (no cameras in the courthouse!), but I found a stand-in photo on google images

The sun was very hot and bright, so I picked up a cup of cottage cheese to cool me off. 32 grams of protein in each cup of Friendship cottage cheese. Hooray!

After a few more hours of checking my email being a good citizen, the court clerk dismissed us for the day. I was home by 4:30pm! That hasn’t happened since high school. It was wonderful. I was feeling a little hungry, so I snacked on an apple with almond butter and some gatorade.

20 minutes later I was still hungry, so I had another snack Homemade yogurt with homemade peach jam and a piece of granola bar.

After snack #2 I felt very energetic and decided to go for a walk in Fort Tryon Park. I wore a tank top and shorts because it’s still 80 degrees outside! The atmosphere of the park was so relaxing and the trees and flavors were in beautiful full bloom. I came back to my apartment in a really great mood.

New York is one of the those fabulous cities that has a million activities all free.With the warm weather approaching the city provides more and more opportunituies for those with a beer budget to enjoy all of it’s champagne pleasures.Most of us are either feverishly searching for a job, or working doubletime to keep the one we have.

In the downtime you have, which is all the time for the unemployed, why not enjoy all the fabulous free NYC has to offer.

Want to see a new dvd release or read the latest bestseller but can’t afford it? Head to your local public library. you can get books and dvds on just about any subject. All you do is sign up for a free library card. There are also free lectures on every topic under the sun as well as free computer classes given in many of the branch libraries. Also stop by the Human ad Social Sciences library on 42nd street. It’s free to go in and is full of magnificent architecture and frequently has interesting collections of letters, photos, and the like all free. Also pick up a catalog that will show you all the events taking place over the next few months while you are there. For more info check out http://www.nypl.org

Looking for a free blowout or color? Stop by Loreal studio on 15 Mercer street. Have a consultation and get free color and blowouts plus product just for being a guinea pig.

Looking for a chic new haircut? Check out Craigslist under free stuff, salons are frequently looking to have their stylists try out new styles and need models. So if you’re really jonesing for the new Gwyneth mid-length cut check it out.

Craigslist also has a listings for classes and activities which are often free. Check frequently sometimes there are free ballroom dancing classes or even yoga.For more Info http://www.craigslist.com

The Cinema source is a website that allows you to to sign up for free movie screenings. You have to wait on line and there is a chance you won’t get in, but they are free. Check it out at http://www.thecinemasource.com/screenings/

New York is full of beautiful parks. Nothing is nicer than sitting in one of New York’s beautiful parks people watching and enjoying the scenery. One of my favorites is Bryant park. They offer free wireless internet, free chess lessons, and a reading room all free. Fore Info http://www.bryantpark.org/amenities/overview.php

Another great New York Park is Fort Tryon Park, located in Washington Heights the northern end of Manhattan. Fort Tryon has gorgeous landscaping, and is steeped in history dating back to the American revolution as a sight where Washington fought the brits. The sweeping views of the Hudson river and New York city are spectacular.While you’re there stop at the cloisters, a division of the Metropolitan Museum of Art full of beautiful artwork. Donations suggested.

For a really magical experience when the weather isn’t too cold take a walk at dusk across the George Washington Bridge. The city views will take your breath away as will the magnificent colors of the sky as they fade to night.

As the spring approaches more freebies will be available. Keep reading Bargain Jewess for the latest information.

XoXo

Arielle

     On Saturday Angelia and I decided our next adventure should be The Cloisters Museum in Ft. Tryon Park. The Cloisters is easily accessible via the A train. A short ride to 190th followed by a quick bus ride on the M4 will get you there in no time. The Cloisters occupy about 4 acres and is home to thousands of works of medieval art dating from AD 800. To further challenge ourselves we left our zooms at home. I brought with me a 135mm f2 and a 28mm f1.8. Angelia was even more hard core, not only did she bring just the 50 f1.8, she also brought her pinhole camera. I had really hoped to due some extreme long exposures to that end so I brought my handy Kodak ND# 96. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s a filter that drastically reduces the amount of light entering the lens. This particular filter reduces light by 13 1/3 stops. This allows you to shoot several minute long exposures in broad daylight. I digress, the forecast called for a partly cloudy day, so I was psyched to get some neat architectural shots with clouds streaking by. This was not to be the case. When we arrived, we found it to be a rather monochromatic scene with very little to offer in terms of spectacular photography. We walked the perimeter of the museum and were greeted by some rather unpleasant gusts of wind, and just a very flat scene overall. At that point we ventured inside. As you might expect from a museum featuring medieval art, this museum is very dimly lit. It is difficult to photograph without a tripod, and they require you to obtain a tripod permit upon arrival. In addition you are only allowed to shoot on sticks until noon Saturday & Sunday. Weekdays you can can shoot on sticks from opening until close. As you can imagine I was rather chagrined at that news. However, momma always said when presented with lemons, eat a box of chocolates… Or something like that. Instead of getting frustrated I made the best of it. There are amazing doors, all kinds of vaulted chambers, and a myriad of architectural goodness that can be photographed hand held. We ended our adventure in one of the gardens. We soon became mesmerized with a series of intricate reliefs carved into the walls and into the capitals of the columns surrounding the garden. The seem to be various depictions of the Passion of Christ.  This was an amazing little treasure trove of photographic opportunity, and ended our day nicely. The Cloisters are amazing. However, It seems like many things in the northeast, the best time of year to enjoy the Cloisters at it’s fullest is the summer. 

It feels like a long time since I went out and ran outdoors except for races…I’ve been having a down period and then the weather has not cooperated. Gray and cold. And snow last week. The thing that bothers me the most I realize is how dark it is in the mornings. Not the cold so much, but the darkness.
So today I went out and enjoyed the park. The weather was glorious, not so cold, low 40s, but sunny. The bothersome thing was that the paths have not been plowed and were basically ice. Only the main path off Corbin circle was open. So I ran that back and forth then ran the bike path that circles around the Cloisters. I did that 3 times, adding the straight run. It came out to 5.1 miles in about 1 hour – probably because I met A and stopped and chatted with him for a bit. Although I usually like running through the more scenic paths, I was glad to see that I could actually run the circle. It has a few good hills and I couldn’t run them when I first started running.

The Cloisters Museum as seen from Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan

If you have never been to see the views of the Hudson River which Fort Tryon Park offers, or if you have never been transported body and soul to the Middle Ages by visiting the Cloisters, then you might want to think about getting in your car right now. Stop for something to eat, and maybe the sun will be up when you get there. If not right now, don’t wait too long.

Urbanite

Through Nov. 23, Total Medieval Experience:

The Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, has teamed up with New Leaf Café to offer a prix-fixe medieval dinner inspired by a different country each week.

From Tuesday to Sunday during dinner hours, feast on your choice of three courses from France (through Nov. 9), Italy and Germany (Nov. 11 to 16), or England (Nov. 18 to 23).

One Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park; 212-568-5323. $48. [AMNY]

Urbanite

Through Nov. 23, Total Medieval Experience:

The Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, has teamed up with New Leaf Café to offer a prix-fixe medieval dinner inspired by a different country each week.

From Tuesday to Sunday during dinner hours, feast on your choice of three courses from France (through Nov. 9), Italy and Germany (Nov. 11 to 16), or England (Nov. 18 to 23).

One Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park; 212-568-5323. $48. [AMNY]

nothing marks the start of the fall season for us like the yearly Medieval Festival in fort tryon park.  It’s one of our family traditions – walking around in the time warp, dogs in tow.  Once you get there, you’ll see why.

The Medieval Festival brings to life the customs and spirit of the Middle Ages. Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park is transformed into a medieval market town decorated with bright banners and processional flags. Performers, guests and festival goers dress in medieval costume. Visitors are greeted by authentic medieval music, dance, magic, and minstrels, as well as jugglers and jesters. The afternoon is concluded with a thrilling joust between four knights on horseback. Costumed vendors will be on hand to demonstrate and sell a wide variety of medieval crafts as well as food and drink.

Sunday September 28th, 2008 from 11:30AM to 6 PM – FREE

When it comes down to it, silent dates are a love-it-or-hate-it affair; there can be no middle ground.

If my date and I hit it off, it will be the meet-cute of meet-cutes – Two gay guys in New York City! The Cloisters! Blind date! No talking or touching at all!– easily beating runaway heiress Claudette Colbert and world-weary ex-reporter Clark Gable fighting over the last seat on a bus in “It Happened One Night” or bookshop owner Hugh Grant spilling orange juice all over megastar Julia Roberts’ white crop top in “Notting Hill”. And 38 years and 3 grandchildren later, this: “Grandpa, tell us again the story of how you and Popo [the nickname I’ve picked for my future husband, whoever he will be] first met!” Besides, the story of how the silent date got set up in the first place is destined to be a Craigslist-era classic in itself. (You can read it all over again here.)

If it flops…well, it will just be one long awkward subway ride downtown with someone I’ll probably hate to my last breath. 

Having said that, I’m sure that you, dear reader, would know by now that, as far as I’m concerned, the second outcome is not a possibility, not even remotely. True, it takes a lot of imagination for two gay men meeting for the first time without talking and NOT for a hookup to actually have a good time. But, with my sleeves rolled up and my radiant, pearly-white smile on autopilot, I’m determined to charm the pants off S.D. – in a manner of speaking – without uttering a single word.

The Train Rides They Are A-Changing

Back in the Big Apple after a grand time in New England with A.T., I was up at 7:30 AM for the silent date at 10:30. I’ve never been to the Cloisters, the Met branch located way uptown that was devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. While my mental Hopstop told me that in a perfect MTA world – but who are we kidding, especially since it’s the weekend – I could make it to the 190th St. stop of the A train (which runs express) in 45 minutes, I padded my estimate by half an hour more.  When I got to the subway station, I found out that “due to repairs on the tracks, the A Train will be running local for the weekend.” But of course! I resorted to Plan B: Take the express D train to the 145 st. station and transfer to the A line from there. However, I wasn’t prepared for the Twilight Zone episode that followed. On my three subway transfers, the right train would arrive less than a minute after I’d get to the platform, which meant that I was making very good time. Creepy. It was too good to be true and, like the few times I came close to thinking that I’ve found Mr. Right, I decided to wait for the other shoe to drop with this MTA-of-your-dreams business. Minutes later, it did, to the sheer delight of my schadenfreude: passengers were told that they would have to get off at 168 St. and take the shuttle to 190 St. With that, I breathed a sigh of relief and concluded that everything –its seductive fiction of the perfect man and the perfect train ride included – was all right with New York City.

The Meet-Mute

After a pleasant 10-minute walk through Fort Tryon Park, overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey, I made it to the upper driveway to the Cloisters a few minutes after 10:30 AM. I wasn’t surprised that S.D. wasn’t there yet since I pretty much lucked out with three-quarters of my subway trip. S.D. finally got there at 10:50 AM, walking up the driveway and all smiles. He didn’t look much different than he did in the photo he-emailed, better-groomed in fact, which is good, though he was a bit shorter than I imagined he would be (not any fault of his). With his build, he looked like a cousin of Robert Downey, Jr. in the sequel to “Gladiator”. He was wearing a purple T-shirt, military shorts and rubber shoes and carrying a pretty big backpack. I flashed him my best “where-are-we-going-camping-and-did-you-bring-the-frisbee” smile before gesturing as if zipping my lips shut. He returned the gesture which, as touching wasn’t allowed, had to do as a handshake.

When we got inside and S.D. started gesturing to the girl at the ticket counter, I looked away, barely able to stifle a smile. I almost wanted to tap him, though, “We didn’t have a rule about not talking to other people, did we?” There were less than a dozen visitors at the entrance hall and, two short turns later, we were in the first of the museum’s five reconstructed cloisters, the Cuxa. A cloister, for those who don’t know, is the heart of a monastery, a covered walkway surrounding a large open courtyard, with access to all other monastic buildings. The Cuxa was partly reconstructed from a monastery in the French Pyrenees in the mid-12th century.

S.D. and I moved around the cloister separately, surveying the different pieces like the column capitals, doorways and a 12th-century French chapter house (or meeting hall for monks) on our own. We would look up every minute or so to see if the date was still around and ackowledge him with a nod or smile. Unbeknownst to S.D., I would snap pictures of him literally behind his back whenever he was close enough. S.D. then walked into the courtyard garden, abloom with flowers, and started smelling three or four different kinds. With a tonsure and a monk’s robe, S.D. could pass off as a Medieval-age saint in the wilderness, a friend of the animals but one who had a secret life where he knew about the birds and the bees a little too well. (Further proof that my lack of sex can induce bizarre, WTF fantasies.) 

Baby, Talk is Cheap

It was becoming increasingly clear to me that the Cloisters was the best possible place to have a silent date at – and also the worst. There’s a solemn, soothing vibe to the whole place; it feels like being on a spiritual retreat. But if you’re into medieval art – and the Cloisters has five thousand works of art from from architectural sculptures and stained glass to metalwork, illustrated manuscripts and tapestries – I doubt that you’d want to keep your orgasmic ecstasy to yourself. More than a few times, S.D. and I would signal to each other to come over and check out a sculpture or a painting. We have somehow coded a spectrum of facial expessions with enthusiastic approval at the extreme left and violent objection at the opposite end.

That was the silent-date dynamic we’ve pretty much established. We would enter a hall together, check out the pieces on display separately (and I’d snap pictures of the pieces I liked), look up to make sure that the other person was still in sight (otherwise, wait for him to get back for a minute or so) and nod off to each other when we feel like moving to the next hall.

When I first checked the time on my cellphone, we were about 50 minutes into the silent date, and we’ve seen a little more than half of the museum. We went downstairs where the Gothic Chapel, Glass Gallery and Treasury were, apart from two other cloisters. For the first time during our tour, there was a painting S.D. seemed totally excited about showing me. It was a portion of “The Mass of St. Gregory” (pictured below) which, I have to say, was about as distracting as the conspiratorial grin on S.D.’s face. Now we all know about the devil working with idle hands, but who knew he could work the same magic with a naughty silent date and an otherwise innocuous religious article?

About twenty minutes later, there was an announcement about a gallery talk starting shortly and that interested visitors should assemble at the entrance hall. I looked expectantly at S.D. and gave him the widest smile I could manage: “Let’s go check that out!”. He smiled back and jokingly threw his arms up in the air: “No, not me please.” I rolled my eyes at him.

When we got to the café (which had its own lovely courtyard), I realized that, in the realm of human communication, if people had to pick two things that they really needed to tell each other, they would have to be:

1)    I’m thirsty – done by patting one’s throat a few times and craning one’s neck and and gesturing as if drinking from a glass (me)

2)   I need to pee – done by pretending to unzip one’s fly (S.D.)

There was a bigger garden adjacent to the café and the flowers were beautiful. More flower-sniffing by S.D. ensued, reinforcing my “birds and the bees” theory about him. He told me to go over to the lavender bed and smell it. Then he asked me to take his picture a certain way. He was gesturing like crazy but I didn’t get what he was trying to say; the other museum visitors were probably wondering why two guys would want to play charades in the Cloisters garden of all places. Then I finally got it. He wanted me to take a picture of him with his hands covering his mouth: “Look, Ma, I’m on a silent date!” Voila!

Word!

At 12:30, we went to the museum shop and I noticed he hung out at one section for 10 minutes. It was the children’s section and S.D. was checking out stained glass coloring book and colored markers. (I remember him emailing about a family get-together the next day so I presume it’s for a niece of nephew.) We left the Cloisters shortly after that; I was actually hurrying to catch a show at Times Square at 2pm. At the bus stop across the entrance to Fort Tryon Park, there was a gay couple waiting with us. They didn’t know I was with S.D. since we weren’t speaking to each other though we were seated together. When S.D. and I started gesturing to each other and showing each other the books we were reading – mine was on Edward Hopper and his were the screenplay of Charlie Kaufman’s “Adaptation” and the new David Sedaris – I looked up and saw the gay couple give me a knowing, ingratiating smile: “Awww, a mute gay couple on a date! How cute!” There we were, the apparent epitome of unconditional love in our (faux) voiceless splendor. 

It took the bus forever to arrive so, when it did, we hopped on it right away. A few blocks later, it occurred to me that it might not actually be the shuttle bus but a regular bus, which goes on a different route. S.D. walked over to the driver and talked to him.  I started panicking and felt bad about breaking the vow of silence but I had to – our date was technically over anyway – and asked S.D., “What did the driver say?” It turned out that S.D. has a sexy, masculine voice. He got off at the next stop since he was spending the weekend in Jersey with family (hence the backpack). The next day, I got an email from him: “I just wanted to say thanks for being my silent date at the Cloisters. I got to fulfill a fantasy of mine – and it didn’t even involve lube! What a treat!”

The Post-Mortem

The fundamental question at the heart of a silent date is really this: Can you possibly establish a connection with another person without using words? As much as I’ve sung the praises of witty repartee as key in creating that spark between two people, my silent date experience made me realize that chemistry does go beyond the trappings of language. When it’s there, it’s there, and the silent date setup magnifies that, a one-of-a-kind experience that only the two of you share. Like an inside joke, but the sensation is much more gratifying. If done with the right partner, a silent date is a fun icebreaker that ratchets up the sexual tension nicely. You can’t wait until the second “speaking” date to debrief and compare notes about the experience.

It takes a certain kind of pair to pull off a silent date, I also realized. Having the same temperament or disposition is key. I could tell that, just like me, S.D. was in touch with his inner kid and had the ideal combo of curiosity, mischief and love of fun to make it work. (The silent date was his idea, after all.) It’s all about attuning to the rhythm of the other person. The silent date could work just as well for two people who are both thoughtful, quiet types. 

Despite my initial misgivings, a silent date is not much different from a conventional date; only it’s done in reverse. The traditional date often starts with dinner or a meal where most of the conversation takes place and is followed by an activity involving the arts, entertainment or a recreational activity, and conversation takes a back seat. Just the same, the shared post-dinner experience is intended to indirectly allow both people to get into each other’s non-verbal rhytym as well as provide fodder for more stimulating conversation afterwards. The silent date creatively upends that sequence, gives it an unpredictable spin and just might be — for romantics with a taste for adventure, like myself — better than sex.