I had a more laid-back day today, but I still loved every single second of it. I yet again slept in (getting responsibilities done beforehand + not being a first-time tourist makes for a VERY relaxing vacation), waking up at 10 and not getting out until after noon.
I left Mara's at 12:30 to go to the Upper West Side, where Manhattan School of Music is located just north of Columbia University, at 122nd street. There, I met Isaac for a very pleasant breakfast/lunch in the italian place under his apartment building called Pisticci. It had a nice brunch menu, with pastas and omelettes, but I opted for the simple nutella and bananas on bread (when I see the word "nutella" all other words become muted and I can't focus on much else), and he got a very cheesy and tempting-looking pasta.
It was so wonderful to catch up, reminisce about old experiences and people we used to know, learn a little more about our lives now... when we finally wrapped it up so he could go practice and I could go up to the Cloisters, I was in such positive spirits I was walking up Broadway with a huge smile on my face, and it had to be noticeable to the everyday stoic-faced New Yorkers I passed because they gave me slightly prolonged glances (a few milliseconds more than normal).
There is something about hanging out at a bar in New York on a Saturday night with a group of girlfriends, drinking a hard cider and watching your middle school friend's band kick serious butt, catching up with that friend over a nice lunch the next day, while taking yourself all over Manhattan by yourself like you belong there, to really have it hit home that you've grown up.
After lunch, I went up to the Cloisters (calling Mara on the way because I'd forgotten to actually check how to get there besides "due north") at 190th street. The Cloisters is an extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art far uptown, dedicated solely to medieval and gothic art, with architecture directly taken from many 13th-century abbeys and other such buildings. In order to get to them, after getting out of the subway at 190th street, you have to walk through Fort Tryon Park.
Fort Tryon Park is probably the most beautiful place in Manhattan, a fact I was not aware of because I never made it up there while I lived here. My walk through the park was absolutely breathtaking... tree-lined paths along cobblestone walls, on a hill overlooking the Hudson River just north of the George Washington Bridge, snow still on the ground around the leafless trees... there is no way I can describe how beautiful that walk was. I will show you some pictures, but they do a laughably small amount of justice... the chill in the air, the smell of cold and snow and nature in the middle of such a vibrant city... there is just no way.
View of the Hudson from Fort Tryon Park
The Hudson, with George Washington Bridge in the background
The Cloisters from the top of the large hill in Fort Tryon Park.
Looking back at the hill that afforded incredible panoramas, but nothing my amateur little camera could capture.
I made it to the Cloisters with about an hour to spare before closing. I would have liked more time, but because the museum is pay-as-you-wish, I wasn't worried about getting my money's worth (I payed $2). The Cloisters did not let me down on my beauty high - all old stone archways, wood doors, priceless works of art intricately carved out of ivory, inlaid with gold, stained glass windows perfectly preserved - I stayed until the museum workers started closing down the museum systematically and shoed the stragglers from room to room... I was the last person in the museum.
Room with medieval stained glass and effigies
Some of the gardens - closed in winter.
Book of Hours depicting days of the week and seasons of the calendar through pictures and lettering systems
All intricately carved from ivory
A saint's bones were once kept in here to see and retain their power.
I emerged to find myself bathed in the light of my favorite time of day, the time just before sunset when everything glows with that golden light. I didn't take any pictures of this time through the park because I wanted to feel it and experience it, rather than frantically try to capture its intangible essence.
I know I've gone on and on about hardly anything in this entry, but this was the experience I had today. Very meaningful moments amidst a bustling, busy city that can sometimes force someone to overlook such things. This is the beauty of New York City - that you can discover new restaurants and shops and dash about to and fro along the many many streets and neighborhoods, and get worn out, and then go to a place like Fort Tryon park and immerse yourself in beauty and culture and be in an entirely different world.
If you ever go to New York, even though it isn't on the "must-see" list, you MUST take an afternoon for Fort Tryon and the Cloisters. It promises to be a much more rewarding experience than museum-hopping in the busy tourist area around southern Central Park.
After getting back downtown, I relaxed my weary feet at Mara's for a couple hours, then headed out to Indian food with what was supposed to be "the whole group." None of the boys could make it, however, so it wound up just being all my NYU girlfriends, which was still fantastic. We went to Panna II Garden, one of three connected Indian restaurants on 1st Avenue between 5th and 6th streets. It is tiny, you are bustled in and out so they have an incredibly high yield of business, but it is cute and festive and delicious and perfect for a bunch of college kids - though we each ordered our own food, you could easily order one less dish than the amount of people in your party and be set. I had a spinach/cheese dish that came with rice, and ordered a side of naan (amazing Indian bread) and a mango Lassi (a cold sweet drink). It was all very delicious.
The outside of the restaurant(s)
The tiny interior of the restaurant
My dinner
The girls: L-R Dani, Emily, Me, Brittany, Roomie, Mara
I said goodbye to everyone except Mara for the last time on my trip, then went back to the Little Cupcake Bakery for dessert and coffee. I got an oreo cheesecake and a nutella cappuchino, Mara got a cookie dough cupcake, and we brought it back to her room. The cheesecake was incredible - creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, worth-every-single-penny-and-then-some. I will be dreaming about this cheesecake for months.
That was the end of my day. Tomorrow is my last day in New York, then I fly home late in the evening. I am so sad to leave - this trip has rekindled my love for this city, and given me aspirations to perhaps be able to go to a high-tier music school here for an advanced degree (the pinnacle of which would be a doctorate at Julliard - it's OK to dream big).
We shall see.
