The Cloisters Museum

The Cloisters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that is features art and architecture from medievel Europe. The museum is nested inside Fort Tryon park which has beautiful views of the Hudson river. For those interested in exploring different parts of NYC, I would definitely recommend a trip up to the Cloisters. It is quite far uptown (but easily accessible via M4 bus or A train).  In fact I hardly remember the last time I traveled up to 190th Street on the West Side. While we visited the museum during the warmer weekends in March, I am looking forward to visiting again in the spring when the trees and grass are green! Perfect for picnicing and avoiding the Central Park crowds!

Here is a view of the Cloisters as we were approaching up the hill. The heavy wooden doors and stone staircases fit into the medievel theme. Everything reminded me of a monastery until I saw the group of people sunbathing in various stages of dress on the lawn...

And here are some of my favorite parts of the museum with the beautiful arches:

My favorite room in the Cloisters is the unicorn room featuring wall to wall tapestries of magical unicorns. I think I could just sit in this room for a long time. My second favorite room is the Throne Room (no picture available) where it featured many expensive and exquisite jewels.

Japan Day 2009

This might be my first year attending this event - check it out!

Japan Day @ Central Park will be held Sunday, May 31st at the East Meadow (entrance at Fifth Avenue and 97th Street).

Japan Day @ Central Park is an event designed by the Japanese community of New York to promote deeper understanding of Japanese culture. Japan Day @ Central Park returns to fill the green oasis of East Meadow with tents offering a wide range of Japanese traditional and family-friendly activities, free samplings of popular Japanese cuisine and powerful stage performances throughout the day (click here for link of performers), with top entertainers from New York and Tokyo.

Japan Day @ Central Park 2009 begins at 8AM with the Japan Run, a 4-mile race, organized by New York Road Runners. However, the Japan Day Festival begins at 10AM with the opening of all the activity tents; the stage show begins at 10:30AM, and free samplings of Japanese cuisine begin at 11pm. To see a map of the tent locations at East Meadow, click here.