Tag Archives: Hudson River

Sunday at The Met Cloisters Museum

30 Wednesday Aug 2023

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The Met Cloisters Museum

“Don’t go to a museum with a destination. Museums are wormholes to other worlds. They are ecstasy machines.” ― Jerry Saltz

On Sunday, we went to The Met Cloisters.  The Met Cloisters is a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.   It is located far from the other museums in Manhattan.  It sits atop a hill in Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan.

I have been living in NY almost 40 years and had never been there before.  It is just 25 minutes from my home.  I don’t go to museums often.  So, when I go, I go to the usual ones for me, such as Museum of Natural History, The Guggenheim, and the Museum of Modern Art.  And, now that I think about it, it has been a long time that I have been to any of those.    

When Michael came to meet me for the first time, he had suggested we go there.  We didn’t.  Since then, he has been mentioning it.  I am glad that we finally went. 

Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) ca. 1375-1444

On Sunday, we got there very early, so there were plenty of parking and no lines.  The building is gorgeous, designed in the medieval architecture.  I love castles, so I really enjoyed the architecture. I am just disappointed there was not a single suit of armor in sight.

“The Unicorn Rests in a Garden” Tapestry -ca. 1495-1505

The museum mostly displays works from Western Europe. Besides paintings it includes sculptures, stained glass, manuscripts, tapestries, wood and metalwork. There is also an outside area with an herb garden, with more than 250 species of herbs cultivated in the Middle Ages.

“Arm Reliquary” ca. 1230 – container for precious remains of a saint. It probably held remains of a saint’s arm.

I like that it is a small museum and can be seen in a couple of hours.  They have a very small café in the courtyard.  We had scones and coffee, and an almond tart that the vendor convinced me to get.  The tart was delicious.

“Nativity of the Virgin” ca.1480 – Saint Anne with The swaddled Virgin Mary

After visiting the museum, we walked in the park outside for a while.  It overlooks the Hudson River and the Palisades, a line of steep cliffs along the river.

They don’t charge an exact ticket amount.  One cannot donate whatever they wish.  The ticket can be used to see both museums in one day.  We decided one museum was enough for us for one day.

It was a great day there, and I hope to go back.  Now I am excited to see other museums.

For the rest of the year there is so much going on at work and personally.  At work, there may be changes if we lose half of our small group – contract negotiations can go either way.  I will know in two weeks. 

As far as my personal life, there is so much to do, trips to take and visitors to host.  This weekend my sister and I will be going to the Jersey Shore.  We are staying at friend’s house.  This was planned before Michael, so he staying home. 

Then there are visitors coming from Brazil.  First my brother and his girlfriend, then some friends.  I need to go to Florida and set my office in Michael’s house.   The plan is to live in both places. There are also additional trips to plan, and other projects to handle.

Life is busy, and a bit stressful at times; but so good and always so blessed!

“I’ve become like one of those people I hate, the sort who go to the museum and, instead of looking at the magnificent Brueghel, take a picture of it, reducing it from art to proof. It’s not “Look what Brueghel did, painted this masterpiece” but “Look what I did, went to Rotterdam and stood in front of a Brueghel painting!” ― David Sedaris

George Washington Bridge

Where is the affection? Where is the passion?

12 Thursday Jul 2018

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The third date was at my apartment.  He came over to watch the Brazil/Germany game with my sister and I at 2pm last Friday.   It was not a happy day for Brazil.  They played their heart out but it was not enough to win.  Now we wait another 4 years to try again. Actually only 2 years, because I also enjoy the Women’s World Cup and that is in 2020.

He and my sister got along and we all had a good time even though Brazil lost.  He stayed until the evening.

The next day I went to his house.  I got there around 12:30pm.  He gave me a tour of the basement and garage, parts that I had not seen before.  I still didn’t see the garden on the roof. He sent me pictures of it later.

I helped him paint a table and chair to be delivered to a store.  Then we went to Cold Spring, which is a charming historic town on the Hudson River.  It is directly across the river from West Point – The US Military Academy.  It has charming little antique shops.

We were going to stop by a shop that sells his stuff.  He wanted me to meet the owner and friend.  But after delivering the table I realized that if I didn’t eat anything I would become a nightmare.  It hit me all of a sudden that I was hungry.  I become moody and silent.

By the time we were sited and finally our orders were placed I was in such a foul mood I could barely speak.  I was humorless as he attempted to crack jokes.  I really controlled myself as best as I could and for the most part it worked.  He understood and said that from now he will carry snacks at all times.

The food eventually came and I slowly returned to my upbeat, full of life self.  Note to self: Don’t go without eating from 9am to 6pm.  He goes for long periods without eating, I can’t keep up with that.  I am always munching.

After dinner we finally went to his friend’s boutique.  It was a very cool high end and eclectic place with antiques and one of a kind items.  He has some of G’s work there.   We got along amazingly well, cracking jokes and being sarcastic. It was good to be introduced to a friend of his and see how much respect this person has for him.

After visiting the store we decided to walk back to the river as we had seen signs of an open air movie and decided to check it out.  They were showing Hitchcock’s Notorious.  We got popcorn and fizzy drinks and settled down on the grass.  They made an announcement that throughout the movie we would hear fireworks but the movie was not going to stop.

We sat and watched for about 20 minutes and we both couldn’t concentrate.  We decided to walk to he boardwalk area and see the fireworks.  It was a 2 minute walk.  We sat on a rock overlooking the water and a few minutes later the fireworks started.  It was awesome.  I think he didn’t like that I took pictures and videotaped some. In hindsight I shouldn’t have.  Live and learn and try again.

We got back to his home and went to bed.  I think it was about 11pm.  When I say “went to bed” I really mean went to bed.  It was a bit disappointing to me that all he wanted to do was sleep. And it was not like he was really so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open.  He actually got up and took a shower, later got up again and took Valerian to help him sleep.

The next day after breakfast we went to a park at the beach.  We walked for a long time along the shore then went into an area to collect drift wood.  He does some artwork with drift wood. It is really cool.

At one point we stopped, sat on a rock watching the waves while enjoying some snacks.   I chose that time to bring up the fact that I thought it was weird and awkward that we slept in the same bed and all he did was hug me for a few minutes.  He listened and then eventually just said:  I don’t know what to say.

I said: it is okay. You don’t have to say anything.

Later I was kicking myself for not demanding an answer, as I still don’t know what the deal was.  Maybe he was trying to be respectful, or perhaps he was trying to pay me back because I had been a bitch at dinner or  still perhaps he just not really interested in me.  It is really confusing as there was so much passion the prior Sunday.

I am sure we will talk about it again as I cannot deal with not having answers. And that to me is a huge elephant in the room.  There were some pecks and he held my hand over the weekend but that was it.

By the time we got back to his house it was 4pm and he wanted to make dinner but I wanted to go home.  Sundays I like to be home in the evening and prepare myself psychologically for the week ahead.

Later he said that he was a bit surprised and saddened that I left so sudden, as he wanted to make me dinner and just enjoy each other.

I am bringing up all my questions/issues tonight as we will be going out to dinner.

Strangely enough I am at peace.  I am not worried about this working out or not working out.  I really like him, but I will never be with someone that is not feeling for me as I am feeling for him.  Chemistry is either there or not there.  That is the foundation where we can build a life together.  Without that foundation of chemistry I don’t think we have anything. It just feels forced.

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on it’s own wings. Always believe in yourself” – Unknown Author