Return to Eating Art Spring 2008

Our Trip to The Cloisters
began by walking through the entrance
to Fort Tryon Park, near the northern
tip of Manhattan, overlooking the
Hudson River and having the highest
point of land on Manhattan Island.

Douglas was raised in this neighbor-
hood and he's been in several times,
so he new an easy way there from
Queens. We parked from where this
photo was taken, just before a traffic
circle in front of the park.

The park was the site of the
American Revolutionary War Battle
of Fort Washington,
fought on November 16, 1776.


The trails through Fort Tryon park weave and bend around large rock out cropping, and always gives a good view. On the left we are looking towards the south and the George Washington Bridge.

The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., son of the designer of Central Park. There are some great old trees, the highest point in Manhattan and wonder areas to sit, relax and take in the views.

On the right is our first glimpse of The Cloisters

Here are a couple of good links for The Cloisters.

To learn about the History of the land, the building and collection come here

To Learn about the Programs and see the highlights of the collection at the Cloisters, go here.

The Cloisters is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
It sits on a very scenic spot, the day we were there in January was like a spring day. Ripe for quiet contemplation while we toured and viewed wonderful scenery in every direction.


The handcrafted work was very impressive, especially when it was created on such a small scale, such as the piece on the right which only measures 2" in diameter.



I admired the door above for the nice ironwork, while Sue and Doug check out a carved pedestal. There was a wonderful collection of old books, kept in a limited light environment, absolutely all handmade, hand painted and illuminated by Monks

I'm really surprised it took me so long to get to the Cloisters. I think one of the reasons was the location. I just wasn't familiar with northern Manhattan Island, but it was truly a breeze to get to and easy to park.

Don't take as long as I did.......go now.