Blowhard, Esq. writes:

One of my favorite places during my New York City trip last month was The Cloisters, a medieval art museum run by the The Met located in northern Manhattan. Nestled in a sprawling park that abuts Washington Heights and Inwood, it’s a welcome area of tranquility away from noise and nervousness of the city. Here are a few photos I took.

Although you can drive to the entrance, the best way to approach the museum is by walking through Fort Tryon Park, which has lovely views of the Hudson and New Jersey. Although I realized the area is located much further south (because I just googled it), I couldn’t help but think of the “Pine Barrens” episode of THE SOPRANOS.

The Cloisters features thousands of medieval artworks spanning over three centuries taken from all over Europe. Although I realize the rules are different for museums, I think it’s fair to say the building is a work of pastiche (both geographical and chronological), that most cardinal of contemporary architectural sins. But who cares if the final result is beautiful?

As the photos show it was a gloomy morning, but that only added to the mood for me. I especially like the garden in this courtyard which featured lots of plants and flowers used in medieval food, medicine, and magic.

Related

• Parts one and two of my NYC series.
• Back here I visited L.A. Getty Center and here are pics from my time at Orange County’s Bowers Museum.
• I shared some thoughts on medieval history and culture here, here, here, here, and here.
• Fabrizio on about a BBC series about the English monarchy.
• Fabrizio on a less-than-stellar Teaching Company series.