I’m a little late in sharing this, but, if you’re interested, you probably don’t care. If you’re not interested, you’ll skip it anyways!
My sister, Christie, drove in from Ohio on Monday. Tuesday morning, I made her get up hours before dawn so we could drive to Nashville. If I can get a nonstop flight from that airport, that’s where I go.
 |
| At the Nashville Airport |
It means we get to New York City by 1:30, and to our hotel by about 2:30. Perfect for the first day. We ran around a few blocks from our hotel, and picked up all our theater tickets that were at Will Call. Then we headed to dinner at Da Marino, an Italian restaurant just down the street.
 |
| Da Marino |
The first night, we went to “Frozen”. This is just my opinion. I know it’s the biggest show on Broadway at the moment. I wasn’t impressed. Yes, the sets were pretty, but I’ve seen more impressive ones. The audience was just strange. It was mostly adults with just a few small children. It was a Tuesday night in early May, and schools were still in session, so it wasn’t an audience of children. This audience reacted as if they were at a Beatles concert to “Let It Go.” I’m afraid I found the Elsa parts a little boring. Everyone has different tastes, though. I just wasn’t excited about this show.
But, Wednesday in New York City was very enjoyable. We had breakfast at the new Juniors, just a couple blocks from our hotel. Fun waitress. And, they serve hot chocolate in an enormous cup, the size of a soup bowl.
From there we went out to the Cloisters. The Met Cloisters and the Met are currently doing a joint exhibit, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”. There is clothing in both exhibits. (Lots and lots of designer clothing.) The clothes are designed by Dior, Chanel, Versace, Givenchy – names you would recognize.
 |
| Christie |
 |
| The Dressed Madonna |
The first exhibit, “The Dressed Madonna” features an outfit by Viktor & Rolf, from their “Russian doll” collection. She has rosaries under those sleeves.
There were so many outfits. These were all clothes inspired by the Catholic Church — baptismal gowns, wedding gowns. Dressed inspired by nuns and monks.
 |
| Balenciaga |
 |
| Valentino |
The next room had three dresses. The exhibit there is called “Cult of the Virgin”, inspired by the Virgin Mary.
We did go out to the gardens at the Cloisters, which are beautiful. It rained most of the week we were in New York, though, so we weren’t outside for long stretches of time.
 |
| Christie |
 |
| In the Sepulchre room |
The following outfits were inspired by the Garden of Eden.
 |
| Chausible for Pope John Paul II |
Naturally, the Book of Hours was one of my favorite items in the Cloisters’ permanent collection. This tiny book is actually no bigger than three inches high. It’s about the size of my little finger.
Here’s another garden at the Cloisters.
The view from the Cloisters garden.
I enjoyed these gardens. They had so many of the plants I read about in medieval or British mysteries.
 |
| St. John’s Wort |
 |
| Scarlet Pimpernel |
 |
| Mandrake |
The dress below is by Coco Chanel.
These hats are inspired by an order of nuns, but the sign mentioned that these were the type worn by Sally Field in “The Flying Nun”.
 |
| Valentino |
When we finished the Cloisters, we headed back to our hotel. Believe it or not, at this point of the day, it’s only about 12:30. We had a 2 PM matinee. We went to see “The Play That Goes Wrong”. Although it isn’t drawing the audiences, this is a hysterical British comedy. Most of the cast was appearing on Broadway for the first time. And, every actor was spot on. I’d recommend this show. It was a lot of fun. Just what we needed after a serious museum morning.
From there, it was to Hurleys Saloon, an Irish pub, for the best meal we had in New York. We’re both fans of good fish and chips. And, the chocolate martini wasn’t bad either.
After dinner, we headed to our second play. We went to “Come From Away.” I’ve seen this musical before, but I’d take anyone to see it who hasn’t yet. I love this show. And, Christie and I agreed the two shows we saw on Wednesday were our favorites of the trip. I cry during this one. The man sitting beside Christie was sobbing. It’s a beautiful, moving show. I hope you get a chance to see it someday when it tours.
Great report! I'm embarrassed to admit that though I've lived here my whole life, I have never been to the Cloisters. There, I said it. We have no interest in FROZEN either, though COME FROM AWAY is at the top of our list. I agree about Hurley's. We ate there with friends from Buffalo when they were in New York (by coincidence, they were seeing COME FROM AWAY that trip). Yum!
Thank you, Jeff. That's okay. I grew up about 15 miles from Thomas Edison's boyhood home, and didn't go until I was in college. Keep COME FROM AWAY on your list. It's worth it. And, happy to know you agree with me on Hurley's!
The display of medieval plants sounds interesting.
It was. Sandy! I was excited to see the plants I read about in mysteries.
Nice report, Lesa! I'm not so much about the shows, but that tour of the clothing and plants was very interesting. Some of those clothes were gorgeous, some were very odd. Good shots of both you and your sister!
What a cup of hot chocolate.
Was there really any under all that whipped cream? It did look delicious.
Glad you and your sister had this special time together.
Enjoyed the pictures.
I knew you'd appreciate the fashion, Kaye. I'll post the Met, probably on Saturday. I never did send you pictures of those clothes.
Charlotte – There really WAS hot chocolate under that whipped cream, and it was real chocolate, not a packaged mix! Thank you. We had a terrific time together. The second part of the trip will probably be up on Saturday.
Thanks for sharing all these great pics, Lesa. For all the times I've been in New York, I've yet to visit the Cloisters. I need to change that!
Preferably NOT on a rainy day, Beth. They give tours of the gardens. We didn't have time, and the weather wasn't great.
WOW!!! I'm so jealous of your trip to NYC. I wish I could go. All those dresses look amazing to look at but not wear. When I went to NYC I saw the Broadway musical for Aladdin and I absolutely loved it! I feel as if I missed so much when I went to NYC. Maybe I should head back there again one day xD
Elle, You can only do so much on one trip. I love NYC. I go once or twice a year. There's so much to see, but I always plan a few Broadway shows because that's my passion.
Looks like a lot of fun. The pics were beautiful. I’ve read several books that had The Cloister in it. Nice to see pics!! Loved the Coco Chanel dress!!
Great pictures. Glad you had an awesome time!
OMG I LOVE THIS!!!! Thank you so much for sharing all this with us, Lesa