Kapitoil - Teddy Wayne Author Interview

 Check out my new blog, A Library of My Own,  for an interview with Teddy Wayne, author of Kapitoil (check out my review).

Here's a little bit about the author:

Teddy Wayne is a graduate of Harvard and the Writing Program at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also taught fiction and creative nonfiction writing. The recipient of a 2010 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship, his fiction, satire, and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Vanity Fair, Esquire, McSweeney’s, The Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere. He lives in New York.

Kapitoil - Teddy Wayne

Check out my new blog A Library of My Own for my review of Teddy Wayne's novel Kapitoil. It's become one of my favorite books this year. Tomorrow I will also be posting an author interview with him so stick around!

A Small Death in the Great Glen - A.D. Scott

Check out my new blog A Library of My Own for my review of A Small Death in the Great Glen by A.D. Scott. 

Please follow me and/or subscribe via Reader to my new blog. Thank you!

Sunflowers - Sheramy Bundrick

Check out my new blog A Library of My Own to read my review and recommendation of Sheramy Bundrick's novel Sunflowers: A Novel of Vincent van Gogh

Dracula in Love - Winner!!

Sorry all for my delayed announcement of the winner of Dracula in Love.  I absolutely loved your answers on what vampire stories you love and why you want to read this.  My winner said:

Yes, me!! I love Bram Stoker's Dracula and just wrote a review on Dracula The Un-Dead, so I'd love to read another "perspective" of it! I've heard so much about this novel and am ready to take it on -- there's just something about the "real" Dracula story that just gets me going, and I was such a fan of The Historian as well, that this book would be right up my alley!!

Woohoo!  I love when people refer me to books I have not yet read.  So my winner is:

Coffee and a Book Chick 

Congratulations and I can't wait to see what you think.  Enjoy!

****I am no longer a New Yorker and have moved over to my new blog A Library of My Own.  I will still be posting book reviews for a short time on this blog but if you want my full ramblings and photos, head on over!  Thank you!

Dracula in Love - Karen Essex (Giveaway!)

Book: Dracula in Love

Author: Karen Essex
Paperback (ARC): 384 pages
Publisher: Doubleday
Published Date: August 10, 2010

I love Karen Essex. Let me just put that out there right now. I read Leonardo's Swans a while back (my review) and fell in love with the story and her writing. She has this way of writing historical fiction that stays true to historical facts, something I love in an author. So when I heard she came out with Dracula in Love I immediately requested an ARC copy and jumped for joy when I received it (my post on the gorgeous cover). I also have to tell you that I've read Bram Stoker's Dracula quite a few times and also love that book.

Karen Essex's novel is from Mina's perspective as she tells the true story of her and the Count. It is a Victorian Gothic story of love, possession, betrayal, and of course some erotic scenes so yes, there is a bit of sex. But what I found fascinating is how Ms. Essex spun Mina's tale. The story starts off with Mina explaining how this was the true story and not Stoker's more popular fictional tale. Mr. Stoker even makes a cameo in the story which I thought was pretty cool.

While I adored the story and Ms. Essex's writing, I do have to warn you that it does have some a strong women's perspective from a very constrained Victorian society who deemed women as sort of a lesser class than men. For instance, once married most women did not control their property or money. It also shows an interesting spin on the asylum where Van Helsing is employed. **Side note: I had recently watched the Leonardo DiCaprio movie Shutter Island and found it's portrayal of the asylum very much like the one in this book. Very interesting.

My only gripe with the book is towards the end. I thought her explanation for the Count and Mina's attraction to each other was kind of, well, out of the blue. But it didn't detract my enjoyment of this highly Gothic love story. I've noticed another Mina/Dracula book out there called Dracula, My Love by Syrie James. I am really curious to see how the two compare. I will try hard and get my hand on a copy of that novel.

Now on to the giveaway!!

I asked Maxwell Brown at Random House if I could PLEASE have a copy to giveaway and he sent one to me ASAP! Woohoo! So I have a special ARC available to one lucky reader. Again my giveaway is open internationally. Here's the deal:


1) Please leave a comment with your email address (or blog address) telling me why you want to read this and if you are a fan of Stoker's version or any other vampire stories/movies/etc. Come on, talk to me!

2) I will give you an extra entry if you comment on my new blog A Library of My Own. If you only comment on my new blog I'll give you two entries as well.

3) Contest is open until August 17th when I get back from my trip to Alaska. Good luck!

Kentucky Stroll

Head on over to my new blog A Library of My Own to see photos of my Kentucky Stroll.

** I am no longer a New Yorker so please update your readers! I am still posting reviews at Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker but I am posting much more over at my new blog. Thanks!

31 Bond Street - Ellen Horan

Book: 31 Bond Street
Author: Ellen Horan
Hardback: 368 Pages
Publisher: Harpercollins
Published Date: 3-30-2010

Awhile back I was asked to join the TLC Book Tour for 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan: A Novel of Murder, Innocence, and Power in New York City.  I love historical fiction and I have a specific fondness for the 19th Century so I thought why not?  I'm not sure if it's was because recently I've been Netflixing the series Bones (forensic anthropology helps solve murders) or what, but I totally absorbed this book in just a couple of days.

Here's the story:

The setting is 1857 in New York City.  A real crime happened: a dentist, Dr. Burdell, was found gruesomely murdered in his home. The main suspect is a young widowed lady, Emma Cunningham, with a couple of daughters who lives with him (as a tenant) and claims to be his wife.  Suspicion is out whether or not they were married and if she murdered him.  A brilliant defense attorney, Henry Clinton, puts his career at stake defending her of this crime.

I thought this story was absolutely fascinating.  The story is told from various perspectives, mainly flipping from Henry Clinton's point of view as the trial proceeds, to Emma Cunnigham's view as she meets the Dr. Burdell and the events leading up to his death.  Sometimes I can figure out in a crime book who the culprit is, but in this case I had absolutely no clue.  Since this was a real life murder, I also refrained from looking it up on Wikipedia as I sometimes end up doing.  I know Ellen Horan had to employ creative license while writing the fictional parts but I thought she did a fabulous job doing a "what if" to this real life crime story.

I just have to mention that I loved the book's setting in NewYork City.  In her acknowledgements and explanations at the end of the book, she mentions that New York City was definitely a character in the book.  I loved seeing the city from this historic perspective - before the high rises, before the Civil War and abolition of slavery, and before women's rights.  Even the forensics I thought was interesting, like how they knew back then it had to be a left handed person.  I especially thought it was bizarre when they mentioned the crime scene was painted, not photographed.  This was before photography was used in a crime scene.  I just thought she did a wonderful job bringing this era and old New York City to life.

I visited the website for 31 Bond Street and found this cool book trailer:

Ellen Horan previously worked as a freelance photo editor for magazines and books in New York City.  She has a background in painting and visual art.  31 Bond Street is her first novel.

Connect with Ellen:

On her Website

On her Facebook

On Twitter





Ellen Horan's TLC Book Tour Stops:


Tuesday, July 6th: Word Lily

Wednesday, July 7th: Rundpinne

Thursday, July 8th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Monday, July 12th: Simply Stacie

Tuesday, July 13th: Novel Whore

Wednesday, July 14th: Ask Miss A

Thursday, July 15th: Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker

Monday, July 19th: The 3 R's Blog

Tuesday, July 20th: Scraps of Life

Wednesday, July 21st: A Few More Pages

Thursday, July 22nd: Novel Whore- Gabriella

Friday, July 23rd: Starting Fresh

Monday, July 26th: Caribousmom

Tuesday, July 27th: The Tome Traveller

Wednesday, July 28th: Jo-Jo Loves to Read!!!

Thursday, July 29th: Bibliofreak

Monday, August 2nd: A Bookworm's World

Tuesday, August 3rd: Jen's Book Thoughts

Update on Blog

Hello everyone!

I am just popping in to tell you all to move on over to my new blog A Library of My Own. I will still post book reviews here at Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker through the end of August.*  But if you want my entire blog in all it's glory, just head on over there:

http://libraryofmyown.blogspot.com

Oh, and as an incentive, I have a nice long photo post of my time in Paris years ago as part of Paris in July - hosted by Book Bath and Thyme for Tea.  Go check it out!

* Publishers and Publicists: If you've sent me a book to read and review and want to make sure I post it at Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker, please let me know: libraryofmyown@gmail.com

The Queen of Palmyra Giveaway Winner!

Sorry for my delayed announcement of the winner of The Queen of Palmyra. I had asked everyone to name a book that had totally absorbed them. I received a number of new to me books, a few of Michelle Moran's books like Cleopatra's Daughter, and a couple of my favorites (The Art of Racing in the Rain and Pride and Prejudice). A few of you, including the winner, mentioned The Help.

And the winner....

Archana!

I've sent you an email so please email me your snail mail address so I can ship it out to you.

Thanks everyone for entering the contest!

How to Knit a Love Song - Rachael Herron

Book: How to Knit a Love Song

Author: Rachael Herron

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Avon A (April 1, 2010)

A little while ago I read a knitting romance book by Rachael Herron called How to Knit a Love Song.  I received the book from Harper Collins and thought it was such a cute book.  I had no clue that there was a whole genre of knitting novels out there.  I have to say it's something that I could get into since I recently took up knitting.

Here's the story:

Abigail is running away from her old life and towards a new beginning.  Her mentor and friend, Eliza Carpenter (famous in the knitting circles) recently passed away and left Abigail a home on her California property.  Abigail's dreams are put on hold though when she shows up and finds Eliza's angry but attractive nephew living there.

Eliza apparently left Abigail the cottage on the property while Cade, the nephew, gets the property and the main house.  Cade is angry that the land he's made prosperous during his aunt's absence has been usurped by a city girl.

So yeah, this is a romance novel and normally I wouldn't be too big into it but I absolutely loved the knitting part.  I also have to admit that while not insanely original, the story was pretty cute and not too romantically annoying.  It also helped inspire me to knit more on my own.  There's even a pattern for a sweater, which is what Abigail is working on, at the back of the book.  I also loved that each chapter started with a pearl (or purl...sorry, had to do it) of wisdom from Eliza Carpenter.  This is one of those books I sent on to my sister to read and enjoy.

Speaking of knitting and sisters, here's what I made after I read this book.

It was my first attempt at a cable stitch.  I love this cool green color for a scarf. I used Lion Brand's Nature's Choice Organic Cotton because it is so soft. I hate itchy things around my neck:

 I call it the sister scarf. I made my sister the green one to match her hazel eyes and I am making myself a creamy white one.  If you want the pattern, head over to Lion Brand and search for Harbor Scarf.  You can also check out my Ravelry site (username: libraryofmyown) :

For more info about Rachael Herron's book, you can check out her blog Yarn-A-Go-Go.

Book Club Girl also interviewed her so go over and check out their show.

Also reviewed by:

Booking Mama

Bermudaonion's Weblog

The Language of Trees - Ilie Ruby

Book: The Language of Trees

Author: Ilie Ruby

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Avon A (July 20, 2010)

A while back I saw Ilie Ruby's novel The Language of Trees on Shelf Awareness and requested an ARC to read and review.  I think the main reason was because of it's gorgeous cover but also because it takes place in the Fingerlakes region of New York and involves Native American themes.  I thought it was a beautiful novel with touches of a mystery and romance with a supernatural twist.

Here's the synopsis:

Grant Shongo is part Seneca and has returned to his home town by Canandaigua Lake.  He's running away from a failed marriage and needs some time to repair his life.  By chance, he runs into his high school sweetheart, Echo, who's also come home to check on her adopted father, Joseph, who's health is ailing.  However, Joseph has other things on his mind.  Local town legend, Melanie Ellis, a young mother, has gone missing.

Twelve years earlier, Melanie Ellis was just a young girl when she took her young brother and sister, Maya and Luke, on a midnight canoe trip, through the pouring rain to Squaw Island.  No one knows what happened but after the storm subsided, Luke was gone.  Now Luke's spirit is haunting certain members of Canandiagua and long buried secrets will have to be resurrected.    

I hope that made some kind of sense as I usually like writing my own synopsis.  For the most part, I liked this book.  The way Ilie Ruby made the Fingerlakes area come alive was beautiful.  For instance, this blurb by author unknown at the beginning of the book is a running theme to the whole story:

Trees are the most trusting of all living creatures because they trust enough to put their roots down in one place, knowing they'll be there for life.

Ilie Ruby made all the characters multi-dimensional and I loved that not all problems were resolved at the end.  The story wasn't just narrated by Grant and Echo, but by almost all of the characters involved in the story.  It was a beautiful and sad story: bittersweet.  While I enjoyed the supernatural touches, it wasn't overly supernatural to make it unbelievable.  The only problem I had with it was sometimes it got a little over descriptive which can make me skim a bit too much.  But that might just be my problem, not the author's.  

I noticed a review over at TLC Book Tours which states that it's a "healing tale of redemption" (Elizabet Rosner) which describes it exactly.

I was going to find photos of Canandaigua Lake on Google Images but found that Ilie Ruby has a section on her website of photos of the area.  So go over there and check it out.

Mailbox Mondays

I thought I'd do a Mailbox Monday even though it's Tuesday. For more Mailbox Mondays, check out The Printed Page's Tour Schedule.

Normally Harper Collins gives me all the love but this week I've received two books by Random House:

The King's Mistress by Emma Campion - Comes out in July, about the Mistress of King Edward III

and

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex - Comes out in August, about Dracula's muse Mina.  I've been dying to read this since one of my favorite books is Dracula by Bram Stoker and I love Karen Essex (read my review of her previous novel Leonardo's Swans).  By the way, I'd love to own Mina's dress on the cover.  How gorgeous is it?

The Lacemakers of Glenmara - Heather Barbieri

A while back I had read some reviews of Heather Barbieri's book The Lacemakers of Glenmara and was dying to read it myself. So when I was asked to join the TLC Book tour for this book I jumped at the chance. I'm currently on vacation to see family in Colorado and read half the book on the plane and the other half the next day. This is a perfect summer read.


The story:

Kate Robinson's mother always told her bad things happen in threes. So when her mother passes away, her boyfriend leaves her for a skinny model, and her new clothing line bombs, she just has to get away.

She decides to take a journey to her family's ancestral homeland of Ireland. She manages to wind up in the small untourist town of Glenmara by the sea. Some of the women there take Kate under their wing and she joins their lace making society and starts to learn the trade. Kate also has the wonderful idea creating beautiful lingerie with the lace patterns. And then there's Sullivan... But everything doesn't go as planned. Not all the townsfolk of Glenmara approve of Kate and many have deep secrets of their own.

I totally enjoyed this novel. It helped that it wasn't just narrated by Kate but also by various people of Glenmara. Each character had their own struggles, problems, and concerns but Kate's arrival changes each one of their lives. Also, since I'm a newbie knitter, I enjoyed reading about the lace making itself. I really wanted to see the patterns they were creating and love to know how to do it myself.  And I"m just a sucker for anything Irish, so this book was the perfect vacation read.

As a side note, Heather Barbieri mentions a few books in her novel - favorite books of Kate's and others and I kept wanting to write them down so I could read them in the future. When I went to Heather's website, I noticed she had a link to her favorite books. How cool is that?

For more reviews for Heather Barbieri's book, check out the TLC Book Tour:

Tuesday, June 22nd: Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker
Thursday, June 24th: Books and Movies
Monday, June 28th: Bookalicio.us
Tuesday, June 29th: Drey's Library
Wednesday, June 30th: The Tome Traveler
Friday, July 2nd: Redlady's Reading Room
Wednesday, July 7th: Raging Bibliomania
Thursday, July 8th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Monday, July 12th: Bloggin' 'Bout Books
Tuesday, July 13th: Chefdruck Musings
Wednesday, July 14th: My Two Blessings
Thursday, July 15th: Diary of an Eccentric

1001 Update - The Thirty-Nine Steps

Earlier this year I decided to read John Buchan's classic novel The Thirty-Nine Steps.  Apart from it being on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list, it is also a Broadway show that the hubby and I had wanted to see before we left NYC.  I'd like to say we got the chance to see it, but we were a day late.  They had closed down for a period as they were moving venues.  Sigh.

But! PBS had a showing that weekend of a newer BBC version of the movie (more about the films below) so we still got our date night.

But you want to know what the book's about, right?  Here's how it starts out:

"I returned from the City about three o'clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life."

Richard Hannay has just returned to London after being in Rhodesia.  It's May 1914 and Europe is on the brink of WWI.  However, Richard is bored:

"Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb, with enough money to have a good time, yawning my head off all day."

After returning home one night, a man approaches him at his apartment door and basically invites himself in.  This man, Schudder, lives upstairs, is an American from Kentucky, and has learned a bit too much of European politics.  Schudder tells him:

'Pardon,' he said, 'I'm a bit rattled tonight. You see, I happen at this moment to be dead.'

They sit down and Schudder tells him some things, secret things involving a German conspiracy to kill the Greek Premier.  Schudder's life is in danger and he's had to fake his death to get away from the bad guys.  He also has to stop the conspiracy.  Richard Hannay, while not sure if this man is crazy or not, decides to help him. However, a few days later, Hannay returns to find Schudder dead in his apartment.  Unable to call the police for fear of being accused of Schudder's death, Hannay takes Schudder's notebook, flees the scene, and must elude Schudder's murderers, stop the German conspiracy, and basically save the day.  Oh, and you'll just have to read the book to figure out what the 39 steps refers to.

I absolutely loved this little spy story.  I read the book for free online over at Project Gutenberg.  This is the first of five novels about Hannay.  They are short but chock full of adventure.  Hannay also kind of cracks me up since he's so obviously not your normal hero.  

On to the movie:  The new BBC version was very very good.  I love that Rupert Penry-Jones was cast as Hannay:

If you've seen the newest version of Jane Austen's Persuasion (my review), you'll recognize Rupert.  I've got a slight crush on him because of that...and he's in the BBC MI-5 (also called Spooks) series which I also love.  Side note: If you like Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, Rupert Penry-Jones, or Richard Armitage - check MI-5 out.

The book and movie both have all those lovely little spy elements that I love.  Apparently Alfred Hitchcock thought so too.  He made a movie version of The Thirty-Nine Steps in 1935.  I haven't watched his version yet. 

I love how the modern BBC version reminded me of the old classic spy movies.  Notice the lovely plane scene in the modern version:

Doesn't this remind you of the 1959 movie North by Northwest with Cary Grant...also a Hitchcock film?

One of the things I love about blogging is that while writing posts, I find the most interesting posts on other blogs.  Check these out:

Lights, Camera, History - Post on BBC film version (one of my favorite blogs on period films)

Redtree Times - Post on Alfred Hitchcock version 

Bloggy Stuff

So I've been tinkering around with a new blog since, well let's face it, I am no longer a New Yorker. I need all your help. Will you check it out and give me any feedback?

A Library of My Own

I always love constructive criticism.  I'm still working on it so take that into account.  Also, if you have a blog of your own, do you have any tips or thoughts of what works well for your blog?  If you are a reader of blogs, what do you like to see?

Second Chance - Jane Green

I've had Jane Green's novel, Second Chance, on my bookshelf for a while now and I thought now was the time to read it. I needed something girly to read. I won a box of books a while back from Reading Group Choices and this was one of those books.

I've never read anything by Jane Green before and for some reason I thought her books would be a little too fluffy for me.  I am so glad I picked Second Chances up. It was the perfect read for me right now.

The story:

Holly, Olivia, Paul, and Saffron are mourning the death of their close friend Tom.  They were all close friends when they were school mates in London, but now they are in their late thirties and are all in various stages of life and relationships.  Most of them haven't seen each other in years and had mainly kept in contact with each other through Tom.

Holly is fairly wealthy, has two adorable kids, and an unhealthy relationship with her distant lawyer husband.  Olivia is single after dating a man for the better part of a decade and runs an animal shelter. Paul is married to the beautiful and successful Anna, but they have been unable to have children which is making Anna miserable.   Finally, Saffron is becoming a successful movie star and is moving on up, but her relationship with a very famous star who is married could bring her ruin.

Tom was always there for each one of them and because of his death, they are all reuniting once again.  And maybe because of Tom, they will all get their second chance at happiness.

--------

I loved that this story was set in England for some reason.  While the story rotates around all the friends, it does center the most on Holly.  While she is a character that I sometimes want to slap, I am still very sympathetic.  I enjoyed reading about each character. Each character appears to have the perfect life, but each character is going through their own struggles.  This book made me think a lot and ultimately be insanely thankful for my own lovely husband and marriage.

I WOULD normally do a giveaway for this book, BUT I'm seeing my beautiful sister later this month and want her to read it first.

**Has anyone read this or other Jane Green books?  Did you like them? I have to say I adore this book cover and noticed that her other covers are similar.  The photo doesn't do the shimmer of the green justice.

**I keep trying to picture, if this was a movie, who would play each character.  Please pitch in any ideas you have. Here's what I have so far:

Holly (Rachel Wiesz or Kate Beckinsale)

Saffron (Sienna Miller)

Olivia (Emily Blunt)

Couldn't find any reviews of Second Chance in my Google Reader so here's a couple reviews of her other books:

S. Krishna's Books - Dune Road
A Novel Menagerie - The Beach House

Small Knit Project

So remember a while back when I said that I was learning to knit? Well, I've been creating some more little things. I actually have two beautiful projects going but can't tell you about them just yet as one is a gift for my sister. She tends to read this so, I can't spill the beans just yet.

But here's a little something that I found and whipped up:

It's a heart mug rug that I found over at FaveCrafts.  It's super easy and great for beginners.  By the way, the mug featured was made by Brainella the Librarian.  Go check out her Etsy shop to buy your own.  She's also got these awesome owls that I adore and would snatch up had I a job and some extra money.

Here's the front and back of the mug rug:

I'm on Ravelry (name ahack025) so if you knit or crochet, come and be my friend.  Do you do any crafts and do you blog about them or share photos?  If so, let me know!

NYC - The Cloisters

Before I moved from New York City, I visited a few favorite places and saw a few things that I had always meant to see. One of those later ones was The Cloisters - a museum dedicated to medieval Europe. I can't believe it took me so long to visit since I lived fairly close to the museum. So my husband and I decided to take a day off from packing and walk down to The Cloisters.

If you've never heard of The Cloisters or have never been, it is a must-see on my list of things to do in Manhattan.  Some people never see it though since it is a fair trip on the Subway since it is on the northern part of the island. Although I think a half an hour subway ride is totally worth the trip (Take the 1 Train local or A Train express).

The Cloisters is run by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and if you pay to see the Met then you can also pop up to The Cloisters for free that day.  Keep in mind that the Met and The Cloisters have a suggested fee but can also be payed by donation - great for students or the unemployed when money is tight, although if you have the money...pay the full amount as it is definitely worth it.

The Cloisters is located in Ft. Tryon park which is a beautiful, wooded and very hilly area.  You can see now why they call these part of Manhattan "the Heights".

My husband and I went in March so the trees are still bare.  However it was one of the first beautiful Spring days so we were lucky.  As we were walking we caught sight of this little guy in a tree. Very odd.

The Cloisters is housed in a beautiful castle looking building which are actually pieces of five different French cloisters reassembled together (thanks Wikipedia!).  It is just beautiful.  Warning: Since Cloisters are religious buildings, please treat with respect and do not chew gum - a lesson I learned. You can also take photos but just no flash.

Here's the inside of the building with my husband looking at one of the many huge tapestries.  I absolutely adored all the beautiful windows in the building:

Most of the doorways have actual arches from various Cloisters and medieval buildings.  Beautiful.

I love the stained glass windows:

I found these ladies and thought that, while they look very regal, are also a bit creepy in their decapitated state:





























I have no idea who this is but the little green goblin he's stabbing made me laugh. Not sure why.

One of the main purposes of the visit to The Cloisters were to see their famous unicorn tapestries.  They are housed in a fairly dark area so they don't fade the fabric but I still managed to snag a photo in the dark:

I was absolutely amazed at how beautiful they are in person and how large! I also had no idea how many of them there were.  You can go to the Met website and check out more about these lovely pieces.

They have other tapestries as well.  This one is from a series of tapestries called The Nine Heros.  There are the Hebrew heroes: Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeus, the Christian heroes: Charlemagne, Arthur, and Godfrey of Boullion, and the pagan heroes: Hector, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar.  I kept on imagining these guys as the super heros of their times.  I believe this regal man is Julius Caesar...although he does look exactly how I'd picture Arthur.

Here's the entrance to a pretty solemn area with various burial statues.

Isn't the windows in here just awesome?

And another one:

Here's an interesting guy. I noticed a lot of them had their pets under their feet.

For some reason I just liked this Madonna and Child. Don't they look happy?

My husband really liked this piece of stained glass. There was a whole series of them but this one is pretty interesting.

This lady was my favorite piece in the place.  The tapestry had some 3D aspects, like her fuzzy red dress which I loved.

The Cloisters also had a lot of illuminated manuscripts on display which is one of my favorite aspects of medieval art.  I wasn't able to take photos of those though.  Afterwards, we headed outside to soak up some of the lovely sun.

I so wish I could see this when it is all in bloom.

Isn't this amazing? They had a couple of plants like this. I can't imagine how much time and effort they went into making this look exactly so.

If you go, you'll have beautiful views of the Hudson.

We were obviously not the only ones who were enjoying the sun that day:

There are all sorts of areas with fountains. Again I wish I could have seen these when they were all in bloom.

Isn't this architecture just awesome?

They were starting to grow some beautiful plants inside.  Doesn't this one just look delicious? I want one.

So, if you are ever in Manhattan and have never seen The Cloisters, it is definitely well worth it.

Thanks for touring the museum with me!