Day 5-NYC-Wednesday

Today was so much fun. We got up and I led morning prayer before we headed off to the train. We got on the 1 going north for once and were taking it all the way to the Cloisters which is kind of far out of town. Apparently my map and google maps imagined the stop we wanted and before we knew it we were in the Bronx. It was a great adventure!!! We ended up riding the train to the end of the line and then switched trains to come back up to the Cloisters. When we got on the new south bound train, someone had thrown up on the floor. It was really gross and not my favorite memory about being here so far. When we finally figured out how to get out of the subway station, we walked through a beautiful park and ended up asking for directions to the museum.

I was very surprised when we arrived that they had trouble with our tickets. The Met and the Cloisters are a suggested donation. I paid the full amount online ahead of time so that we wouldnt have to wait in line. I think that if you have the money you should pay the full amount. Plus I don't think that $27 for two museums and two audio tours is a bad price, but apparently people were really surprised that we had paid the full amount.

I thought the Cloisters were so neat and beautiful. I have never been to a monastery, so learning about the architecture and the lives of the monks was really cool to me. I loved all the chanting music they had in the background of the audio guide. Alayna had asked that we write down something that stood out to us on a note card for debrief later and my first thing was in the Cloisters. They had a replica of a chapter room where the monks would sit each night and hear a chapter from their rule book. I dont know why I liked the idea of that so much, but I think it had a lot to do with the discipline and patience it must have taken to be a part of a community like that. I have always wished that I had that type of discipline.

Next we got back on the train and went to St Mary's Times Square for Eucharist. That church is lovingly called Smokey Mary's because the incense runs freely all over the beautiful sanctuary. We all really loved the service, and afterward the verger gave us a tour of the church. I have been so surprised and happy with how hospitable this Diocese is. It is so wonderful to be in a place where people seem genuinely happy to see us. A woman named Gypsy decided to stay and eat lunch with us which was really cool.

We left the church and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love museums and that is one I could get lost in forever. There was an exhibit on fashion that I found absolutely fascinating. It showed clothing and models from every decade since the 60's. It was cool for me, having a degree in fashion, to see the way clothing and modeling has changed over the last 5 decades. Little Beth and I also went to see some paintings by a few FAMOUS artists before heading over to an exhibit on the way New England homes have changed over the last few hundred years. It was very interesting to see the changes in architect, design, and decoration. Each room had a computer where you could look up the family who owned the house, the style of the house, and then each individual piece in the room by a touch screen. It was so cool. I would love to have one of those at every museum I go to.

It started raining as we got on the bus home, and so we split up to get dinner. WE came back and Alayna led the discussion and Compline. It was her first time doing compline, and I thought that she did a fantastic job. Tomorrow is mostly a free day!!!