New York & the Mid-Atlantic Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

1 The Cloisters
This trip along the Hudson
begins at one of New York
City’s most magnificent
riverside locations. Gaze
at medieval tapestries,
frescoes, carvings and
gold treasures, including
a St John the Evangelist
plaque dating from the
9th century, inside the
Cloisters Museum &
Gardens (www.metmuseum.
org/cloisters; Fort Tryon Park;
suggested donation adult/child
$25/free; h9:30am-4:45pm
Tue-Sun Nov-Feb, to 5:15pm
Mar-Oct). This magnificent
Metropolitan Museum
annex, built to look like
an old castle, is set in Fort
Tryon Park overlooking
the Hudson River, near the
northern tip of Manhattan

and not far from the

George Washington

Bridge. Works such as a

1290 ivory sculpture of

the Virgin Mary, ancient

stained-glass windows

and religious paintings

are displayed in galleries

connected by grand

archways and topped

by Moorish terracotta

roofs, all facing an airy

courtyard. The extensive

grounds contain more

than 250 varieties of

medieval herbs and

flowers. In summer,

concerts are held regularly.

The Drive » Rte 9A north

crosses the Spuyten Duyvil

Creek, marking the boundary

between Manhattan (p44)

and the Bronx with some nice

river views. Taking Rte 9 North

is a slow option compared to

hopping on I-87, the New York

Thruway, and you pass through

some run-down parts of Yonkers,

but you do get a feel for several

nice residential communities.

The whole drive is about 18.5

miles long.

2 Tarrytown

Washington Irving’s

home, Sunnyside (%Sat

& Sun 914-591-8763, Mon-Fri

914-631-8200; 89 W Sunnyside

Lane, Sleepy Hollow; adult/

senior/child $12/10/6; h10am-

5pm Wed-Mon Apr-Oct, 10am-

4pm Nov-Dec; c), a quaint,

cozy Dutch cottage

• which Irving said had
  more nooks and crannies
  than a cocked hat – has
  been left pretty much
  the way it was when the
  author who dreamed up
  the Headless Horseman
  and Ichabod Crane lived
  there. The wisteria he
  planted 100 years ago

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

Immediately.north.of.New.York.City,.green.becomes.the.dominant.color.

and.the.vistas.of.the.Hudson.River.and.the.mountains.breathe.life.into.

your.urban-weary.body..The.history.of.the.region,.home.to.the.Hudson.

River.School.of.painting.in.the.19th.century.and.a.retreat.for.Gilded.Age.

industrialists,.is.preserved.in.the.many.grand.estates,.flowering.gardens.and.

picturesque.villages.

1 Hudson Valley