monday afternoon at the cloisters

 we drove up to the cloisters in fort tryon park this afternoon and were surprised to find a crowd of people visiting today, since it's a holiday. thankfully, we were able to find a parking spot and didn't have to wait too long on the entrance line.

 cuxa cloister, from the benedictine monastery of saint-michel-de-cuxa, near perpignan, france, which is on the mediterranean near the spanish border.

 

 observing foreign coins in the fountain . .

from places such as mexico, argentina and saudi arabia . . and she threw one in from england . .

 the cloister was constructed between 1130 and 1146.

 

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below are photos from a met exhibit titled heavenly bodies--fashion and the catholic imagination, which has been ongoing since may. today was its last day, and i think that added to the current crowds that we saw.

 many of the dresses were incredibly beautiful and i could have taken many more pics, but i put my camera away and limited myself to the few that you see here. the dress above is by maria grazia chiuri and pierpaolo piccioli for valentino and was influenced by german painter lucas cranach the elder's depiction of the garden of eden in adam and eve, 1526.

 a dress with a print inspired by hieronymous bosch's triptych the garden of earthly delights, 1490 to 1500, a garden with fantastical plants and animals  . .

 i'm sorry i neglected to photograph the shoes, as they featured the same print as the dress and were just as fantasical looking. the arm bands and the shoulder straps and the bodice's trim are all done in leather.

 this is another valentino evening dress inspired by van gogh's wheat fields, symbolizing humanity's cycles of life.

 the bodice is decorated ears of wheat, made with hand painted gold fabric and coq feathers.

 gold silk tulle . .
 

 i thought it was an incredibly beautiful gown.

we then visited the medieval herb garden . . on the right is a pomegranate tree . . 

 

finally . . lunch in the cafe . . 

 we brought our sandwiches (roast beef on black bread with butter) and bought tea and shared a brownie dessert. we usually have pound cake, but they were sold out of the marble cakes they usually have.

over lunch we talked about how we really missed this janet cardiff exhibit  . . we thought it would have been a nice compliment to the fashion exhibit. we really think it would have been nice as a permanent exhibit.

today . .  was such a dark day . .