I have all sorts of Country Inn Days. For some I stick around the Inn and relax, but for others a little exploration is in order and so this Country Inn Day takes me to New York City where my son Patrick happens to work and live.  How nice to kill two birds with one stone, or shall I say trip.  I get to visit with my dear son who I don’t see often enough while at the same time experiencing new and  favorite places.  This is not a Country Inn Day.  This is a Country Inn Week.

Come along with me.  Sharing doubles my joy.

I love museums.  Do you?  Well, one very interesting New York museum is a remote branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art called  The Cloisters.  This museum not only looks just like a medieval monastery, but it is also filled with medieval art.  And as you can see the museum also has period gardens which the Inn Gardener in me really loved seeing.  Take a look at just a few of the treats for the eye found in this amazing place.

 My son Patrick and I climbed up the hill which housed the museum and we climbed back down again.  All along the way we saw wonderful gardens and vistas like this terraced area where a wedding ceremony was taking place.

And here’s the happy wedding party!

Nature and art!

But on another day we skipped the nature and ventured to the main branch of the Metropolitan Art Museum. Here I am with a million other people.  This is one popular place.  I was anxious to see the many period rooms housed here, but also a special exhibit of Charles James’ ball gowns.

Perhaps you’ve seen this poster advertising the exhibition.

Here are just a few of James’ beautiful gowns.

And here are just a few of the wonderful old world rooms we enjoyed seeing.  There were so many more.

Of course all this sightseeing makes people mighty hungry and luckily for us, and all other New Yorkers, it’s not hard to find good places to enjoy a meal in this city.  With it being warm Summer evening Patrick and I were looking for an outdoor restaurant where we could enjoy the lovely weather while watching all the many interesting people passing by.

And we found Gina’s.  Cute, isn’t it?

Nothing like a little liquid refreshment before dinner.

We enjoyed lots of delicious eating and drinking on this Country Inn Week of fun.  There was the day we went to The Plaza Hotel for a spot of tea.

Then there was the evening we enjoyed drinks at the Ritz hotel on Central Park.  Of course these drinks came after we walked and walked and walked the grounds of  beautiful Central park.

Please enjoy a few images of this beautiful park.

 

Of course what made this Country Inn Week extra special and wonderful for me was that I was able to share it with my son Patrick.  I’ll have to plan another Country Inn Week, or at least another Country Inn Day, with my other favorite boys too.  These boys are my other son Rory and my husband Bill.  Country Inn Days are usually best enjoyed solo, but now and again adding family is a nice touch.

Travel is fun all right, but all the walking, and all the steps, are pretty tiring for an old girl like me.  It makes one mighty thirsty.  Good thing the Ritz hotel at Central Park was nearby.

I happen to love Ritz hotels.  My favorite Ritz was in Boston until the beautiful old hotel on Boston’s Public Garden was sold.  Now it’s a Taj hotel.  But that’s another story.  After a day walking in Central Park Patrick and I were ready to relax.  We entered the doors of the Ritz and the peaceful and beautiful ambiance was just the thing.  See for yourself.

But as lovely as the cocktail lounge was I liked the ladies rest room even more.

Pretty, isn’t it?

My entire Country Inn Travel Week was filled with one great experience after another.  The fun and exploration went on and on.

There were lots of breakfasts and lunches at this French cafe.

There was shopping in Union Square and more than one lunch at the Union Square Cafe.

It was at this Cafe I met one of my lovely pen friends for a tasty lunch.  Melissa lives in Long Island and she was sweet to come to Manhattan so we could have a nice long chat over lunch.  I bought myself, the Inn chef, a souvenir from this restaurant too, The Union Square Cafe Cookbook.  Fun cooking ahead!

There was so much more.  I’ve only scratched the surface of my Country Inn Travel Week away.

There were the great city parks where I sipped a mocha from Starbucks each day writing postcards and resting in between excursions.

And of course I had to pop into Saint Patrick’s and thank God for all the fun I was having.  I stayed in New York only one week.  I would’ve happily stayed longer, but a week on the go in New York was about all I could take.

Patrick was a terrific host.  Imagine, putting your mother up for an entire week!

But I was running out of gas.  I had to get home to rest and recharge.  Keeping up with this twenty something young man took a lot out of me, but it put a lot into me too – lots and lots of great memories.

And I’ll be back to New York on some other Country Inn Travel Week!

You should take a trip to New York City too if you haven’t been there for a while or ever. It’s one great city and this was one great Country Inn Travel Getaway.

Glad you could join me.