Its garden, too, glowed with flowers: hollyhocks had sprung up tall as trees..." ~ Jane Eyre


Last Sunday was the most perfect of days with the Prince, thanks to his thoughtfulness and talent for making any day or night whimsical so long as we are together.

Ironically, I have been to the lovely Cloisters at Westminster Abbey in England, but never to the Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at Fort Tryon Park here in New York. Though he and I discussed going together this summer, the original plan for last Sunday was to go to the MET itself on Fifth Avenue to see the Superhero Exhibit at the costume institute.

When he got into the car, he had a plan for the entire day of times and transportation routes: plans had changed. We were going to take the train to Penn and then take the A train to the Cloisters, take the M4 bus back to the Met on Fifth, see the Superhero exhibit, and then take the W down to East 8th street and walk to the Indian Bread Company for a dinner of "naninis."

And we did just that. If you know anything about New York City's layout, you know that we were literally all over the city that day!

The Prince's laugh is one of my favorite laughs - there is something infectious about it (I love watching comedies with him), and the train ride in was enjoyable to me because we were listening to comedic sketches on his Ipod. After the train ride into Penn Station and the A train ride up to Ft. Tryon Park, we exited and I couldn't’t believe I was still in New York City. While we waited for the bus, the Prince and I shared a Spiderman ice pop thanks to our good fortune that a Good Humor truck was right there! It had been ages since I ate any ice pop that had gumball eyes on it. Arriving at the Cloisters was exciting, for it’s located on a hill and is just stunning to view from its base.

As much as I loved the Unicorn tapestries and the indoor relics, my favorite aspects of the Cloisters were the actual gardens and courtyards. The Prince took amazing photos – he has a great eye when it comes to photography- a few of which are seen above. He got a wonderful shot of a butterfly perched on a flower. The courtyards themselves are regal, as you can see from the second photo. The third is one I took of a fountain amidst a courtyard that only contained stone columns. As bare as it was, there was a zen-like quality to the space that was peaceful and relaxing. My favorite garden was the Medieval Culinary garden outside...the Cloisters planted trees, vegetables, herbs, and roots that would have been grown in the Middle Ages. Some of the culinary trees and plants included fig trees, pear trees, cherry trees, garlic bulbs, parsley, rosemary, sage, leeks, chives, and kale.

By the time we finished and after viewing the food garden, we got back on the bus and arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art needing a snack. Nothing beats a dirty water dog and lemonade on a hot summer day. I had mine with relish and mustard, and the Prince had one with everything. We sat in the shade on a bench by the sidewalk art vendors, and all I could think about is how perfect the day is because I was with him.

Inside the MET, we viewed the Superhero exhibit, which is a must see if anyone is visiting the museum this summer. After that we sat in my favorite place for a few moments - the European Sculpture Garden - once again visiting our favorite statues of Perseus and Andromeda. We then ventured out of the museum and headed to the subway to go down to Greenwich Village for a dinner of "naninis" at the Indian Bread Company. We both ate the Saag Chicken (grilled chicken tikka cubes with spinach spread, caramelized onion and tikka masala sauce) and I had a mango lassi. By this time we were exhausted and decided to head home.

After showering and falling into bed after the day, I was not sad that the day was over. I know there are plenty more to come. Besides, there may not be gardens with flowers or tapestries or leisurely bus rides down Fifth Avenue each day when we are together, but that is no matter, because all moments I spend with him are perfectly beautiful.

Some fun websites from our fun day:
http://www.indianbreadco.com/
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/superheroes/index.asp
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Unicorn/hunt_unicorn_transcript.htm
http://citysbest.aol.com/new-york/best-dining/hot-dogs/

"Is she in a day-dream now?" ~ Jane Eyre

The mega-millions are up to 125 million dollars for the next drawing. I have been playing since it was 75 last week. I normally do not play lotto, but I always feel obligated to try for the mega-millions. Of course my playing numbers have meaning...and of course I know my chances of winning are slimmer than me getting eaten by a Great White Shark as I got hit by lightening.

Still, its nice to daydream about what I would do with 125 million dollars. I would spend on the givens of new homes for the family and cars and boats and such for family and friends. I would of course donate to charities: Cancer research, March of Dimes, and NPR. I would then make sure most of it went into trust funds and cd's and stock portfolios. Still, these are a few things I would like to spend on for the fun and pleasure of being a millionaire...(oh, aside from buying the most reliable and best computer money can buy...sigh)

1) A Spa Week with the Sisters: I would love to take my hard-working sisters away for a week to a spa. http://www.miiamo.com/ It would be nice to alternate treatments with wine poolside, nature walks, and yoga. I would love nothing more than to see them completely relaxed and taking a break from the stressors of their lives.
2) A Romantic Getaway with the Prince: We talk about traveling, and the way he describes Goa's sunsets make me want to leave today with him on a jet plane. I would love to learn more about the Portuguese influence in Goa and stay in a former Portuguese rampart in one of their Private Villas with an Ocean View: http://photowebusa.com/taj/fort-aguada/index.htm
The Fish Tail restaurant has private tents for dining outdoors, and I would want to stay there all early evening and late night talking with him, for no matter where we are, all that comes out of his mouth just makes me want to kiss him more and more as time passes.
3) Wine and Chocolate for me and J. Sarah: I would have a house with a finished wine cellar where J.Sarah would come once a week and I would treat her to an expensive bottle of wine and expensive chocolate to sample as a means of centering ourselves for the week. Although her friendship is invaluable, combining it with wine and chocolate does make it priceless! http://www.forbes.com/2006/02/07/hershey-expensive-chocolate-
cx_sy_0208feat_ls.html
4) The MET: I would rent out the MET for the day for friends and family to go see their favorite art exhibits and then host a lavish cocktail party in the European Sculpture Garden for all of them to enjoy.
5) Sports: I would fulfill my fantasy of having season tickets to the New York Yankees and New York Giants seasons with skybox seats for both!
6) Diamonds Are Forever: I would purchase myself diamonds for myself and enjoy the jewels that were *only* purchased from the Kimberly Process, an organization that deals with non-blood diamonds. http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/
7) Fifth Avenue: I would go down Fifth Avenue and buy clothes from Bergdoff's, Armani, and Bendel's. http://www.henribendel.com/
8) Great White Shark: Finally, I would spend money on going cage diving to see a Great White Shark! I kid you not! http://www.sharkdiver.com/

What would you do with 125 million?

"There was a crack, a crash, and a close rattling peal..." ~ Jane Eyre

My Prince's computer, which he built himself, is named after a great hero in Greek Mythology. If we were to name my laptop, it would be "weenie."

Weenie's makers just decided to tell me days after calls back and forth that the wireless system is faulty and an advisory was sent out. Personally, I have a feeling a regular update for Vista probably screwed it all up. I hate Vista, I hate HP, and I hate that next week weenie is being shipped off to California for repairs after my Prince is nice enough to save his innards on an external hard drive since I am panicked I will lose data.

And this, my dear readers, is why technology is both a blessing and a curse. Posts will be made from work when I now get here early in the morning so I can blog and read blogs, and the next two weekends will be spent borrowing air time from friends.

Hope you are all having a better week than me and my laptop.

My laptop of one year decided that it just didnt feel like reading the wireless card in it, so technical difficulties have been abound on Eyre Affairs! I hope all my readers had a great Fourth of July! Stay tuned for postings and recipes by the end of the week....