Taking A Look Around

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine 

While my boyfriend was off at work, I thought I would take the opportunity to do some exploring. My boyfriend lives in Morningside Heights (I had to find that out from Wikipedia) and I know absolutely nothing about neighborhoods in New York, so I thought my best bet would be to google "things to do in Morningside Heights." Also, tomorrow is payday, which means I'm down to my last $11 - "things to do" had better be "cheap things to do."

My google search struck gold: "32 Things To Do If You Visit Our Neighborhood." It looked like visiting St. John the Divine was a must-do - and probably not expensive - so I decided to start my journey there. An added bonus was the fact that I had always wanted to see St. John the Divine, though I had no idea it was in Morningside until today. St. John the Divine was the church where one of my favorite American authors, Madeleine L'Engle, was a parishioner, and I had always wondered about the place where a woman of such creativity and talent chose to pray.

Detail of the Military Window in the Nave

St. John the Divine is a stunning cathedral. It's huge, and the columns seem to stretch endlessly upward into the dimly-lit vaults. The stained-glass windows are richly-colored and depict an almost bewildering array of themes, from sports to missionaries. The intricate Gothic woodwork in the nave is beautiful, and the contemporary art displayed alongside it makes an interesting counterpoint: currently there are pieces by Enrique Martinez Celaya and Mary Buckley Parriott. My favorite work of art was the Peace Altar by George Nakashima, displayed at the entrance to the nave.

My enjoyment of the cathedral was enhanced by the gorgeous harmonies of the choir. I had wandered in while they were practicing, a stroke of luck that was like stumbling into a free concert.

In his left hand, a sword. In his right... a giraffe?

After half an hour, I wandered back out of the cathedral and decided to find breakfast. The well-known Hungarian Pastry Shop is just down a block and across the street from St. John the Divine, and I went in and ordered a cheese danish before finding out that they only accept cash. I couldn't find an ATM that would let me withdraw just 10 of my remaining 11 dollars, so I walked over to Broadway and found a Westside Market, which took debit cards. Westside Markets are full of delicious prepared foods of all kinds as well as groceries, and they had a nice selection of pastries, too. I left with a cheese-covered focaccia and a bottle of organic blood orange juice.

I walked back to the park at St. John the Divine and ate my breakfast under a bizarre sculpture of an angel with a sword cuddling giraffes. "32 Things To Do" tells me this sculpture is called "The Fountain of Life" and dubs it the ugliest piece of public art in the neighborhood. Ugliest? Well, I'm not from around here so I can't be sure, but it certainly is odd. No matter - not even weird art could spoil a picnic breakfast on an unseasonably warm day in New York City.

Copyright 2010 Sara Harding

A Little Jaunt to the Big Apple... on Spirit Airlines

Struggling to pack chic, but light

I haven't mentioned anything about my relationship status in a while. It was very much on my mind when I started the blog, because at the time I was struggling to put a relationship together. Then it was on my mind in Paris, where I spent two weeks alone in spite of having invited my boyfriend to join me in the most romantic city in the world. I'm happy to say, though, that things have been going well since I've been back in the states, and tomorrow morning I head off to spend a week with him in New York.

Which gives me an opportunity to write a little about in-country travel. Getting over the oceans is really my thing, but there are lots of great places you can go without leaving the USA, and New York is surely one of the greatest. Don't expect too much of me - I am going to visit my boyfriend after all and blogging isn't going to be my priority - but I promise to fill you in on the highlights.

But for today, how am I getting to New York? I'm flying Spirit Airlines. If you don't already know about Spirit, it's a great way to get around major US hubs on the cheap. Most of the airports Spirit flies to are located in the eastern half of the United States, and flights to Florida, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Mexico make it great for vacations. Flights to New York, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles make it great for work, too.

Spirit gets high marks for being affordable. You choose each segment of your flight separately and can see when the cheapest flights are available - if your travel plans are a bit flexible, this can really save you money. Spirit's flights are generally fairly inexpensive, but they're even cheaper if you join Spirit's 9 Dollar Fare Club. For $40 a year, you have access to rock-bottom prices. To put it in perspective, I joined the 9 Dollar Fare Club AND booked my roundtrip flight to New York for less than a major airline would have charged me for the ticket alone.

The downside, of course, is luggage. Spirit is particularly restrictive, even for a budget airline. You may only take a personal item without paying, something like a small tote. Bringing even a standard-sized carry-on will cost you an extra $20. Even so, including the charge for my carry-on and my membership in the 9 Dollar Fare Club, my flight cost me under $200. And now that most major airlines have begun to charge for the first checked bag on a domestic flight, I would have limited myself to just a carry-on even if I had paid major airline prices.

Although Spirit may not fly everywhere you want to go, the low prices make it worth checking out. And who knows - maybe some of the sunny destinations will inspire you to take a mid-winter break!

Copyright 2010 Sara Harding