"You treat it like your baby."

There are hidden gardens all over Manhattan. Although most are either way up on very tall buildings or behind locked gates, there are some dotting the East Village and Alphabet City like unlikely oases. It's astounding that they even exist in the first place in a city where every available speck of land seems to be going the way of luxury condos. But there they are, two of them on East 6th Street -- a luxury for everyone in New York to enjoy.

So my Saturday was a Saturday of gardens; a definite contrast to the industrial park that I live in. First, after I managed to drag myself from the depths of a terrible hangover, Vi, Holly, and I went up to the Cloisters to wander around the reconstructed abby and view the Unicorn Tapestries and medieval art. Surrounding the Cloisters is a wonderful park and a medicinal herb garden. The views of the Hudson were stunning -- well worth the considerable subway ride all the way up to 190th Street.

Feeling hungry, we went all the way down to the East Village for Indian food at Brick Lane. Later, we did a bit of a bar crawl: Zum Schneider, Lychee Bar, KGB Bar, and Marion's Continental.