Give it a rest!

Much like Garfield, I've always been more partial to lasagne than Mondays, but I have to say that I'm facing this week with renewed vigour.  I think this is largely the result of putting myself to bed at 8pm on Saturday and Sunday nights this past weekend.  Two consecutive evenings of excellent sleep seem to have done the trick.  New York City may not sleep but at some point, its residents must.

Back in the early 1800s, the hustle-bustle of New York City ended at 14th Street and everything north of that was farmland.  The air was fresher, you could swim in the East River without contracting something nasty, and the wide open spaces that weren't being farmed were being used for horse riding and for quiet walks.  And it was to areas like these that busy New Yorkers flocked when they needed rest and recuperation.

The Mount Vernon Hotel is one of the oldest buildings in New York.  Built as a carriage house in 1799, the building once sat on a sprawling estate owned by the daughter of former US President John Adams.  The property chanegd hands a number of times over the years and the carriage house operated as a hotel from 1826 to 1833, and was a hugely popular spot for daytrippers from the southern parts of Manhattan.

Mount Vernon's location, on what is now residential East 61st Street, may seem quiet by New York standards, but it's still opposite one of the busiest Bed, Bath & Beyond stores in the City, and in the shadow of the bustling Queensboro Bridge which is trafficked by 183,000 cars and nearly 800 bicycles per day. 

In fact, if you ride the tram over the Queensboro Bridge to Roosevelt Island, and look out the northern side of the tram as you pull away from Manhattan, you get a great birds-eye view of the Hotel.  See?  My sincere thanks to the lovely Gaynor Shaw for her excellent photography!

These days, the Mount Vernon Hotel is run as a museum - a time capsule, really.  When you go there, you're transported back to a quieter period, when New Yorkers would check in early morning and spend the day in pure leisure.  Ladies would retire to the upper rooms for reading, sewing, listening to music, or catching up on the local gossip.  Men would sit downstairs and play card games, smoke cigars, and (no doubt) enjoy a pint or two of the local brews.

Male visitors to Mount Vernon would have been especially fortunate because their downstairs location put them in easy reach of the delicious smells emanating from the busy hotel kitchen.  The small complement of hotel staff would serve a lunch of delicacies such as turtle soup, or roasted meats and vegetables - all included in the daily hotel rate.

In those days, it was rare for visitors to stay overnight at the Mount Vernon Hotel.  It really was just a retreat for the day - a chance to recharge your batteries before once more heading back into the fray.  But one story I particularly liked was that of Scottish traveller, James Stuart, who stayed overnight at Mount Vernon as part of a three-year tour around America.  During his US visit, Stuart was enormously critical of American manners (or lack thereof) and he documented his many complaints throughout his rather rare volume, Three Years in America. Of course I had to buy the first volume of this work from the Museum bookstore afterwards, to see how he finds New Yorkers.  I suspect it will make rather compelling reading.

Mount Vernon Hotel has been beautifully restored and is staffed by friendly, knowledgable tour guides.  Admission to the Museum is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and students with appropriate ID.  Children under 12 can get in for free, but must be accompanied by an adult.  The Hotel also runs education programs for NYC school students, and there is a donation box in the lobby.  Even if you just deposit a couple of dollars, your contribution will ensure these valuable programs continue.

Another thing to bear in mind is that you're not allowed to take photographs inside the Hotel but outside photos are fine.  The Hotel maintains a beautifully-landscaped back garden that gets a lot of sun.  Sure, the garden is much smaller than the estate's originally 23 acres, but for a New Yorker who is more accustomed to living in a one-room studio apartment, it was a very restful oasis indeed.