When I used to live in NYC, on days my mom had off, she would take me into Manhattan to eat at one of her favorite Puerto Rican restaurants, enjoy the weather in Central Park, and pay our respects in St. Patricks Cathedral. There are a lot of places I adore and cherish in New York, and Manhattan in particular, but St. Patricks Cathedral is always in my top 3. I am not religious in the ways that count, but there is something inside me that lights up, always and without fail, in the beauty and peace that can be found here.

(on a rather embarrassing note, I made the touristy mistake of taking a photograph when I was just outside of the Lady Chapel. As my flash was off, and my phone on silent no one was offended but this IS one of the areas where it’s asked you refrain from taking photographs.)

The Cathedral is undergoing a massive restoration at the moment (it began in 2012 and is projected to be completed in 2015) but it is still open to the public every day. There are area that are closed off, and there is scaffolding everywhere, but at least to me, it only added to the beauty that is already there. If you’re interested in donating to help with the restoration costs, you can give here . P.S I took all these photos with my iPhone, because while theres always people taking discreet photos with their cameras, I personally would have felt odd doing that myself, so massive apologies for the rather craptastic quality.