Day 3

Wow, what a full day.  We headed out this morning off to the Tenement Museum in the lower east side of New York City.  This was a place I had only seen in vintage historic pictures showing Hester Street and the many immigrants with their pushcarts trying to make a living. I had read about "The Bend" or Mulberry Bend and Cherry Street but to stand there and see where these photos had been taken was humbling.  These were the places where the many immigrant groups that came from Ellis Island had come to live in the close and meager accommodations that tenements provided for immigrant families.  I couldn't image living in such a dark, dingy, and unhealthy set of rooms.  Three rooms for a family. Four families per floor through five floors.  Dark and narrow hallways and stairs, no running water until the 20th century, out houses out back with the water pump right beside.  Wow, when you think of all this it is amazing that anyone survived with their health.  Dave our guide was a wealth of information and stories which brought the families who had lived there to life.  After leaving we walked along Delancey Street and Ed pointed out the many images in the architecture indicating the many ,ethnic changes that have taken place in the lower east side.  From Protestant Church to Catholic, some then into synagogs ands some even onto Buddhist temples.  The buildings in the lower east side tell the story of the immigrants of America.  One group out and then next one in, and this has been happening since the first immigrants the Dutch, arrived.

We had lunch at the famous Katz Deli, only in New York can you get a corned beef on rye piled so high. Amazing.  We spent some down time roaming around Chinatown looking at all kinds of unique gifts. And then finished our visit to Chinatown with dinner at Joe's Ginger.  Authentic Chinese food, not much like the stuff we have in Maine.

We capped off our packed day with a subway ride to Brooklyn and a sunset walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  I took amazing pictures that I can use to show my students what I have only been able to describe to them before.  The huge Steel Cables that hang the road itself.  The various views of Brooklyn and the New York Skyline, all this as the sun set and the city lite up.  Just beautiful! Now to rest and get ready for tomorrow. Harlem, CEntral Park and the Museum of New York City.  Hopefully we can also get theatre tickets to see something on Broadway.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that there are still some good seats at the TKTS Booth.