The Tenement Museum was first on our list, and this was meaningful to us all since we read the illustrated version of Jacob Riis' Where the Other Half Lives this past spring. It certainly makes history very real when one gets to "meet" actual families who lived there and learn of their stories. One of my favorite moments at the museum was overhearing a couple of nine-year-olds (I'm guessing) telling each other of their own heritage - 50% this, 20% that and so on. Certainly a visit to the Tenement Museum must spark those conversation all the time!
Our tour guides planned this well; we "arrived" with the immigrants at Ellis Island yesterday, and today we got to put ourselves in their shoes for a few moments and try to imagine how they would have gotten by.
Katz deli was yummy. It was a good thing we got to walk some of those calories off afterward. Ed's tour fit well with what we had learned at the museum in the morning. He had not seen the museum's new film, so he did not know that he was reinforcing the images we had just seen on the screen by walking us by them and retelling the stories of recycled places of worship etc. It's fascinating that one place switched from one denomination to another as the population kept changing. A Chinese Catholic church! I did not know that that existed in NYC, but then again, why not?
By the time we got free time in China Town, Marty, Jeff, Kate, and I were too hot and tired to move much. We found a park bench that was in the shade for a few minutes while the sun hid behind a church tower, and it was a good time to connect with family back in Maine. When the sun came back, we moved on and found our way to Joe's Ginger for dinner. The picture above is taken right outside the restaurant.
Marty, Jeff, Kate, and I hit the Brooklyn Bridge before sunset, but it was still a beautiful view (picture above on right). Harlem, Central Park, and Museum of New York City are on the agenda for tomorrow.
Sounds like you are having a fabulous time!
ReplyDelete