After a sleep in after last nights concert and late night, Mardi is feeling a little unwell. A mild chest infection and sniffles, so she decides to take it easy for most of the day.
Around lunchtime I head out for some supplies and a walk.
The sun is shining again after about six inches of rain over the last three days.
I venture out to 5th Avenue and go uptown. Visiting the Rockefeller centre to see the big Christmas tree. I remember mum and dad taking me as a child to see the big tree in Martin Place in Sydney. It was always a highlight. There is something special,about a nicely decorated big tree.
The one at the rock is massive. 94 feet. 800 000 visitors a day. Thousands upon thousands of lights. The plaza is just packed when I arrive, check the video. We will visit Shain at night to really take in the spectacle. I walk around and watch the ice skaters and the tourists marveling at the tree and plaza. It’s fully decorated and looks amazing. Some photos of that soon.
I then walk to Park Avenue and wander the building finding Christmas trees here, there and everywhere. I might see how many I can find in the next week.
I end up at 42nd street and wander around grand central, pick up.some late, very, lunch and head home. We’ve got a tour down town at 6, so a short break before heading out.
We catch the subway down to DeLancy street and walk the block to the Tenement museum. Tonight we have booked to go inside one of the original tenements (apartments) on Orchid Street.
The tour, run by Alex, is fascinating. Alex takes us through the ground floor, the backyard and a combination of apartments yet to be restored and left ad they were when the house was turned into a museum and restored apartments. In all on the five fours there are 20 apartments, four per floor. Each one is 30 square metres in total comprising three rooms: a parlour, kitchen and bedroom. In most of the apartments families of three to six lived, with some housing up to 12 people. Think about that for a minute. The toilets, three of them were in the back yard. The Kitchin was in the centre, no windows. No insulation. No ventilation. It’s a wonder anyone survived, let alone thrived in these spaces.
The original pressed tin ceilings, wallpapered walls with 20 layers of paper overlaid and in some cases a further 20 layers of paint certainly told a story of the 150 years that this building served as a residence of German, Irish and Italian immigrants.
After our tour we caught the subway to Bosie for a relaxing pot of tea. We sat long into the night and enjoyed tea and a couple of snacks before heading home.
A couple of more tours in the next couple of days before we enter our final week in this magical city.
