I went out to the bus early enough to get a seat closer to the front – 5th or 6th row. Because the people in the far back seat really can't see much, it was decided I could sit up behind the driver with the guide. Not bad!
I cannot begin to remember everything this guide tells us! Some things are of more interest than others - I was never a good history student. She does talk about the Dutch settling here and creating New Amsterdam. That is of great interest to me because some of my ancestors were founders - the main one being Resolved Waldron who held different positions including sheriff. Another was Claude Delameter who liked to create a little controversy with his neighbors from time to time.
We did stop to photograph the Flatiron Building - called that because it shape resembles the flatirons of long ago.
Part of this was a walk through a small park where they were filming for a new Comedy Central show.
We drove by portions of NYU where my cousin's son is a student. This school has buildings in various places in New York and no dorms at the main campus so they have shuttle buses. Turns out my cousin’s son lives near Chinatown.
'In the olden days', the buildings were not constructed so they could support a lot of windows. Merchants had to bring items to the front of the store for customers to see. They began 'reinforcing' buildings with iron supported fronts - thus the pillars. Not a good photo, but perhaps you can get an idea. There were better examples so it would have been good to be able to get off the bus.
There are many water tanks on the roofs of buildings. Potable water is pumped up to the tanks and then is gravity fed. I need to remember to ask why - she didn't go that far.
A church off Canal Street that I would love to see inside.
Then we drove to Chinatown arriving way before our noon lunch reservation. This is only my second RV tour, and I know they need to leave some breathing room, but killing time isn't fun when there really isn't anything around to do. I did go across the street to a the Transfiguration Catholic Church which holds Masses in Chinese, English, Mandarin and Cantonese!
While we waited, a funeral procession passed by. The first vehicle had a large portrait of the deceased surrounded by flowers and the bed of the vehicle was filled with flowers.
The Peking Duck House on Mott Street was fantastic - guess it was worth the waiting around. First was the egg drop soup. Then a spring roll and a sausage in a pastry of some sort. We watched as they carved the duck and arranged it with sauce and vegetables on something that resembled a tortilla making a wrap. Now we are all thinking this is great and not a lot of food. Wrong! They slowly brought out the rice, sweet and sour chicken, a beef dish, some wonderful prawns, a veggie dish, followed by a deep fried banana for dessert.
'In the olden days', the buildings were not constructed so they could support a lot of windows. Merchants had to bring items to the front of the store for customers to see. They began 'reinforcing' buildings with iron supported fronts - thus the pillars. Not a good photo, but perhaps you can get an idea. There were better examples so it would have been good to be able to get off the bus.
There are many water tanks on the roofs of buildings. Potable water is pumped up to the tanks and then is gravity fed. I need to remember to ask why - she didn't go that far.
A church off Canal Street that I would love to see inside.
Then we drove to Chinatown arriving way before our noon lunch reservation. This is only my second RV tour, and I know they need to leave some breathing room, but killing time isn't fun when there really isn't anything around to do. I did go across the street to a the Transfiguration Catholic Church which holds Masses in Chinese, English, Mandarin and Cantonese!
The school
While we waited, a funeral procession passed by. The first vehicle had a large portrait of the deceased surrounded by flowers and the bed of the vehicle was filled with flowers.
The Peking Duck House on Mott Street was fantastic - guess it was worth the waiting around. First was the egg drop soup. Then a spring roll and a sausage in a pastry of some sort. We watched as they carved the duck and arranged it with sauce and vegetables on something that resembled a tortilla making a wrap. Now we are all thinking this is great and not a lot of food. Wrong! They slowly brought out the rice, sweet and sour chicken, a beef dish, some wonderful prawns, a veggie dish, followed by a deep fried banana for dessert.
