Relaxed start to the day. No firm plans - all slept well.
First stop today - Macy's - Sandra had a short list of shopping needs and the rest of us curious to check out another iconic New York institution.
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| One of many Macy's entrances. |
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| My favourite thing was the old wooden elevators on the upper floors. |
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| Kids area. |
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| Light in Macy's |
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| Entry |
We are ticking of the subway lines, crossing Grand Central Station to Penn Station - from Macy's to Katz's Deli.
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| Street scenes |
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| Fire Department New York Ambulance. |
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| Just handing around waiting outside Macy's |
Katz's Deli - wow what a set up, famous for it's Rueben sandwich. We ordered Matzo Ball Soup, famous via Seinfeld I'm told and we shared a Rueben Sandwich and a Pastrami sandwich. Also well known as the location for 'that' scene with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in when Harry Met Sally - "I'll have what she's having."
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| Looking around Katz's |
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| That famous quote swinging from the ceiling. |
On arrival we each received a yellow ticket, with lots of weird numbers on the back. Signs everywhere about lost tickets incurring $50 fine.
We couldn't quite figure it out. So I googled it - Wikipedia.
As each customer enters Katz's, a door attendant hands them a printed, numbered ticket. As they receive their food from various stations/areas throughout the deli (separate for sandwiches/hot dogs/bottled drinks/fountain drinks/etc.), employees compute a running total of the pre-tax bill. If several people's orders are combined on a single ticket, a cashier collects the blank tickets.[8]
Katz's has instituted a "lost ticket fee". If a customer loses a ticket, an additional $50 surcharge is added to the bill. The fee's purpose, as stated by the management, is to encourage patrons to go back and find the lost ticket in the hopes of preventing theft (substituting a smaller ticket for a larger one).
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| Pickles, tomatoes, cucumbers, the menu, that ticket! |
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| Here we are. |
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| Pastrami sandwich on the left, Famous Rueben on the right. Pepsi with New York on the top. |
Our table 'server' was a gruff sort of bloke. Walls were covered in photos of famous visitors, also the neon signs etc. Food was great, service, so so! But another tick off the list.
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| Me and my Pepsi. |
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| NB: Sue Caldow, this is on Ludlow Street. |
Walked around East Village - Orchard St - with cool, hip type stores, a bit Brunswick St like to The Tenement Museum. Here we took the 'Hard Times' tour. The museum has purchased the tenement at 97 Orchard Street and the tour tells the story through the eyes of people who have lived there.
Each apartment had 3 rooms, one window, no air or water or gas, they were the lowest end of housing.
The tenement was purchased by the museum in 1988, having been shut up and not lived in since 1937. Amazing place - google it to learn more, or check this link. Check it out further - http://www.tenement.org/
While New York grew and advanced, the immigrants in the tenements were living in rugged conditions. Two outside loos for 111 tenants.
Our tour led by Judy, told the story of two families. A German and an Italian family.
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| Judy our guide. A good story teller relating the lives and stories of two families |
We found a little place for dinner - Russ & Daughters Delicatessen, very nice, great service too.
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| At dinner at Russ & Daughters |
Without knowing it, the Cafe backed onto Allen St, which had our bus stop, so we tested the bus service home. It took a long time, but we avoided the oven like subway station, and got to see a little on the way back.
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| Standing out of the rain at the back of the cafe. |
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