But the weather was not quite as forecast. Actual conditions were mid-30's and 5 1/2 inches of snow. So we took the 6 train to Spring Street and walked the few blocks to Orchard St. God was still watching over us BIG TIME. We both clearly remembered tour times of 11:30 and 1:30. As usual we left ourselves plenty of time and the snow doesn't slow down the subways so we got to the Museum at 10:50. Our first tour was at 11:00. It was a new tour, "Under One Roof" which describes the lives of families that lived in the apartment from the late 1940's through the 1970's. Take some time viewing the virtual tour at the link. It was fascinating to us how similar the stories were even though the families were Polish Jews, Puerto Ricans and Chinese from Hong Kong. Fathers and/or mothers working long hard hours to make a better life for their children. "Day Care" even in the 1960's for the kids of garment workers was to play hide and seek in the factory. Which included hiding from the Health and Safety Inspectors.
We had an hour between tours so we walked up to Houston (That's pronounced "house ton" in NY.) to Yonah Schimmel Knish shop, which opened in 1910. It is wonderful to be able to take my new family to places Mary Ann and I went in the 1960's and find them virtually unchanged. OK, they take credit cards now and the prices are certainly different but most everything else is the same. Well, they have added a few things to the menu. Like Jalapeno and Mozzarella knish. Andrew and I stuck with potato and Carol had a Blueberry Cheese.
I realized I'd made a mistake as soon as they were set on the table. This was Andrew's first taste of a knish. Which means I'll never be able to convince him to eat one from a vendor's cart.
The second tour was "Buildings on the Lower East Side." By 1:30 the snow had stopped, most sidewalks had been shoveled but it was still windy and cold. We signed up expecting a tour telling us about the architecture and how it changed over the years It was that but so much more. Our guide spent a great deal of time with us discussing how changes in the population, societal ideals, political changes and the times in general directly affected the design of the buildings - both then and now. We would highly recommend any of the Tenement Museum tours but this one was especially interesting.
I had kvetched to one of the hostesses at our timeshare that we couldn't find kielbasa or pierogies. She gave me the address of a Ukrainian place and apologized because it was so far away, "Way down on the Lower East Side". Which is precisely where we were going the next day. So after the tours, we walked about ten blocks to find a sign that said, "We are sorry for the inconvenience. We are closed today because of a plumbing problem." As we stood on the street feeling sorry for ourselves, two different people stopped to tell us that Little Poland was two blocks north. Although it's new by Lower East Side standards - it opened in 1985, the entire staff spoke with a Polish accent and the food was totally authentic. AND thank you Tinkerbell, it's the last Polish restaurant in Manhattan. Which we would not have found except for two strangers stopping on the street to help us. We ordered two platters for the three of us and it filled us up and we had leftovers to bring back to the unit. Directly from the menu -
Combination Platter 19.50
Four Pierogis, One Stuffed Cabbage, Kielbasy, & Bigos
Four Pierogis, One Stuffed Cabbage, Kielbasy, & Bigos
Polish Platter 19.50
Four Pierogis, Two Potato Pancakes, One Blintze
Four Pierogis, Two Potato Pancakes, One Blintze
Monday is traditionally dark on Broadway but we went to the TKTS Booth to check things out. Got three tickets to The Perfect Crime. A wonderful who-dun-it with Catherine Russell in the lead. Which she has been playing for 31 years. Yes, THIRTY ONE YEARS.
Tomorrow is rest during the day and theater in the evening.
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