New York City

Decided to visit the Tenement Museum on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side today. The museum offers four different tours in an 1863 tenement building that had been occupied by Jewish immigrant families. We chose the "Sweatshops Tour" that followed two families who lived in the actual tenement building, starting in 1863. The building has been preserved and has had little done to change it from its original condition. Some of the walls were covered in burlap that was moulded with caulk to make it a bit more "fancy". Living conditions were very cramped and tough and the first family we heard about operated a "factory" in one of the three rooms they occupied. The father had been a tailor in Germany and continued his trade in his new home. The parents had three children and employed three other people to work making clothes in one room. It was very sobering seeing/hearing where/how they lived and hearing about what they had to sacrifice when they immigrated to the United States over 100 years ago. Our guide was excellent, very well-informed and as he is Jewish he provided lots of relevant first-hand information about the religious lives of the immigrants. We had lunch in Delancey Street and then decided to go to Coney Island as we were so close. Some of the rides look rather tired but the boardwalk was great as it was a lovely sunny day. The beach is surprisingly wide and white and the breeze was very refreshing. Had to have a hot dog at Nathan's and it was actually very nice!! Caught the subway back and the trip took about an hour back to 42nd St. Bought some food at Dean and Deluca and ate in the room tonight - all the walking we've done is beginning to catch up with us!!Read more