I have been lucky this year. Several friends from France came to visit me and we all played the tourists in Manhattan. Some museums are pretty expensive so we looked for cheap or free ones. We visited two of them: The National Museum of American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, and the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue (104th Street). First was free and, as a senior, I have been charged ten dollars for the second. Do not expect something as Metropolitan Museum or Museum of Modern Art for that price but they are both very interesting. That is if you have some passion for history. You can in fact learn a lot about about American Indians from drawings, sculptures and interesting collections of artifacts. I was taught at school in France “Nos ancêtres les Gaulois” (our ancestors the Gaulois). My children here had history books with “our ancestors the Lenapes”, the Native American tribe, also called Delaware Indians, who have lived in the US Northwest since 10000 BC. The National Museum of the American Indian is the place to visit to know more about this tribe and others who have been the sole occupants of the American continent for so long. You must also love history if you enter the Museum of the City of New York. You will learn about the city development over the years, especially when watching a 28-minute movie which is remarkably well documented. My friends and I found another opportunity for a free mini-cruise on the Hudson River. (I already mentioned the Staten Island Ferry). Last week, we used the North River Lobster Company. It departs from Pier 81, located West 41st Street and 12th Avenue. We enjoyed a 45-minute trip on the river where we could take many pictures thanks to a wonderful weather. There is a small cafeteria on board where you may have lunch or dinner, or just a drink. Thanks to my friends, I also walked on the Highline from the West Side Yard to Meatpacking district. This elevated section of a disused railroad, transformed in a linear park is a great way to enjoy the city without having to pay attention to traffic. Attached photos are: -Manhattan West Side seen from the boat. -A British Airways Concorde by the Hudson River (I knew an Airbus 320 had ditched nearby but never heard of a Concorde) -Penn Station photographed from the Highline -Washington Mews, considered New York oldest street. The Lenapes created this “trail” to go from East River to the Hudson and installed stables there.
