Day Five - Sandwiches and Central Park

I got home from the theatre very late last night. The show was really good and I got to go back stage and meet Mr. Gaffigan and Mr. Sutherland. They were both really nice and they showed me around the set. It was cool to actually stand on a Broadway stage!

I slept in very late this morning and then took the F Train downtown to the world-famous Katz's Deli for lunch.

I learned that in 1888 a Russian immigrant family established a delicatessen in New York's Lower East Side, which is still know at Katz's. Long before refrigeration, smoking, pickling and other curing methods of prolonging the useful life of food had been perfected.

In the early part of the twentieth century, the Lower East Side was home to millions of newly emigrated families. Lack of public and private transportation forged a solid community. Katz's reputation for recreating the flavors of the Old World created a loyal following for many generations of residents and visitors to New York.

Fun NYC Factoid:

True delicatessens are real—and rare—because they continue a tradition of meat preparation and preservation predating refrigeration.

After lunch, I took the F Train back to Penn Station in Midtown. From there I took the 1 Train uptown to 59^th St., to visit Central Park.

ME IN CENTRAL PARK

I learned that Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan. The park initially opened in 1857, on 843 acres (3.41 km²) of city-owned land. I learned that in 1858, Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan. Construction began the same year and was completed in 1873.

Designated an historic landmark in 1963, the park is currently managed by the nonprofit Central Park Conservancy, under contract with the city government.

ME AND DAISY

While I was there, I took a horse-drawn carriage ride. My horse’s name was Daisy, and both she and her driver were very friendly. On my ride through the park, I got to see the pond, Strawberry fields, the Great Lawn, and many interesting statues. The driver told me lots of interesting things about the park, its history and the activities which take place there all year round. I learned so many things I couldn’t possible write them all in my blog, but I suggest you check out http://www.centralpark.com to learn more about this amazing place!