Day 10. Think I'll go to Boston

Yes, as the song says... think I'll go to Boston. Boston it is. So we packed up again and bid farewell to the Hotel Sonesta which has been a very nice two night stay. In the early hours of Sunday morning Philadelphia streets were almost deserted as we made our way to Suburban Station to catch the train to the airport. It was running just a few minutes late but we certainly had plenty of time to get there, print our boarding passes, negotiate the maze that is US TSA security and get to the other side. 

It was US Airways today and we knew there was no meal service and that it would be late lunch by the time we hit Boston, so there was only one thing for it. We had to try a traditional Philly Cheesesteak which we took with us to the plane. A smooth flight with a window seat gave a great sense of both the tortured coastline and the immensity of the urban strip that is East Coast USA. Touchdown Boston, bags collected and into a cab and into a nightmare Boston traffic jam. The airport is so close you feel like you should be able to touch the city from it and yet it took over 30 minutes to get there, compliments of roadworks everywhere. But we made it to the Sheraton, and a lovely corner room on the 21st floor with views in two directions. And what is the first thing that we did in Boston. Yep, we found the laundromat, because we really needed to ensure that we had clean clothes for rest of the tour. En route to the laundromat we found St Cecelia's church, located right next to the Berklee School of Music... kind of cool when you realise Cecelia is the patron saint of musicians. Anyhoo, laundry done, we called the tour company and were very disappointed to find out that our tour to Plymouth had been cancelled for tomorrow. Boo hiss and there were no seats on the Lexington and Concord trip. So that meant we just had to tour Boston so we organised tickets on the Hop on Hop Off Trolley bus and headed off to Mass at St Cecelia's. 

After Mass we needed to find a place to eat. Wendy's was across the road but it was a big disappointment, however the Dr Moo Ice creamery around the corner on Boylston was great.  Back to the hotel to try to organise the now clean washing and get some semblance of order into the packing. Arrrgghhh living out of a suitcase is the worst thing about holidays. 

Day 9: Out in Amish country

So looked forward to today and our adventure out to Lancaster county and Amish country. The Religion teacher in me was so excited to get up close and personal with a religious group that so few know much about. We were picked up at our hotel and taken to 30th Street station. Doesn't sound like much, but have you seen the movie Witness with Harrison Ford? I know some of my Bethany English teacher friends will remember it well. The murder scene is set in 30th Street Station in Philadelphia... do you know how spooky it is going to the bathroom there? Anyway the station is a grand affair, towering columns and high ceilings and some amazing sculptures. I think it really rivals Grand Central in New York.

The train soon arrived, another Amtrak experience for train buff Chris and we snoozed on the 90 minute journey to Lancaster where the 7 of us who were on the tour were met by two cab drivers and whisked away, through Bird in the Hand to Intercourse... home of the Amish Experience.  While this a bit of a tourist place, it was also incredibly informative. We started off by seeing a short film entitled Jacob's choice which details some of the beliefs of the Amish, including the notion of Adult Baptism and life commitment to the Amish church Community. Before making that commitment however the young people around age 16 go through a time called Rumschpringe. This is a time of greater freedom, a time of breaking out before the young person decides to make a commitment to the church. That was the focus of the movie and tracing a fictional Amish family roots. It was very good.

We then did the Amish Homestead tour. While this was a mock up, it was a very believable one. Our guide Jay told us a good deal about the history of the Amish. They were a part of the broader Anabaptist movement that was part of Reformation Europe. This denomination of Christianity, focused in Switzerland and Germany, were adamant that Baptism could only be undertaken after a personal lifelong commitment to Jesus and the community. Originally part of the Mennonites, the Amish became a separate sect in the late 1600's in Switzerland as they were followers of he interpretation of Joseph Amman. The Amish were persecuted in Europe by Protestants and Catholics too and eventually fled to North America where a large group settled in Pennsylvania as part of William Penn's "Religious Experiment" of religious tolerance. The Lancaster Amish are the descendants of these early settlers and they number about 30,000 today. They are in many ways a closed community. They shun the use of many modern things such as electricity, because it could bring in the bad influence of television, and the use of motorised transport because it takes people too far from home. Their main form of transport is the horse and cart and these can be seen on the roads all over Lancaster county.  They also have a push scooter with Bicycle tyres.

Apart from learning all the things about the Amish from Jay, we also learned about their schooling and family life. Amish attend Amish one room schools, where classes in German, English, Mathematics, History and Health are taught. Years 1-8 are taught all in the same one room classroom by a teacher who also only has an 8th grade education. When I questioned how the Pennsylvania State Education could allow that to occur and be acceptable, I was told that in the States, only teachers in Public School need to be accredited to teach: in private schools, even Catholic schools they do not... So my teacher friends. Think of the brightest child in your year 8 class. Put her in front of a class of 20 or 30 children every day where she has to teach all the English Maths and German etc that she knows. Of course she will not have to teach Science because there are too many conflicts with a fairly fundamentalist interpretation of things like the creation story. Blows my mind really. 

We then went into the house and learned more about every day life. Propane gas is used to power appliances like water heaters, washing machines, refrigerators and stoves. Only recently have 6 volt battery lamps started to replace the more dangerous kerosine lamps and most of the produce that is eaten is grown on the property. We learned all about the very strict dress code, about the colour white for not married women and black for married women, the bizarre use of sewing pins to hold the clothing on and the fact that every women's dress is made from the same pattern. Jay then went back to some of the dimensions of religious practice. Amish services are held in the home. Each community is divided geographically and up to 30-40 families make a parish. These families will attend one of the homes in the parish on the Sunday for worship and they will stay for lunch afterwards. In order to be able to accommodate all the visitors a special covered wagon exists in each parish. It is taken by horse to the family who is hosting the worship. It contains benches for people to sit on, a whole lot of cutlery for lunch and sets of the Amish prayer books. It gets parked outside the house for worship and that is how people know where to go. We also learned about the election of the leaders: the bishops and the elders of each parish. People are nominated and then if there is an oversupply of nominees, each nominee will be given a bible but one or two of the bibles will have a particular verse written on paper in them... whoever gets the paper has the job.... Holy Spirit intervention by snail mail? Still it is interesting, and again there is no formal training for ministry, people are elected based on their capacity. 

In the afternoon, after a Family Style lunch, it was off to see the countryside and to learn more about the Amish and visit a family on their farm. The Lancaster countryside is beautiful. It is verdant green and there are touches of gold as the corn and tobacco crops are coming to harvest time. Everywhere properties are decorated with the symbols of the harvest festival and many properties are selling huge pumpkins to use as decorations. It is such a big thing here in America. We arrived at the farm to discover, not only agricultural produce, but a woodworking cottage industry with magnificent pieces and then a store with quilts and a large number of quilted goods as well as home made cheeses and jams. These people are truly industrious. In the store the young Amish boy who served us was very interested in our accent and wanted to find out about us. It was such a great experience and as Chris posted on Facebook... to meet is to know. 

Jay returned us to Lancaster Station where we had quite a wait for the train back to Philadelphia so we chatted with our new American and Thai friends from our tour. Then back to Philly and a drop off at the hotel door. We decided Ruby Tuesday would be a great venue for dinner and so headed down a couple of blocks for a lovely meal. Home to pack... Tomorrow I think I'll go to Boston!

Day 8: Philadelphia Freedom

An early start, the last of the snacks for breakfast at the resort and then off to catch the Magical Express back out to Orlando Airport with our bags checked all the way through from the resort to Philadelphia. Great flight on South West. I was a bit apprehensive with their rather silly seating system that loads people by number order and doesn't allocate seats. Having said that, Chris and I got seats together in the back quarter of the plane and were pleasantly surprised by the friendly service. We trained it in from the airport to "Suburban Station" and found our way to the hotel. Rather neat we could buy an all day tourist ride ticket on the way in from the airport for a mere 4 dollars more. So we found our home for the next two nights, the hotel Sonesta, a newly renovated high rise in the centre of the banking district of Philadelphia. 

It was a short walk to the Subway, (via the local Starbucks but don't tell anyone!) and we could catch it all the way down to Philadelphia's Historic District. We had so much fun. We queued briefly to gain access to the Liberty Bell, remembering how different its housing was almost 30 years ago when we ran in in the snow to take a picture of it. Now it is housed in a large walk through display, charting the history of the crack in the bell, its use in formal situations and how it became a universal symbol of freedom and justice for movements such as Women's suffrage and the time after 9/11. We then saw the bell and could see through, across the road to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was penned... but more about that later. 

We did not know that you had to have a timed ticket to get into the Independence Hall so had to go back to the visitors centre to get one and as we had some time to spare we went on a walk a little further down Market. There we saw the "cottages" that were bought by George Washington as an investment. We also went back to the Bourge building, next to Independence Park which was newly renovated 30 years ago in a real historical style and houses shops and eateries. In our lightning fast stay at Philly in 1985 we actually had lunch in there and it was a real trip down memory lane.

Then it was time to clear security for our entry to Independence Hall. The grounds behind the building are beautiful. The leaves just starting to turn and the buildings that surround look so old and beautiful, like the Philosophical Society begun by Benjamin Franklin. During the tour we visited two key rooms in the main part of Independence Hall. The first was the State Law Chamber where important verdicts over time had been heard. The second room was the one which hosted the Second Confederate Council which met to discuss issues that the then 13 states had with Britain. There were varying degrees of hostility with Massachusetts being most vocal in demanding independence as they were an occupied colony and had aggravated the British sorely by tipping the tea into Boston Harbour... aka The Boston Tea Party. A list of grievances were drafted in June of 1776 and were reviewed and revised until, on July 4 1776, the Declaration of Independence was finally finished and a day or two later it was read to the gathered assembly in the grounds of Independence Hall. The rest, as they say, is history. 

One final site that was really worth seeing and a very clever recreation, is one that was stumbled upon by archaeologists when they were excavating for the Liberty Bell museum.  It is the foundations of the original President's house, where George Washington moved to from Mount Vernon when he became President. The move was controversial because Virginia was allowed slaves whereas Pennsylvania was not. The irony of the slave issue has been well publicised, in that the father of a free America kept slaves. Slaves could gain their freedom if they lived in Pennsylvania for a period of time, so Washington shipped them back to Mount Vernon before then, and then brought them back. At any rate they have excavated the foundations of the house and have recreated it in open form. It is a fabulous exhibit and it chronicles the known stories of the slaves who worked for Washington. A very well designed display.

We decided to bus it back to our hotel so that we could go past some of the sights and so we did. Arriving back at the hotel we needed to find somewhere to eat and a couple of blocks away found a nice diner called Ruby Tuesday. Even on a Saturday, Ruby was pretty good. So we feasted on yummy dinner and I topped it off with Philly Cheesecake.  Then a walk back to the hotel to walk off the yummies.  Great day... and good to reflect on what freedom means. 

                 

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Day 5-7: The Big Mouse House

I had often wondered why, given our tendency to blog while away,  I had not kept a blog of either of our previous trips to Disney World. I am now aware of the answer... you actually have to sleep sometime. There is just not time to blog when there are characters to meet, roller coasters to ride,  Not SO Scary Halloween Parties to attend, not to mention Late Nights Live at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. So, I am sorry for the delay in posting, and this entry is going to be a three day retrospective on what was a fabulous Disney World Experience.

Our trip to Orlando was reasonably smooth. We trained it out from Penn Station on Amtrak to the Newark Airport and were whisked through executive check in because Chris had sprung a great deal and got us a business upgrade on the flight. YAY! So we dosed, ate yummy Beef salad and I got my inner Disney groove happening with a view of Saving Mr Banks. Of course Disney's Magical Express met us at the airport, and while the sky looked ominous everything else was smooth and soon enough we had arrived at our resort, the Coronado Springs Resort. It is HUGE. We are in Casistas 3, which is quite a hike from reception in a King Bed room on the second floor. The room does not scream Disney. It is tastefully appointed in Spanish style with dark woods and it has the standard bathroom configuration. But there was no time to waste at the Resort because we had tickets to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. So t-Shirts and Pumpkin Mouse ears at the ready we headed off to wait for the bus. And the rain began... and it rained and it rained and it rained. But we managed. Into the Magic Kingdom and a photo with the Mouse himself before we got to be too soggy and then off to ride some inside rides. There was a very short queue for Peter Pan's flight when you have a fast pass!! And yes family, we even stooped to It's a Small World because it was dry. We trick or treated at the Pinocchio Haus and secured a great spot, hoping that the rain that had eased, would hold until the parade. Parade TICK! Some other riding and then there was the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train Ride... the brand new one that we were just so looking forward to riding and it only had a 20 minute queue. What a bonus! And as an even bigger bonus,  the fireworks were on by the time we were riding so we saw them from the Mine Train and then we were off in time to see the end of them from behind the castle. The night was still young and we found some more characters to be photographed with, rode standards like Dumbo and Space Mountain and finished the night with our favourite, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  It was such a fun night, and our "costumes" were so tame in comparison to how some people get into it. 

The second day at Disney saw us back in the Magic Kingdom for more riding, especially the Mine Train and then our big ticket item, a Fast Pass to lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant. Soooo exciting. The theming of the place is quite amazing. There are three rooms for dining. the central ballroom is the largest , then there is the East Wing with the dancing statue of Belle and the Beast and the haunting West Wing or Rose Room, where we had lunch. It was dark and dingy and spooky and really created the Beauty and the Beast atmosphere. We both chose pulled pork with potatoes and green beans for our meal and Chris chose the Tropical Mouse Profiterole and I chose the Lemon Meringue Cupcake which we shared. Yummy and a great and new Disney experience for both of us. 

A quick spot of shopping and then over to Hollywood Studios for our evening entertainment. The good news for all Disney tragics... the HAT is still there!!!  Here we had Fast Passes organised for Star Tours, Tower of Terror and Midway Mania. We saw the Beauty and Beast show, another one of the favourites. The lines were short and so there were extra rides on Star Tours and Tower of Terror before dining at the Brown Derby. It still remains as classy as and the food was lovely. The storm that threatened to hit as we left Star Tours did not amount to much and so we were on for Fantasmic. Having used all our Fast Passes we could even enrol for a Fantasmic Fast Pass which meant centred seating for the show. It was great. Love the music, it never disappoints. And so day two of Disney finished, with aching feet and tired muscles but lots of good memories. 

Disney day 3 was to start at the Animal Kingdom, and we were so well organised that we managed Breakfast at the hotel and even got to the park before opening time. Everest was the first stop. Love the thrill on that coaster and had even forgotten how far back it goes in the dark. Chris wasn't keen to ride a second time, but as there was no line I had another go, this time, for Sarah! Any excuse to ride a roller coaster really. Then it was off on safari. This time we got very up close and personal with the giraffes which was fun and we saw lots of other animals too. It was then time to wait for the Festival of the Lion King, in its new home in Harambe Village. The set up is much as it always was and the spectacle with singing and dancing is terrific. A great singalong. Our lunch reservation today was at the Tusker House right next door to the Lion King. It is character dining with Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Mickey and we were totally unabashed having pics with all the characters. The food was interesting too. Not your standard character dining buffet, it was an great mix of African inspired salads and meats with some old faithfuls like Mac n Cheese and Corn Dogs and the desserts were beyond yummy. We transferred back to the resort to organise some packing before going to our final park for the afternoon, EPCOT.

We arrived, just in the nick of time for our Fast Pass experience with the characters. Then it was time to go Soarin' over California. We were interrupted in our plans by another huge thunderstorm and that slowed us down a bit as we headed off to find the place to pick up our Late Night Live passes. This was incredibly poorly organised. The cast did not seem to know anything and we were sent on a wild goose chase across to near the America pavilion on bad advice. But when we got there, The Commodores were about to start playing... yep, the real Commodores... so we got our inner Mowtown happening and grooved along to the very loud beat. They were most entertaining. More searching for tickets found us up near Test Track so we jumped the hour long wait by going single rider and had a fabulous ride... I still like Cars land better!! Tickets found, we needed to "find Nemo" and then eat before Illuminations. As the park was nowhere near as crowded as it was when we were there at Christmas time, it was great to get a prize spot just near the Canada pavilion. It is an inspirational show. Then came late night live, where you wander a small strip between Canada and Ireland and food stalls have sample sized portions of food and glasses of wine to match. No wine for us, although others sure made up for it. We had everything from lobster pie to fillet mignon and finished off with a trio of desserts that were very very rich. The night had street entertainment and musicians and Chris felt like he was at a Conference opener... The only real downside was that it was a long wait at the end of the night for a bus, and as we didn't leave til nearly Midnight, and we had to pack, we didn't have time to wash and were very late falling into bed. But it was the end of a fabulous 3 days at the happiest place on earth. SO much fun. Ah we are both such Disney Tragics, don't you agree? 

Day 4: Uptown Girl (and Boy!)

A slightly slower start to the day today, and as we look ahead it will be the last one for a while so the sleeping was good. Then up for breakfast at the local Europa for oatmeal for Chris and another bagel for Liz. Nom Nom. Then it was time to work out how we were going to do our airport transfers to Newark tomorrow morning. We do not fancy the thought of it taking an hour and forty minutes to get to the airport so we have decided to Amtrack it, as Penn Station is literally across the road. Tickets purchased it was off to find another subway that would take us to the upper East Side and the Guggenheim. We didn't hang around there long, in fact we were really disappointed in the rudeness of the staff, but we stumbled across a lovely Episcopalian church which was shaped very much like the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Nearby there is the Sacred Heart school and so it was interesting to see the row of USA school buses all lined up along Central Park.  Then we headed off to spend a good amount of time at the New York Jewish Museum. Liz is a bit of a "collector" of Jewish Museums in an attempt to further consolidate learning for this part of her teaching and this one was very different to others she had visited.

The lower floors were more like an art gallery featuring works of  Lee Krasner and Norman Lewis. There was an interesting tour taking place and while we didn't stay with the group we did hear the guide say  at one stage that Krasner was married to Jackson Pollock... Looking at the abstractions before us, the layers and the paint splatters it made infinite sense... a micro version or two of Blue Poles.  Some of the pieces, including one that was untitled were quite amazing in the delicacy of the layers... But that was not really the purpose of the visit. So, having watched a film called As From Afar by Dani Gal which was a psychological investigation of the life of a released Nazi henchman we then went up to explore the Jewish History and ritual section of the Museum. Throughout the exhibit, the themes of Covenant and Law kept reappearing in the exhibits, complete with quotes from the Torah... Ah see my students, this it what I try to teach you. The collection is beautifully displayed and contains some amazing antiquities dating back to the Cannanite era and some others from the Roman occupation and the Maccabean revolt. It was a visual feast. The festivals were also well represented and there was an entire room dedicated to Shabbat. If you are getting the feeling that I really enjoyed the experience you are correct!

It was getting on for 2pm and we were wanting lunch. The security guard at the museum pointed us in the direction of Madison Av, saying that there were some cafes there that we might like... and so we stumbled upon Pascalou, a little French style cafe with a lovely Fixe Prix menu... and yummy it was with superb service and such a delightful and unexpected find on the Upper East Side.

We needed a walk and so, in great Alderton tradition whilst away we went to find a park in which to walk. Hmmmm. Central Park will just have to do! Now I have been to New York twice before and Chris has been once... but only ever in december /January when it has been sub zero and/or snow covered. But today, under beautiful blue skies, it beckoned and so we walked.... Around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservior, then down to the roadway and walking walking....We found the Boathouse, the miniature pond where the remote control sailing ships are sailed, the Hans Christian Anderson story telling nook and then we found the fountain, immortalised in the Doctor Who episode The Angels take Manhattan (and used as the backdrop in the 2013 MasterChef series.) How lovely to stand there and see it in real life. We kept walking and eventually found our way out to W72nd Street  where we stood on the corner and looked across from "Strawberry  Fields" to the apartment  where John Lennon was shot all those years ago. Then we boarded the subway to the Rockefeller Centre.

No ice rink in sight at Rockefeller!!! Not on this 22 degree day. They fill the lower plaza area with umbrellas and call it the Summer Time Sizzle. On the upper level where I am used to seeing the Christmas tree, there is the remnant of a huge animal shape that had been covered with flowers... looked kind of sad without Christmas. We then walked the block to St Patrick's Cathedral which is shrouded in scaffolding both inside and out. The restoration work that has been done reveals beautifully clean marble but they have a long way to go.

It wouldn't be a trip to NYC without a pretzel, so we shared one for afternoon tea from the Rockefeller before hopping back on the Subway for one last ride.

Then back to the fashion District for a little bit of last minute New York shopping and then back to the hotel for some washing and packing. New York, you have treated us to a great few days... no doubt about it... you are the "city who never sleeps". 

Day 3: Kosher in Kingston Av

The Bagel Shop across 7th Avenue set the tone for the day as we went for a Blueberry and Cream Cheese bagel for breakfast... New York Style AND Kosher, and this was good as we tried to find Subway 3 to catch out to Crown Heights to start our Hasidic Walking Tour. Having taught about the Hasidim in Studies of Religion for many years, I was really looking forward to getting up close and personal with some Hasidic Jews... and the tour did not disappoint.


Just before 10am we were met by a grey bearded man at our assembly point in Kingston Street Crown Heights. Beryl Epstein looked very much the part with his black hat, black suit and tzitzit hanging from his garments. WE went downstairs into the library for our introduction to our fellow tourists, an extended American family from New Jersey and us. We were introduced to Hasidism by learning about the persecutions in Eastern Europe under the Russians and others. We also learned that each Hasidic sect draws its name from the town in Eastern Europe where they come from. Beryl went on to explain the importance of outreach in the Chabad Lubavitch sect. He spoke a lot about souls and how getting to know the Souls of others is central to relationship. He also explained the teaching on the Mitzvot and why it is that Jews have the obligation to keep the 613 mitzvot, when those who are not Jewish must keep the 7 laws of the Noahic covenant. After some Q&A it was off to the shul, just across the road. We were ushered in a back door and escorted into the women's section behind the Mechitzah where Beryl explained the lively scene taking place on the synagogue floor. He had explained that it is the lead up to the High Holy Days and that the size of the community swells at this time so that the synagogue was bustling. All over the floor, small groups of men in individual minyan were praying, there were literally hundreds of people praying in  Devekus and placing on teffilin. Some were standing on the bimah and others were crammed around anywhere they could fit. I did feel a little sorry for the three women who were trying to attend to their prayers behind the mechitzah while we were meeting.

After question time in the synagogue it was off to 770 Eastern Parkway Crown Heights. This is the world wide centre of the Chabad Lubavtich movement and we posed for  a photo opportunity at the doorway before going around the back and upstairs to a rare manuscripts display which contained original manuscripts dating back to the 1500's and earlier, retrieved from places like Venice. These rare manuscripts included parts of the Mishnah Torah written by Moses Maimonides, pieces of the Babylonian Talmud and other rare works. It was quite overwhelming to know that these things were still in existence. So very special. We then went into what was the Rebbes house up until the death of the last Lubavitch rebee over 20 years ago. We saw the telephone room where recorded speeches by the Rebbe would be sent out each week by phone link-up world wide and that happened even in the 1950's. Antique but fascinating. The room also housed a huge photo of a gathering of 1000 Hasidic men at a conference right out front of 770.

The next stop was a store with Judica supplies and we learned a little about the foods for the upcoming festival and saw translations of the Torah which have the English and then the English commentary all together. There are five books in this translation which I think is fabulous. After the store it was upstairs to a tiny two roomed workshop where four men in total were making Tefflin,   the small leather boxes that are bound to the head and the heart by observant Jews. They are shaped from leather from the underside of a cow' s chin and they are painstakingly formed, a tiny handwritten parchment with the Shema and 3 other verses is tied with the hair of a kosher animal and placed inside and then sealed. Mezzuzah are made in a very similar way. We even saw a tiny tiny pair of Teffilin that were made to secret during the Holocaust.

That left only one stop.... the Kosher deli for lunch... Yum. Baguette with Chicken and pesto for Liz and Kosher hamburger (no cheese in sight) for Chris.  It was a great way to finish as Beryl continued his fabulous stories... so Hasidic... and promised to send the name of a colleague in Sydney who would be happy to come and speak to the girls for SoR. Sounds good to me. So with that we bid farewell to the tour members, wandered back down to the Kingston Av Subway and went back to Manhattan and a brief hotel stop before some shopping.

Then it was time for Mass and we had decided to go to St Francis in W 31st where they have contemporary music and Choir at their 5pm Mass. Wow... the music was something else and the preaching was inspired too. I understand why the church was packed. The mosaic behind the sanctuary is beautiful and features various characters and places from Francis of Assisi's life. Having been to Assisi it was great to sit there and pick them out. But perhaps the most moving thing about the church was the twisted metal sculpture over to the side. It features 3 pieces of tortured metal recovered from Ground Zero and from its centre grows a gold rose, symbol of hope from disaster. The metal was given to the church in honour of Franciscan priest Fr Mychael Judge, the FDNY Chaplain and a victim of 9/11. He sounds like he was an extraordinary man, a rare model for inclusivity in our church and one of the many lives drawn to a close too soon in the wake of that tragedy.

We left church, went up to collect some goodies for Sarah's shopping list before dining on W35th and 6th at a Steakhouse with alfresco tables. Quite an experience and the meal was lovely. With SIM card working now it was good to be able to ring Mum and message the gang back home. Then back to the hotel, to blog a bit, work out how to get the photos off the camera and on to the blog and then bed. This travel stuff is exhausting when jet lag catches up to you!