IMMIGRANT MUSEUM ON ELLIS ISLAND

 Sankar and I had an entralling Sunday. The ferry ride from New Jersey Harbour to Ellis Island  was pleasant.

 They dropped us on the Island where we visited the Immigrant Museum. Like all museums of note there is no end to seeing all the exhibits. But this museum was special in the sense that they have meticulously preserved the history of the refugees coming mostly from Europe to seek shelter in the 'New World', There was also an Audio-visual display

STATUE OF LIBERTY

 Sankar and I had been to to see the Statue of Liberty yesterday. We were fortunate that we were permitted to climb all the way up to the crown of the statue as my daughter Ananya had booke reservation about six weeks earlier. Although the weather was esceedingly cold and chilly we had an excellent time there

TIMES SQUARE

It was a bitterly chilly evening when we landed up in Times Square, New Work leaving the comfort of a heated SUV behind us. The crowd was having the time of their lives with the dazzling lights adding a romantic hue to the moment. My son- in- law Sankar waited in the car as a parking space was hard to come by. We roamed along the square, soaking in the ambience. Lovers huddled and cuddled publicly while a burly NYPD officer maintained a watchful eye. A fat man defied the elements and sat and yawned majestically, oblivious of the cold.

A half hour later we reckoned we had enough and headed back to our car parked some distance away. Unlike UK, roadside amenities are non-existent and the two ladies were stretched to the extremes. However a sandwich shop obliged.

We headed back to New Jersey via Lincoln tunnel and halted at Burlington’s, the coat factory. My daughter bought me an anorak priced at $30 and having a made in China tag.

She insisted that we have our dinner at Italian restaurant Olive Gardens. It was awfully crowded but decency reigned. No chaos, no loud voices whatsoever. 45 minutes later we were ushered to our table and served a delicious wine to start with. Soup and salad followed with a more than generous sprinkling of cheese. For the main course I had shrimps and ravioli while the rest had chicken. More cheese was in the offing. A chocolate dessert later, we went home with the mercury remaining at a minus five.

A MORNING WALK

My wife and I walked along Central Avenue in Jersey city after turning right where Poplar Street hits Central Avenue at hudson Park. A slowwalk for half an hour took us to a greengrocers run by a Chinese lady. We went inside the shop and saw a bewidering variety of herbs,leaves and fruits. We purchased a packet of red cherries for a dollar and then retraced our steps. There was snow accumulated on the footpath at places with a blackish crown. It was cold but we had sufficient protection.