City Tour North Side,Harlem

Awoke this morning to find it reasonably bright so decided to do the city tour north towards Harlem past Central Park. However within 1/2hour down came the rain fortunately only light rain. As we approached Harlem the rain stopped. interesting Harlem is the only area on Manhattan Island where the roads are not laid out in a grid system more like Europe all higgledy-de -piggledy we past a very impressive Roman Catholic Church (aren’t they always ) and onto the famous area where there are theatres where many of the great musicians started their careers. Then spotted some local bikers from there we viewed the Hotel Theresa where Castro stayed as a snub to the Yanks when he went to New York 40odd years ago for talks, they expected him to stay at the Waldorf Astoria or similar, brought all his own food for fear of being poisoned, hundreds of live chickens running around the hotel ,the stink must have been horrendous. Then past some property that was up or rent or sale ,that’s if you have mega bucks ,not as much has Manhattan but Harlem is now becoming the “In Area” so prices sky rocketing.
Then past somewhat of an enigma a synagogue turning into a Mosque!
Followed by the Fire Factory a fire station that has attended more fires than any other in New York hence the name.
Onto where you can get alternative forms of transport, best on a real sunny warm day. Then back past Central Park past the Dakota building where John Lennon a shot and Yoko Ono still lives.then back to Brodway and Times Squareto explore more then onto the Portland Hotel in 42nd Street which will be my final hotel before leaving for the U.K.

Phileas

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