The group arrived into New York's JFK airport safely & a few minutes early this morning.
After meeting with their tour leader Declan everyone boarded the bus for the drive into New York in the heavy morning traffic.
There was time for a quick breakfast before we began our sightseeing with a guided visit to the National Museum of the American Indian. The group split into two, learning about the great diversity of indigenous peoples & that the Native Americans who lived in the New York area before the first Europeans arrived were unlike the stereotypical Native Americans of the Great Plains.
After visiting the museum we took a short walk to trace the history of the early European settlements.
The building the museum is in is the former Customs House, built of the site of the first Dutch fort. Just along Broadway we also saw the famous 'Wall Street Bull', Trinity Church, & St. Paul's Chapel.
St. Paul's Chapel was used as a support center for rescue & recovery workers after 9/11, so we visit the chapel's small exhibition of those terrible days. After a break for lunch we then visited the 9/11 Memorial, a sad but essential stop for Manhattan visitors.
We ended the day with some free time in Times Square, followed by a great dinner at Hurley's, a typical Irish pub. Finally, after a long & busy day it was time to reboard our bus for the drive out of the city to our hotel over in New Jersey.
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