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Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Activity note: Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon: Program Registration: 4:00 p.m. The location of our Road Scholar meeting room will be posted in the hotel lobby on an LED board across from the Security Desk. Join us in the meeting room to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your envelope when you check in and locate your Group Leader to let them know you have arrived.
Dinner: 5:00 p.m. In the Tick Tock Diner just off the lobby of our historic hotel. Dinner in the diner is included even if you arrive late. You may eat later but please attend Orientation first. Or, get takeout and bring your plate to the meeting room.
Evening: Orientation: 6:15-7:30 p.m. In a hotel meeting room, the Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will review COVID-19 protocols and will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and requirements throughout the program. Dinners are early in order to have plenty of time available for engaging in evening activities as a group and individually. We will be walking a lot and using the New York City subway system that involves going up and down flights of stairs, long corridors, and often crowded conditions. It’s what New Yorkers do every day! Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. After Orientation, we will walk over to the Empire State Building with our Group Leader. From the 86th floor observation deck, we’ll have a bird’s eye view of the Manhattan street grid and all five boroughs with New Jersey in the distance (weather permitting). It’s a great way to orient ourselves to New York’s geography and get our first “big picture” look at the city. The Empire State Building is just three blocks away. Returning to the hotel independently, the remainder of the evening is at leisure.
Activity note: Taking the New York City subway; going up/down flights of stairs; crowded conditions. Walking about 5 miles throughout the day; city streets and sidewalks.
Breakfast: In the Tick Tock Diner.
Morning: We’ll be joined by a historian for an introductory lecture on New York City, a city with its own unique personality. Navigating NYC requires some basic directions: Uptown & Downtown are relative based on one’s current position and are helpful when using the subway. But Midtown is a defined place, the central business district of Manhattan Island, with 5th Avenue being the dividing line between the East and West sides. Following our lecture, we’ll take the subway over to Fifth Avenue for a stroll down the famed street with a stop at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a visit to Rockefeller Center.
Lunch: At a neighborhood restaurant.
Afternoon: We’ll set out on an expert-led exploration of Times Square where we’ll learn about the history of the area and the Broadway Theater District located here. If a show is on your agenda during your free time, the famous TKTS discount ticket booth is a marvelous resource you might consider. It generally has a strong selection of the shows currently playing both On- and Off-Broadway and our staff will provide direction and insider tips on how best to utilize it. We’ll return to the hotel for a little break before dinner.
Dinner: At a neighborhood restaurant.
Evening: After dinner, we’ll meet a former National Park Ranger for an introduction to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, preparing us for tomorrow’s field trip.
Activity note: Taking the subway to the ferry for traveling to/from the islands. Walking about 5 miles throughout the day; city streets and sidewalks.
Breakfast: In the Tick Tock Diner.
Morning: We’ll head straight out this morning to take best advantage of our time on Liberty and Ellis Islands where we will explore both islands at our own pace to see and do what interests each of most. We’ll begin by boarding the ferry to Liberty Island. Liberty Island features a wonderful state of the art museum dedicated to the statue. It is not to be missed. Additionally, you may choose to stroll around the island while listening to the included audio guide or join up with a NPS Ranger. The Statue of Liberty was an amazing gift to the people of America from the people of France — our oldest ally — celebrating freedom and democracy. We’ve seen this national monument in countless movies and TV shows and may even take it for granted, but at its unveiling on the Fourth of July 1884, it was the biggest event in the country. Years later, these words of poet Emma Lazarus were added: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” With the opening of the new museum, our tickets do not include entry into the pedestal or the statue. If this is something you would like to do, these tickets may be arranged separately, in advance of the program and at your own cost via the NPS exclusive ticket seller: www.statuecruises.com. Note: Choosing to arrange this for yourself will require a great deal more time on Liberty Island and will necessarily reduce your time on Ellis Island.
Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. Both Liberty and Ellis Islands have cafeterias.
Afternoon: Next, it’s on to Ellis Island. From 1892 when the immigration station opened until it closed in 1954, more than 12 million people coming to America passed through Ellis Island. This was their “golden door” to new lives. Today, the descendants of these immigrants make up almost half of all Americans. The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration tells the story of where people came from and what their experience was like. Many went first from Ellis Island to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, at one time the most densely populated neighborhood on earth. The museum includes numerous exhibits, an included audio guide, NPS Ranger-led walks, a documentary film and the family research center where you may choose to look up the historical documents that pertain to your family’s history through Ellis Island. We’ll reconvene with our Group Leader mid-afternoon for a stroll through the Financial District, the oldest inhabited part of the island. A subway ride will take us to Little Italy for dinner.
Dinner: In historic Little Italy.
Evening: Before we return to the hotel, we’ll have some independent time to explore Little Italy. For those with a sweet tooth, authentic Italian pastries and gelato are available steps away from the restaurant. We’ll return to the hotel as a group around 7:30 p.m., with the remainder of the evening at leisure.
Activity note: Taking the subway; walking approximately 2-3 miles.
Breakfast: In the Tick Tock Diner
Morning: We will board the legendary A-train to explore one of New York’s richest cultural neighborhoods: Harlem. Established in 1658, Harlem was a rural Dutch village for most of two centuries. The development of railroads fostered a growth spurt at the turn of the 20th Century and became home to a large community of Jewish immigrants. Entertainment professionals such as Milton Berle, Harry Houdini, and composer Richard Rodgers were raised and got their start here. In the 1920s, having been displaced elsewhere in the city and through the effects of The Great Migration, Harlem quickly became the unofficial “capital” of Black America, giving rise to the Harlem Renaissance in the arts and humanities. After years of disinvestment in the latter half of the 20th Century, the world is finally realizing what New Yorkers have known all along: Harlem is vibrant, eclectic and diverse; an essential example of New York’s constantly evolving energy.
Lunch: At a neighborhood restaurant in Harlem.
Afternoon: We’ll head back downtown as a group. Those who wish to return to the hotel or explore independently are welcome to do so. The afternoon is at leisure."
Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening: At leisure. You might like to take in a show, explore on your own, or enjoy some R&R at the hotel.
Activity note: Taking the subway; walking about 3-5 miles throughout the day.
Breakfast: In the Tick Tock Diner.
Morning: An art historian will join us to provide an overview of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We’ll get tips on navigating its galleries before heading up to the museum. On the way, we’ll traverse Central Park as our expert talks about its history and points out areas of interest. Some 42 million people visit Central Park each year. Its 843 acres are managed by the private, not-for-profit Central Park Conservancy, formed in 1980 to improve and restore the park to prime condition after a period of decline. Central Park today may be America’s most famous park, providing respite and inspiration for residents and visitors alike.
Lunch: On your own to enjoy what you like. The Metropolitan offers both a cafeteria on the lower level of the Lehman Wing offering a wide range of choices and a cafè in the American Wing offering soups, sandwiches, coffee and pastries. Or you might take the opportunity to grab a famous New York City hot dog from one of the vendors out on Fifth Avenue, your badge allows re-entry to the museum.
Afternoon: Explore The Met at your own pace. Bring your smart phone and ear buds! The Met has recently moved all of their audio guides online for easy and free access in the galleries. The Met, founded in 1870, is one of the world’s greatest museums with a collection spanning more than 5,000 years of creativity. Its artistic treasury from every corner of the world includes paintings, arms and armor, costume, decorative arts, musical instruments, photography, works on paper, and much more. There are 26,000 objects from ancient Egypt, the largest collection outside Cairo; 2,500 European paintings, one of the most extensive collections anywhere; and the most comprehensive collection of American decorative arts, paintings, and sculpture in the American Wing. The Beaux-Arts façade and Great Hall of the flagship building — designed by architect and founding museum trustee Richard Morris Hunt — opened in 1902. Today, tens of thousands of objects are on view at any given time. We'll regroup mid-afternoon and return to the hotel for a little break before dinner.
Dinner: At a neighborhood restaurant. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening: We’ll hop on the subway one last time and head downtown for a stroll over the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. Returning to the hotel, the remainder of the evening is at leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure after our closing session in the morning.
Activity note: Hotel check-out 12:00 Noon.
Breakfast: In the meeting room.
Morning: As a final highlight, we’ll be joined by a New Yorker for a closing discussion about living in the city: how current New Yorkers manage it, how celebrated writers have portrayed it...and how we have experienced it this week. We expect the session to end by 10:30 a.m. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
JOOOB
