On Demand Tour VIII - The Affable Elephant and The Adorable Lady Tour
This unique tour begins with a pleasant ride past Union Square. Once
the site of massive May Day
Labor rallies, today it is a popular green oasis of old trees and well
maintained lawns.
New Yorkers of all social classes come to hang out and escape the
rigors of urban life!
As we pedal past One Fifth Avenue, we will enter a unique English
country “mews,” almost the
only one left in Manhattan! Adjacent is marvelous Washington Square
Park, with its imposing
arch to George Washington, the undisputed “father ” of the
country.
Lower Manhattan, you will come to appreciate, is best experienced by
bike. You don’t just
watch the neighborhoods go by, you experience them - Soho, NoLiTa,
Little Italy, Chinatown -
as we pedal through them. We next pedal into Brooklyn on the Manhattan
Bridge, with
marvelous views from its recently opened bike path. In Brooklyn, we
meet the affable elephant
in the form of “Dumbo,” the cute name for this old factory,
now newly chic, neighborhood
with an amazing view of the lower Manhattan skyline.
New York City has one of the great natural harbors of the world. The
city grew as ships from
all over the world docked on an extensive network of piers and docks.
Today, the little that
remains of this part of the city’s economy can be seen as we ride
along the Brooklyn waterfront.
Past the new cruise ship terminal, we enter the old working class
neighborhood of Red Hook.
Here we will witness another neighborhood in transition, as the city
tries to preserve its
past yet embrace the 21st century. We stop by a recycled 125 year old
wharehouse, beneath an
ill fated attempt to “restore” streetcar service to
Brooklyn, as we glance in amazement at a
nearly sunken lighthouse ship and a decrepit sugar mill!
The real treat here, however, is an incredible view of Lady
Liberty from a vantage point that
few even realize exists!
Our return to Manhattan is on the awesome Brooklyn Bridge, an
amazing
architectural and aesthetic triumph. Again, you will come to
understand why we believe
that a bike tour is indeed the best way to experience the bridge and
its wonderful vistas!
Back in Manhattan, we’ll pass by a top terrorist target, the NY
Stock Exchange, before
heading over to Ground Zero. We’ll end on an upbeat note as we
pedal leisurely by
Number 7 World Trade Center, the first building to be rebuilt that
perished on September 11th.
Its reflection is caught in a wonderful intriguing “birthday
party balloon” sculpture!
As with all our tours, you are in for a treat as you “experience
sites and vistas that
the typical tourist seldom sees!”
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