TRAVEL

MAKE A DATE

1 111111LEGENO.

<

112 Off Second Person*•
7-day Cruises

1993

Early Booking
Rates
Nov Available!

0

eseawrAci
**812 42/102

CC

0
0
_c
0_

The ferry is crowded with visitors to Ellis Island.

Other
Discounts
Available

Gail Chicorel Shapiro

X NORWEGIAN®

CRUISE

'restrictions apply

(Owner)

489-5888

L 1 N E

SHIPS' REGISTRY: BAHAMAS. ©1992 NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE

The Cruise & Vacation Shoppe of

NY's Waterfront:
A Refreshing Visit

RUTH ROVNER

Special to The Jewish News

B

Hours: 9AM-5:30PM (Eve. & Sat. by appt. only
28859 Orchard Lake Rd. (Between 12 & 13 Mile Rds.)

aving 25 for
the holidays?

Let Royal Ilt'king s erve You for the
next 10 days in the -Mediterranean.
,\.,-- vER,,,,,
If you liked the Sea Goddess and the Seabourn...

,F \/

you'll love the Royal Viking Queen.

Sailin , October 9, 1992

Fabulous rotes include:
-2 nights pre-cruise in Venice at the Hotel Daniell
-10 days cruising Italy, Greece and Turkey
-2 nights post-cruise in Istanbul at the Ciragin Palace
-Roundtrip air from Detroit

.

OPS
IN

--‘

11
:4•0

r

N c - '

SER\J\

,

For rates & information ask for Susan Jacobs

ROYAL INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

(313) 644-1600

out-state only (800) 521-1600

31455 Southfield Rd., Birmingham

1 1

attery Park on a
sunny day is crowded
with visitors enjoying
the riverfront location. Here
on the tip of Lower Manhat-
tan, the park seems very far
from the midtown
skyscrapers.
Tourists take photographs
of each other on the water-
front promenade or near the
sculptures. Kids look through
telescopes positioned along
the water. A vendor near the
water does brisk business
selling "I love New York"
T-shirts.
One thing people love about
New York is that it is a river
city, with its identity and
history closely linked to the
two rivers that surround it,
the Hudson and the East
River.
Summer — or early fall — is
the ideal time to enjoy the Big
Apple as a river city. That's
why on a recent visit, I spent
virtually all my time on the
waterfront. The nearness to
the water not only gave me a
refreshing new perspective,
but I also found sites of
special interest to Jewish
travelers.
Battery Park, situated
where the two rivers con-
verge, was my first stop.
Before I went into the park
itself, I stopped at a small
square just across from it at
the intersection of State
Street and Whitehall. There,
in the center of the rather
nondescript square, is a
flagpole that commemorates
a key event in New York's
Jewish history.
"Erected by the State of
New York to honor the
memory of the 23 men,
women and children who
landed in September 1654
and founded the first Jewish

community in America," are
the words etched into the
bronze plaque set on the base
of the flagpole.
The flagpole is situated just
a short distance from the
waterfront spot where those
Sephardic Jews from Brazil,
who were fleeing persecution
after Portugal conquered
Brazil, first landed.
Crossing the street to Bat-
tery Park, I found it typical-
ly animated and crowded
with diverse visitors: tourists
with cameras, kids playing on
swings, New Yorkers walking
along the waterfront, and
long lines of people waiting to
board the ferries to Liberty
and Ellis Islands. Despite the

Summer or early
fall is the ideal
time to enjoy the
Big Apple as a
river city.

crowds, especially in this peak
tourist season, the brief trip
to these two dramatic sites is
well worth it.
As the boat came close to
Lady Liberty, cameras were
clicking. The sight of the
151-foot high statue was, in-
deed, stirring. Leaving the
boat, I stopped to read the
words of the sonnet, "The
New Colossus." The sonnet
was written by American
Jewish poet Emma Lazarus
in 1883. In 1903 a bronze pla-
que carrying a copy of the
sonnet was fastened to the
statue's base.
Being this close to the
statue, which was designed
and constructed by Frederic
Auguste Bartholdi, I had the
chance to admire it in detail.
During its restoration several
years ago, a new torch was
built; the crown's seven spikes
— which represent the seven
seas and continents — were