…

Initially we decided to visit La Liberté éclairant le monde (or the Statue of Liberty as it’s more generally known) but then we saw the queue.  We’re near the end of it here and it stretches out to the right, then back in the distance to the left and then zigzags through the distant building in the far left.  That building is where the ferry leaves and when you eventually get to the Statue you get to stand in a succession of queues again.  So we decided to move on.  You can see the Statue on the horizon in the distance above the runner’s head and the white shape in front of it is a ferry.

…

So instead we found the National Museum of the American Indian, a branch of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.  This was much more interesting.  The building was originally the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House which accounts for the maritime decorations in the main halls.

…

This is a feather headdress or cape of the Mebêngôkre tribe from Brazil.  It is quite recent, dating only from 1990.  The collection is quite wonderful but I took few photographs, deciding at the time there was no point recording objects that I could do no justice to.  I did pick up a useful souvenir, though:  a book by Thomas Mann 1491 which offers an eye-opening account of native American societies prior to the arrival of Columbus.

…

We wandered through Lower Manhattan and found a nice café for a bite to eat.

…

…

On the other side of the island we came out at an historic docklands area.

…

The smaller buildings behind the tall ships are a restored historic area.  The restoration doesn’t quite achieve authentic ambience however.  There is a curious absence of grime, drunken sailors and brothels.

…

The yellow flag at bottom right (just above the copyright notice) is a water taxi sign.  I think the catamaran coming in on the left is the water taxi though I’m not sure where it’s coming from.

…

This of course is a parking meter for gulls with Brooklyn Bridge in the background.  And in a clever piece of design flexibility, it doubles as coin-operated binoculars.