Day 4 - Oh praise the Lord.

We have explored Manhattan from the ground, from the water and from the air. Today, we further broaden our horizons. Main goal today is the north of Manhattan which 18 years ago was off limits: the northern part of Manhtattan: Harlem. We drive north via the Metropolitan Opera and the St. John the Divine Cathedral, where we keep a short stop. Via the Columbia University, where by the way Barak and Michelle Obama have done their studies, we arrive in Harlem. First stop is the mausoleum of Ulysses Grant, the final resting place of the general of the victorious Yankees during the American Civil War and later the 18th president of the United States.

At 10.45 pm we are expected at a mass celebration. It's Sunday, but we do not go to a traditional mass celebration. We are in Harlem and go to a real gospel service. And I mean a real one. Not a spectacle set up for the white tourists with excellent singers but a genuine gospel service for and by the people of Harlem. Such service lasts about three hours, but we remain only for 45 minute but we see the most important parts of the service. Everyone is dressed at their Sunday’s best. We get a collection of hats and/or hair flower arrangements, the ladies are all dressed in white. The age ranges from 4 to 90 years. There is singing, dancing, calling out. Participants are bursting out in songs. Oh praise the Lord. We all participate. It is hard not to be swept away by their enthusiasm.

To remain entirely in the atmosphere of the black community, there is a special lunch on the program. But first we put our feet a bit outside of Harlem and Manhattan with a light visit to the Bronx with a drive by the Yankee Stadium, where the legendary baseball player Babe Ruth made the Yankees the most successful team of that time.

For our lunch we go back to Harlem for a soul food lunch at Londel's.  Mr Londel is a special guy. He is stylishly dressed with patent leather shoes and hat.

Before he started his restaurant, he was a policeman. The food is delicious. It has its origins in the southern Cajun cuisine and is spicy. The corn, the chicken (baked and fried), coleslaw, the fries, it's all tasty. I eat two full plates, and for me that's really a lot. After this excess it is  time for our afternoon walk. We walk down to the 125th street, the Champs Elysees of Harlem, the main shopping street. We walk past the brownstone houses, the beautiful homes that just seem to come out of the movies.

Small cozy streets decorated with rows of trees behind which  are beautiful decorated facades, facades in different colors, each with its own staircase. Make no mistake, we are undoubtedly in Harlem, but you need to count on about $ 2 million in order to purchase one. Harlem is not the dangerous neighborhood anymore. It's completely upgraded and even former President Bill Clinton takes this office here. Arriving at 125st Street it is buzzing with shoppers and street vendors. We walk up and down the street to finish at the Apollo theater.

This iconic theater marked the beginning of the career of many world stars including The Jackson Five, Aretha Franklin and James Brown. And where it began for the world stars, it ends for us. From here we leave for the airport for our flight back home.

It was a renewed acquaintance with New York. The city with the amputated skyline but 15 years after 9/11 still alive and kicking. The city that never sleeps is as strong as ever.