Day 2 NYC, Part 3

After leaving the 9/11 Memorial we walked back down to Battery Park.  Here's a garden in the park.  I think the bamboo posts were put around the garden to keep pedestrians out.

We then took the Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island and then back.  We took photos of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty from the ferry.  It was also a great time to sit since we had been walking around for many hours.

I was on an upper deck looking out at the Statue of Liberty when I happened to glance up and see where they kept some of the life jackets.

Picture of the south end of Manhattan from the ferry.

Ellis Island

After taking the ferry back and forth we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge.

This is a painting done on the side of three buildings.  Buildings without windows and views.  Doesn't it look beautiful?  I loved these buildings...so, of course, I took a photo.

Sweetest Man in New York City.

See the sign below the Golden Arches.  Here we are in China Town.  We got some yummy Chinese food at a restaurant called Canals Best Chinese Food.

That building with the spike on top is the Empire State Building.

9/11 Memorial

We had tickets to attend the 9/11 Memorial at 10 am when the memorial opened.  We had to stand in the security line but the line moved quickly and after we got through security we entered the memorial.  The memorial consists of two pools set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers.  Thirty-foot waterfalls, the largest in North America, cascade into the pools and then descend into a center void.  The names of the victims are inscribed in bronze parapets around the pools.

The "Survivor Tree" was found at Ground Zero and it was reduced to an eight-foot tall stump.  The tree was nursed back to health in a NYC park and grew to be 30 feet tall.  In March of 2011 the tree was uprooted by severe storms but it survived.  In December 2011 the tree was returned to the Memorial.

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SM searched for Brady Howell's name and found it and took a picture.  He knows Brady's widow.  It makes the whole memorial a little more real when you know someones' name. 

The museum was closed but I took this photo through the window.  It is a steel trident- a column from the original facade of the North Tower.

And this is the Freedom Tower, now the tallest building standing in New York City.  The day we arrived the construction company placed trellises to make it taller than the Empire State Building.  It will still get higher before it is completed.

Second Day in NYC

The morning of my second day started with rain and a lot less people, noises and smells.  SM and I didn't know how far we would be walking that day but we probably walked 10 miles and SM did an additional two or three getting us tickets to the Broadway show Once.

I don't know who that guy is but behind him is a copy of the Arch de Triumph in Washington Square Park.  Notice that the ground is wet, it was a bit drizzly but that was okay by me because it meant a few less people in the streets and on the sidewalks.

Had to get a photo of this street sign!

Not sure the name of this church but we walked past it and I wanted to get a photo of it.

This view of all the sky scrapers above me is how I felt most of the time.  Kind of closed in and small.

Here's a drawing of the Trinity Church.  SM really wanted to see this church.  Apparently one of his relatives helped with making this church come about, whether he helped finance it or actually build it, I'm not sure.  But it is pretty cool.



Trinity Church

Trinity Church cemetery

Trinity Church again

We then walked to the Financial District and saw the Charging Bull.  Do you recognize it from different movies?  I'm not sure why they put a gate around it, I mean, the bull is really not going anywhere.

This is now located in Battery Park.  It was a nice shiny ball at the World Trade Center and after 9/11 it got all smooshed and smashed.  So, this is now what it (called The Sphere) looks like...and it and the eternal flame are a memorial to the strength of a people that will continue to stand.

This is the East Coast Memorial dedicated to the servicemen that died on the water during WWII and is located on the south end of Battery Park.  

Another statue on the south end of Battery Park.  This was to the Jews, I don't remember what else but it is a nice statue.  After visiting Battery Park, we walked back up to the 9/11 Memorial.  I'll share photos of that in my next post.

My first trip to NYC

SM and I took the Bolt Bus from DC to NYC.    The following are some photos from some of the sights I saw on my first day in New York.  I have to add that I was overwhelmed by all the people, the smells, the noise and the huge visual affects.  But it was amazing!

We spent a couple hours walking around, checking out the touristy sights.  It was fun for me because I've only seen these views on TV and now I was there in person!

Rockefeller Center

SM found the Lego Store.  We enjoyed going in and taking a look. 

And here is a close-up photo of the Lego sign...those little pieces are Lego men, white men, black men, yellow men and red men, all used to make the Lego sign.

More Lego statues!

I'm not sure of the name of this building with the clock on it.  It was near the corner of Broadway and 25th Street and near our hotel.