I'm in a New York State of Mind

For today, our first real day in NYC, I had arranged a bus tour just so we could see some of the sights, and not have to go out of our way to go find them. It was a little bit disappointing in some ways because we didn't go into a lot of the buildings, but the five hours was consumed fully nonetheless. It certainly gave us lots of information and we have a better understanding of how to fill the rest of our time in the city. A good way to start.

We saw sights such as:

Statue of Liberty
Empire State Building
Rockefeller Centre
Central Park and Strawberry Fields, and where John Lennon was shot
Flatiron Building
Washington Park
5th Ave
Wall Street
Ground Zero and the Freedom Tower
New York Library
Chrysler Building
Trinity Church
Trump Tower
Brooklyn Bridge

To see the Statue of Liberty we did a Ferry Cruise. Seeing her was one of the highlights for me. Just imagining all those thousands of immigrants arriving from far away lands, running away from poverty or war in the hope of a better life. Can you imagine the feeling they would have got upon seeing that picture of freedom? Just amazing.

The other highlight was seeing ground zero. For this we went into one of the adjacent buildings to a viewing level. Hearing the guide talk about the event and the rebuilding, brought me to tears. Thankfully I wasn't the only one. On our tour was a gentleman who was in the third building on the day itself and he told his story of escape. The Freedom Tower still under construction is going to be stunning. It is being built at the rate of one floor per week.

After the tour ended it was time for a coffee break, then we picked up our City Explorer tickets. We then decided to walk the length of 5th Ave. I made a purchase at the Banana Republic, but otherwise contained myself.

We went into St Patrick's Cathedral, which was absolutely stunning, irrespective of religion. It was probably one of the most beautiful Cathedrals I have seen outside of Italy.

5th Avenue is a long short street.

From there we got a bite to eat in Greenwhich village (on the way I saw a lomography shop, but resisted the temptation to go in and buy), and got on the train back to our hotel.

Of course I checked the news and it's confirmed that New York is expecting a hurricane. I await with baited breath.


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