Emancipation, transportation and evacuation

But before all of that there was the 9/11 memorial site.

We were there before opening (more by good luck than management) – opening is at 10 and when they do open pre bought ticket holders go in first so we waited a little while and were glad of the sunscreen Zoe had.

We both thought they had done a beautiful job of managing the site. The two waterfalls disappearing into chasms are set in the footprints of the two towers that came down and this is surrounded by grassy treed areas with lots of seating for quiet reflection.

The re-development of the site will incorporate a spiral of seven towers around the eight acre memorial. The one pictured left is 1 World Tower which will be 1,776 feet when complete and the tallest building in the States.

 

The names of the victims are inscribed in bronze around the two pools and include first responders, people in the Towers and the Pentagon, the people aboard all four planes involved in the attack and the six people killed in the 1993 attack on the WTC.

I was mostly dry eyed until a guide brought a group of people around to where we were standing and showed them where a family member's name was inscribed. A very poignant moment. Watching the whole tragic event unfold on TV in Australia is one thing but we both commented on how real it was walking the same streets that people had fled down in horror and panic and wondered what we would have done….

Eventually we moved on from the memorial and walked along the walking/bikeway which took us down to Battery Park, the tip of Lower Manhattan. We had already decided that we weren't going to cruise out to see Lady Liberty so here was our best viewpoint and we were both happy with the vista.


A steady flow of all manner of water transport drifted or motored by and the sky was alive with choppers and planes offering the more expensive sightseeing option.

Stopping for a pathetic excuse for a hotdog and a drink, we watched the world go by long enough to fortify ourselves for our next mission – the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.

We passed many office workers enjoying their lunch in the glorious weather and were impressed by the development of some great leisure spaces along this east side overlooking both the Brooklyn Bridge in the foreground and Manhattan Bridge behind it.

 

The view was so good that we stopped to rest our weary legs and to contemplate the 1,825 metre length of the bridge, a Manhattan icon.

Finding the beginning of the walkway was a feat in itself but we eventually joined the throngs of people heading in both directions. There is considerable renovation underway at present, we weren't sure if this was Hurricane Sandy related (as a lot of construction around Manhattan is) or just regular maintenance.

 

 

It was worth the walk though – fantastic views in all directions.

After locating the subway station in Brooklyn we caught the train northwards again, this time getting out in Greenwich Village, recommended by many as a leafy green suburb worth 'wandering' through.

By now, (god only knows what time it was) the pathetic hotdog was a distant memory so we saw a Maccas and wandered over. Just a word of clarification for readers here – when 'touristing' in a foreign country, Maccas does not mean food necessarily.

No sirreee, Maccas means air conditioning, wifi and toilets!!

Unfortunately, in this particular establishment the “air wasn't working” so we made a quick trip to the restroom and sat outside (cooler) on the step to use the wifi and watch the locals indulging in a ball game across the road.

This revived us enough to stroll through nearby Washington Square Park (lots of chess games underway and kids and homeless men in fountains) before starting to shop our way up 5th avenue.

'Anthroplogie' became a new favourite but we explored many others en route to the Flat Iron Building about 18 blocks north!

A disastrous and unmentionable (in this blog) incident in a self washing restroom justifies the “evacuation” reference in the blog title and I will say no more except that I'm still recovering from the trauma.

At this point we saw a sign for a $29 wash and blow dry so seated ourselves at the basin and tried to hide our somewhat street soiled feet under the chair to enjoy a bit of relaxation.

They appeared to be setting up for some kind of TV shoot in front of the Flat Iron building which spoiled the shot somewhat but to be honest I was too stuffed to care by now!

With another 23 blocks to go, we doggedly set off and had enough energy for a quick pop into Macy's for some housekeeping essentials before settling on Ruby Tuesday's for dinner.

Ruby Tuesday's came with a great recommendation – it was literally in our path and we could go no further! Actually, both meals were pretty good and the peach sangria really hit the spot.

We hadn't wanted to be too late home tonight because Zoe had a 6 am flight the next morning necessitating a 4am departure from the hotel and an enormous task ahead of her packing her bag!

Arriving back to our room and both desperate for a shower we found a note saying that some essential plumbing meant the hotel would be without hot water from 12-5pm. No problem we thought, it was 9.30pm.

Unfortunately, there was no hot water. Front desk assured us it would be back 'anytime soon' but by 11.45pm when we turned the lights off and set the 3.15 am alarm it was still cold. My travel kettle and paper cups of water in the microwave provided us with enough for a 'top and tail' and that had to suffice 🙂

Four hours later I said goodbye to Zoe (after her cold shower!) as she headed off to La Guardia and I went back to sleep.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*