7.9.15 - Day 3. Downtown - NY water taxi, 9/11, ESB.

Our first subway ride. Caught 'our' green line downtown.

The plan today, Can we do it? (there IS 24 hours in a day)

1. Collect Kathy's New York Pass
2. Get me a SIM card
3. Look at Times Square
4. NY Water Taxi ride
5. Battery Park
6. Ground Zero/ 9.11 memorial
7. 9/11 Museum
8. Empire State Building

Purchasing our metro cards.

1. Done and dusted, easily found Planet Hollywood for Kathy's Pass collection. We have already learnt, you can find things much more easily - just ask and ANYONE will assist.
2. SIM card purchased in Times Square, nice folk at AT&T. Thanks. Feel connected when needed now.
3. Checked out Times Square - people, people, people.
4. Subway to South Ferry, required us to hop off at Chambers, where a courtesy bus then delivered us the rest of the way. A short walk along the East River along the waterfront to Pier 11, to catch our NY Water Taxi, this is the activation of our first New York Pass. and our first queue.

Our first experience of NY queues.

Brooklyn Bridge from Pier 11

Here come's the Water Taxi, it was an excellent tour, guide was great, clear, loud and really informative. Information overload and I can't recall much of it at all. (I'm blaming jet lag). The photos below tell the story, but sights included Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, Governor's Island, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Manhattan Skyline, East River, Hudson River,

Here comes the NY Water Taxi

Under the Brooklyn Bridge, River Cafe.

Brooklyn skyline

Manhattan Skyline.

Brooklyn dock area.

Cool shuttered windows of a shed on Brooklyn docks area.

Staten Island Ferry passing by Statue of  Liberty

Iconic.

Manhattan skyline. The tall one is One World Observatory - the new World Trade Center.

Governor's Island

Lyn, Kathy and Sandra on Water Taxi.

One of the old piers, now reclaimed and used for recreation space. 

Disembarked the Taxi at Battery Park, where we saw the Mariner's Memorial, "The Sphere" and Unknown Soldiers Memorial (which I didn't take a photo of - Jetlag...again!)

Mariners Memorial

The Sphere - a sculpture that once stood at the Twin Towers. 

The Sphere was found under the rubble of the Twin Towers and salvaged to be later placed at Battery Park, where it now contains an eternal flame and serves as a memorial to the thousands who died.

From there we walked to to World Trade Centre (WTC) site - Ground Zero. It's much easier to find where you are going, when it is so highly visible. Had to detour across the street, there is so much construction and roadworks etc, there are lots of detours and alternate routes to things.

New World Trade Center. One World Observatory.

Stopped at the lights beside us the Australian Cupcake Network - NY tour...had to giggle.

Yup, a group of ladies on tour from Oz. 

At the WTC we viewed the reflecting pools, that mark the footprints of the twin towers, and have water flowing into a seemingly bottomless cube at the based. The names of all those killed surround each pool. Also around the park around the pools is planted with Swamp Oaks - one for each life lost! The whole area has such a high level of reverence, very quiet, respectful. The trees are so healthy. Quite an experience.

We queued to 'purchase' our ticket to 9/11 Museum for 3.30, as we were desperately in need of lunch. Poor Kathy, was really wilting, it is hot and humid, and this is Kathy's first day, so she is hanging in well - a shared muesli bar while waiting perked us all up a little.

Queuing for our 9/11 Museum Tickets. 

The reflecting pools. Names of those killed surround the two pools.

The reflecting pools and surrounding Swamp White Oak trees, are a solemn but beautiful commemoration of lives lost and the devastation that was 9/11.

On the footprint of the Twin Towers, awesome tribute.

The new WTC soars above.

This week will see the 14th anniversary of 9/11. A few flags and flowers today. I'm sure there will be thousands more on Friday.

Each life lost has a Swamp Oak planted around the two Pools at Ground Zero.

Tallest building in USA, 3rd tallest in the world.

We headed away from Ground Zero, there is no food in the vicinity, so we found a restaurant called Blue Smoke and ordered their lunch special. You chose a meat - pulled pork shoulder or antouille sausage or brisket or something else, plus a side of vegies - green beans, tomatoes, salad and a cookie or brownie. We enjoyed ours very much, there was a NY Cider for some.

And again, 

Back at the Museum for our 3.30 ticket entry - pfffpph.  Now what was a harrowing experience. It is very hard to describe. Not many pics in there, it really was too emotional. I also wasn't thinking straight to operate the camera indoors without a flash. The museum tells the story of that fateful September 11 day, when four planes were hijacked and crashed into the WTC, the Pentagon and a paddock at Shanksville.

There were stacks of relics and remnants and tributes to all those lost. The sadness and strength of people was palpable. Parts of the buildings, planes, emergency vehicles, planes, emergency vehicles, 'survivors stairs' at Vesey Street. I could go on, but in short if you are visiting, set aside a half day. It is sombre but very worthwhile.

Inside the 9/11 museum, this tribute, A Virgil quote surrounded by 2983 blue squares, each representing the colour of the sky that day.

 A quote from Virgil surrounded by 2983 watercolour tiles - "Trying to remember the colour of the sky on that day". A really moving tribute again. Each tile a different shade of blue and one tile for every person lost.

From WTC, we headed via subway to the Empire State Building, for our first views over Manhattan...it was about 6.30. Good to see some lights etc. However, there was waaay too many people, a bit hazy and no good for my camera, will need to pinch some pics from the others. It was an amazing building tho, with construction occurring in 444 days.

Empire State Building - up we go!

Art deco in the lift, all marble and beautiful.

Some of the amazing art deco features.

Queuing with our audio, telling us story of it all.

Pepsi Cola sign from ESB.

Chrysler Building from ESB 86th floor.

Some with the phone, stuck up above heads. Looking downtown.

Across to the river.

and another one.

Lobby of ESB

At one of the Subway stations, Police Station with NYPD segways.

Rubbish night in New York. Just ONE of the HUGE piles on our street.

Home again about 8.30, Sandra and I went out and got some pasta and salad from Nick's to feed the hoardes. Friends of Sandra's  Liz and John were coming to visit. The food was good, it was lovely to see Liz and John and hear of their NY adventures. Finally into bed about midnight. We are all pretty stuffed. leftovers