After a morning of shopping, we met up with Liesl at Ground Zero, which is where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre once stood. Apparently there have been a lot of construction delays due to public criticism and indecision about what kind of memorial to build, so there is still not much there. There were large barriers all the way around, and little to be seen above them except for some cranes. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like... the buildings around look so solid and tall, yet the Twin Towers were taller than all of them and now there's just a gaping flat area where they once stood. I found it strange and surreal to try to link the place I saw in "real life" to all the news coverage relating to 9/11 over the last 7 years.
The first and last photos below show the majority of the site from two different corners. The third photo below shows a flag that was on the wall of the cafe we had lunch at across from Ground Zero. I think the cafe may have been a temporary medical station on and after 9/11, as there was a handpainted sign to that effect mounted on the wall. They also had photos of firefighters and handwritten notes and cards displayed behind glass.
From Ground Zero we walked to Wall Street. Not that I had based my expectations on any real knowledge, but I think I was expecting something a bit more in-your-face grand and modern. In reality it was just like lots of other streets in New York or even London... sky-scrapers, fancy old buildings, some pedestrian-only streets, and lots of tourists milling around! My favourite sight on Wall Street was the US flag made from lights on the huge pillars of the New York Stock Exchange - check it out in the last photo below!
At 4pm, we went on a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise, which departed from Pier 83 on the Hudson River. After a long wait in line (of course!), it was almost dark by the time the five of us finally boarded the ferry. We had outside seats and it was extremely cold!! Thankfully we purchased a large mug with unlimited onboard refills, which kept a steady stream of hot chocolate pouring down each of our throats. :)
The cruise went down the river, along beside Manhattan, past Liberty Island (i.e. where the Statue of Liberty stands), under the Brooklyn Bridge, and then turned around and went back to Pier 83, taking about 2 hours. The views of the New York skyline at night were beautiful! Our videos turned out better than the photos did, so I have included one of them below. Watch for the green- and red-tipped Empire State Building - you can glimpse it just as a guy in front of the camera moves his head! Also look for Susie and Liesl all rugged up, and the giant clockface at the water's edge right at the end...
After we got off the cruise, an awesome and unexpected experience came our way. :) We were waiting in the freezing cold for a bus to arrive so we could go to Rockefeller Centre, when the driver of a limo parked nearby came over and offered us a ride to anywhere we wanted in Manhattan, for only $25 - i.e. $5 each!! This was an offer we couldn't refuse. So we bundled in and set off for Rockefeller Centre in the nice warm limo. It ended up taking about half an hour as we were inching along in traffic jams much of the way, so it was TOTALLY worth it! Definitely one of my favourite New York experiences, as it combined good company with being warm, avoiding long waits, seeing the sights, and getting a bargain!! :P
And that was our Boxing Day in New York! That night we played Susie's new Killer Bunnies game in the basement of our hostel, and sneaked Liesl into Ben's and my room - which was actually what a guy at the front counter had recommended we do when we had asked about extra beds the day before!! And she left for home early the next morning.
Thanks for making the effort to come up, Liesl - it was fantastic! :D
