The next morning, Stephanie & I set out to explore Lower Manhattan. We hopped on a train & got off at Battery Park. The snow was still piled high in this area, but we checked out the eternal flame at the memorial to the 9/11 victims.
As we were a little bit closer to the Statue of Liberty, a got a hazy glimpse on a cold morning, but the lines were outrageous to get on the ferry to actually go out there. We could see Ellis Island also (what I think is) a university on the Jersey side. On a warmer day, I would have checked out Castle Clinton (who knew there was castle in downtown New York??), but we admired the gigantic memorial sculpture to World War II veterans.
Next, we headed into the financial district where we peeked into the Tiffany’s across from the (one of many) Trump Towers. There was a great old Federal Hall & then the mighty New York Stock Exchange all decorated for Christmas. It must have been too cold for the bull because I didn’t see the big sculpture around anywhere.
There was significantly more snow still on the ground & in the streets in this part of town. It was funny to see bulldozers clearing it & moving it to the steam grates to melt.
Continuing our walk north, we came upon Ground Zero. It was so moving to see the buildings rising up again & to learn that the memorial park and fountains will be officially opened on 9/11 of this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
Stephanie then showed me a cool little trick she learned- graciously walk into the Millennium Hilton across from Ground Zero & take the elevator all the way to the top for some amazing views. Even though I’d just visited the Top of the Rock, I loved looking around from a bird’s eye view & seeing all the new amazing buildings on the south side. I was a bit smitten with the staggering gray building with the ornate top and sparkly gold statue on top.
Another new favorite from the trip – I love seeing all the buildings of all shapes & sizes, the East River with the lower bridges crossing the water and the beautiful blue skies on the last day of the year.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I finally bought & started using Moirai’s Compositor for my collages. What do you think- too big?
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