I headed out early while the others had a leisurely morning getting ready. I had a wander around Times Square, watched them filming Good Morning America and people watched. Met up with them just after 9.00 am and we all caught the Downtown bus to Battery Park. This statue came from the site of the original World Trade Centre.
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| Recovered from the World Trade Centre |
We stopped for breakfast (bacon and egg bagel) and then headed off to Ground Zero. Got side tracked at Century 21 (new sunglasses purchased).
We wandered past the protesters who had taken over the park. There was a lot of media interest and police presence. We chatted to one of the policemen who said generally the protesters were well behaved.
We then headed off to look around Ground Zero. While the others rested I had a wander around the grounds of St Paul’s Trinity Chapel and then we headed off to Ground Zero. Unfortunately tickets for memorial had sold out. In fact you can’t get tickets for weeks.
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| The new Freedom Tower at Ground Zero |
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| The construction workers |
The others stopped off in a pub and I headed for the St Paul’s Trinity Chapel and Wall Street, NY Stock Exchange, Federal Hall. How times have changed since I was last there. You couldn’t get near the buildings – metal security fences keeping people away. No sitting on the steps of Federal Hall anymore. Security it very high and cars have to go through very strict security, with sniffer dogs checking them out.
We had arranged to meet up again at 3.00 but I got a text to say “still in the pub – having a fantastic time”. I had a swift beer at Staten Island Ferry port (how that has changed!) and then hopped back on the bus and headed back to Rockefeller Centre. I had a wander along Fifth Avenue and then headed for Macy’s. They still have the original wooden escalators. It was nice to “window” shop.
I had several drunken messages to say they were still in the pub, so I stopped for a bite to eat. I went to check if there were any tickets for Mary Poppins performance that evening, but unfortunately there was no performance on a Monday so I headed back to the hotel. Thankfully they gave me a spare key at reception or I’d have had a long wait!
They rolled in in dribs and drabs after having an evening of cocktails in the Waldorf! I packed away all my stuff as we were leaving tomorrow and I wanted to make the most of the remaining morning.
