New York City, Day Four - 11/25/2017
Julie, Jenny and I begin our final day in New York city touring the area around the World Trade Center and the financial district. Our first stop was Oculus, the mezzanine and entrance to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. This awe inspiring structure is art and architecture.
Click here to see my photos of the Oculus.
Next, we took a look at One World Trade Center. This was my first view of the tower since it opened in 2014. I had previously seen it in various stages of construction in 2009 and 2011.
Click here to check out my pituces of One World Trade Center.
Our next stop was the 9/11 Memorial. The beautiful design of the memorial park, with its forest of swamp white oak trees and two square reflecting pools in the center marking where the Twin Towers stood.
One thing that I was not aware of and stumbled upon at the memorial was the Survivor Tree. This Callery Pear Tree endured the attacks, was found severely damaged in the rubble, cared for by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and returned to the site in 2010. Within the tree there was a bouquet of flowers. At first I didn’t give much thought that these flowers were any different that the many flowers I had seen throughout the memorial. A few moments later a memorial worker placed a sign nearby reading that the flowers had been placed in honor of the victims of the attack on Bir al-Abed, Egypt just one day before. This brought a tear to my eye.
Click here to see my photos of the September 11 Memorial.
We continued on to nearby Trinity Church and Cemetery, resting place of many famous New Yorkers and founding fathers of the United States, including Alexander Hamilton.
Click here for my pictures of Trinity Church.
We wandered the streets of the financial district and onto Wall Street as we search for a place to eat.
We ventured to Battery Park at the lower end of Manhattan before heading back uptown.
Once we reached the World Trade Center again we spotted a good place to eat. We found our way into Eataly NYC Downtown on the second floor of 4 World Trade Center. This establishment was both a restaurant and Italian market, complete with fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood. I ordered the Linguini.
After a short trip on the subway, our next stop was Washington Square Park near New York University. The park was filled with families enjoying the day out in the beautiful fall weather. There were musicians, performers and bubble blowers.
We had the happy accident of seeing Colin Huggins, the classical pianist who travels with a baby grand piano and frequents the park.
Click here to see all of my pictures of Washington Square Park.
Our walking tour took us past Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, site of the 1969 riots, a milestone in the quest for gay rights.
As we neared the High Line, we stopped for a bite at Ample Hills Creamery on Gansevoort Street. I tried the Floating’ Over the High Line ice cream, which had the flavors of a root beer float.
I was looking forward to our next adventure, a walk on the High Line. This is a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail. It was created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side. It is a beautiful and eclectic mix of old and new, rustic and modern, natural and manmade, rural and urban.
We walked the entire length of the High Line and finished just as the sun set and the park closed.
Click here to see more of my pictures from the High Line.
As our day full of walking began to wind down, it was time to find a place to sit down for a good dinner. On Eighth Avenue we found Times Square Diner & Grill, where I ordered Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Fries.
We then waited to the Fun Bus to take us back to the hotel for a good night’s rest before the long drive home tomorrow.
Click here to see a few more pictures from our visit to New York City.
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