Saturday 24th

New York - Day 3

Today we hit the pavement again and headed Downtown on the subway to the 9/11 memorial, the station comes out in the Oculus, which is white open forecourt of a tasteful building that houses upmarket shops, this is to compliment the new Trade Centre buildings that are being constructed.

There will be seven Trade Centre buildings in all when the precinct is complete.

You walk out of this building to the memorial and the 9/11 Memorial Museum. The memorials, there are two are actually located on the footprint of the two original buildings and are ponds of flowing water that gravitate to the centre, around each of the memorials are inscribed the name of the 2983 victims from 90 countries who lost their lives in this tragedy. 

The names also highlight where those people worked or where involved with.

The memorial places a rose on the victims names on their birthday.

There is also a tree of remberence in the park surrounding the memorial.

We then headed down to Battery Park at the bottom of Manhattan where we caught the Hop on, Hop off ferry for a cruise past the Statue of Liberty and further up the Hudson River to Pier 78.

We jumped aboard the ferry at Pier 11 and headed out towards the Statue of Liberty, gifted to the American by the French as a symbol of their bond in revolting against the British Monacy.

New York helicopter pad, there where about 12 helicopter operating.

View of Brooklyn from the water.

Manhattan.

Staten Island ferry, two operate between Manhattan and Staten Island, 24 hours a day and they are free.

Statue of Liberty, we where able to get close.

The ferry then heads up the Hudson River towards Pier 78 with views of Manhattan and New Jersey.

We were told that the centre glass appartments building is occupied by Calvin Cline on the top 4 floors and the one below is owned by Hugh Jackman who bought it from Nicole Kidman.

Air ventilation for the Holand Tunnel.

Brooklyn and the Brooklyn bridge.

We then headed back up Wall Street, it was not as I imagined, noting it is supposed to be the Financial Capital of the world, it was narrow and dingy.

A different view of the Empire State Building tonight, all red replacing the White.