On Monday, April 28 2014, my mother and I woke up bright and early in the Upper West Side of NYC (so again, please excuse the messy hair and tired makeup ha!). We walked to the local Coffee Bean right under our hotel to grab a toasted bagel, a vanilla latte and my mom tried her luck at some scratchers. With that, we were off to our next adventure!
When we arrived to our Pier, we waited for our yacht, Zephyr-a part of the Circle Line Downtown tour. Once we were on board, we were able to take a ride around the Hudson River to see views of the amazing NY skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Coney Island as well as cruise under the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge! It was the perfect day to be on the water since the sky was crystal clear, the sun was shining and the monuments were gleaming. If you are visiting NY, I definitely recommend this tour. Not only do you get to see the city's historic beauty for an hour from the sea but it's also really affordable!
Ellis Island
Statue of Liberty. She's a beauty. Thank you France!
The Freedom Tower-built after 9/11
After the tour wrapped up, we walked through the financial district and towards the 9/11 memorial.
Once we arrived to the memorial at Ground Zero, it took a while to realize where I really was, what happened in the exact place I was standing 13 years ago and the thousands of precious lives that were lost. Seeing the names engraved around the tranquil double waterfalls made it seem real. It's hard to gather the words to describe the feeling you get when you encounter such a sacred place. It's almost impossible not to look out at each waterfall-which once encompassed the tallest towers in the U.S. and not replay the images of screaming men and women covered in ash and soot.
I still remember where I was when this tragedy hit, much like most of us. As a 12 year old girl, I remember having dreams of airplanes crashing into everything after seeing what had happened to the World Trade Center buildings on the news. Even as a girl in Southern California, on the other side of the country, this day has affected me. I pray for the families who have been directly affected by September 11, 2001 and deeply love one or more of the names written in the stone at Ground Zero.
So solemn.
Taking a peek into the 9/11 museum. It just opened a few weeks after we left NY.
When we left the memorial, we immediately saw Morton's Steakhouse. Since it's supposed to be one of the best steakhouses ever, we made this our lunch stop. I have a fillet mignon burger and my mom had a prime rib french dip sandwich. I'd love to say that I could vouch for the "best steak anywhere" but seeing how both of our meats (especially my mothers) were actually cooked a lot more raw than we ordered (we ordered medium well), it wasn't as best as I would have hoped. The customer service was really great though and the manager was super nice about it. He even gave us some yummy chocolate mousse to enjoy. I didn't mind that one bit!
After lunch, we headed to midtown to do some shopping at MOOD (a very much anticipated shopping trip), enjoyed the alluring and peaceful atmosphere of the New York Public Library and experienced Grand Central Station at rush hour...NEXT POST. Stay Tuned.
See previous NY posts:
NY Part I- Sunrise over Manhattan and Magic in Central Park
NY Part II- How NOT to ride the subway, a bald lady and the Empire State Building
I'm really enjoying your NYC trip photos - I've always dreamed of visiting.
ReplyDeleteThat red cardigan is beautiful. You look absolutely adorable in it.
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