Day 22 Week 4

I got up at 04.45 this morning to make sure that I got an early train into the city. The view down the Hudson from Beacon was lovely. Unfortunately, arriving at Grand Central Terminal at 07.20 was right on peak hour and it was bedlam. Everyone was in a hurry to get to work and had no problems with bumping into you as they go past and not even look back to say sorry. You’d think by now they would have worked out that if they left home just a little bit earlier, they wouldn’t have to rush so much. Everyone was like an Olympic power walker. One thing that intrigued me about Grand Central Station was that there were armed soldiers standing on points around the inside of the main terminal building. I went over a struck up a conversation with a couple of them and they said that they (the soldiers) have been there since 9/11.

Early morning Hudson River

Grand Central Station

Soldiers in Grand Central

Rush, rush, rush

Anyway, once I worked out Grand Central Station, the systems seemed to work amazingly well. The subway system is brilliant and is the only way to get around the city. It was crowded as hell at that time of the morning but it was calmer later on in the day. I caught the train down to the Brooklyn Bridge Station which is closest to Ground Zero.

I arrived at the 9/11 memorial at about 08.15, only to find they didn’t open until 09.30. Right next door to the visitor centre was a great deli so I took the opportunity to have breakfast.  

After I finished breakfast, I waited in the doorway of the visitors centre and just ‘people watched’ for a while. It was quite amazing to me......nobody was smiling and if I tried to make eye contact and give them a polite nod of ‘hello’ they would quickly divert their eyes and rush on. I tried a number of times and it was always the same response. So different to the people in the south who would wave at you from their porches as you were driving down the street.  

Funny little parking police car

Anyway, it finally opened and I got my tickets to go to the 9/11 Memorial. It is a remarkable plaza with two huge remembrance fountains in the footprints of the original towers. The new World Trade Tower 1, known as the Freedom Tower is nearly completed. It is up to about the 92nd floor and will be 104 floors when finished. The original towers were 110 floors but this one will be taller due to the spire they are placing on top.

World Trade 1 the 'Freedom Tower'

Memorial pond

After I had visited the 9/11 memorial, I walked up to Battery Park which was only a few blocks away and caught the Statton Island Ferry over to Statton Island. You get a great view of the city including Lady Liberty and it is a free service provided by the New York Port Authority.

Abe Simpson's first home in America

NYC skyline from Statton Island

When I got back to Manhattan, I caught the subway ‘uptown’ and got off at ‘Canal St’. Everyone had told me that I should see China town so I went for a look. Pretty much just more chaos really.  Oh, one thing about Canal St was the amount of sidewalk hawkers selling ‘knock off’ Louis Vuitton hand bags and Rolex watches. Quite openly and no one seemed to care.

Canal and Broadway

Subway back to Central......a lot quieter after lunch.

Ally's shirt getting signed by real a New Yorker

Anyway, when I had finished there, I decided that it was time to catch the train back up the river to my waiting car, (if it was still there?).

Luckily it was, so I loaded up and headed off up State. I am spending the night at a little place called Cortland, midway between Binghamton and Syracuse. I am about 3 ½ hours from Niagara Falls so I will do that tomorrow and see where I end up after that. Probably somewhere in Canada.