We started this day out with a good night's sleep under our belts. Our first thing on the agenda was the Museum of Natural History. We went and bought our Metro Passes so we could take the subway to get around. If you've never been on the Subway, just imagine going to a HOT, underground garbage dump, and that is about what it smells like. Some subway stations are definitely cleaner than others, but they all have the same sour, dirty smell. We started playing "spot the rat" while waiting for the train at some point during our trip. Luckily we only ever spotted them down on the tracks....and nowhere near our feet!
The Museum of Natural history was sooo busy! We couldn't believe how many people piled off the subway with us to go to the museum. The Museum of Natural History is HUGE! There was no way we were making it through the whole thing. We hurried our way through lots of exhibits to get to the ones we wanted to see. One of the first rooms we saw was the Hall of Biodiversity. I swear they had every kind of spider, bug, turtle, and a hundred other things on this one wall. It was so cool to look at.
We also really liked all the fossils they had. We spent a good portion of our time there. Then of course we had to go find the Easter Island Head! We were pretty exhausted after a couple of hours, and we had other things to do and see, so we decided to leave. The entryway of this building was amazing! It was so interesting and grand.
It was pouring rain, but luckily we packed umbrellas! We booked it to the nearest subway station and headed to Brooklyn. This subway ride was definitely less crowded than our first.
We wanted to eat lunch at Grimaldi's Pizza. They don't take reservations, so you just stand outside in line. Luckily it stopped raining for this part!
It did not disappoint! That was some good pizza! While we were standing in line, we overheard the people in front of us talking about the best cookies ever at a shop not too far from where we were, so of course we had to go check it out :) They were some pretty good cookies!
Next on the agenda was walking some of that good food off! The plan was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. There was also quite a walk just to get to the entrance of the bridge! I don't know why, but I love this bridge! I think it has to do with the old architecture of it. There are lots of things about it that still give it an old world feel, but also many things that have obviously been updated. There are some great views of the skyline across the harbor, and it's just a fun walk!
I can't explain why, but this is on my "must do" list for NYC. This was one thing I had done in my previous trip, and definitely wanted to do again this time around.
After our walk we had a little bit of time to burn before our scheduled time at the 9/11 Memorial. We headed to the financial district. It was a Sunday, so it was completely quite down there. It's so crazy to me how all of these different areas of the city have such a different feel. The roads are a lot more narrow in this part of town, and it seems like the buildings are a lot taller! (It also feels a lot cleaner!) It's awesome! We of course had to go to the New York Stock Exchange building for Matt.
He was disappointed that they didn't have the big American flag across the front of the building. We walked around that area for a short while. We saw The Trump Building and a Tiffany & Co....which is of course picture worthy :)
Next we headed over to the 9/11 Memorial. They have it totally blocked off and you have to go through several security checkpoints to get in. The last time I was in NYC was 2005 and this is what the 9/11 site looked like.
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| This is my dear, cute friend Erin. |
It had kind of a weird feeling. It's possible it felt so weird because it was also so much closer to when the attacks happened. Here is a feel of what it looks like now.
It felt a million times more peaceful! It was beautiful. I love how it turned out, it is gorgeous. It was a very solemn experience to walk around the two huge waterfalls and see all of the names of the people who passed away. So many!
There is a sense of hope at the memorial. Two things stood out.
The first is the "Survivor Tree." This tree was planted in the 70's at the World Trade Center. When they were going through all the wreckage from the attack, they found this tree. It was 8 feet tall and still alive. It was taken care of and nursed back to health. When they planted it at the memorial it stood 35 feet tall. There's something pretty symbolic about the tree :)
The other cool thing that feels hopeful is the "Freedom Tower." It should be done this year. With it's spire it will reach 1,776 feet tall....or 1776, in reference to the year of American independence. It's cool to see the construction going on near the memorial. It shows resilience.
After we spent some time at the memorial we went back to the "center" of town and went to the Empire State Building. We figured it would be cool to see at night. It was pretty cool, but it was also pretty rainy and cold.
This is of course something that you have to do if go to NYC. The rain created some pretty cool misty haze over the city from up this high! With our NYC passes we also got to do a simulated rollercoaster ride. It's supposed to be a helicopter ride over the city. It was pretty lame, but hey, we didn't have to pay extra for it :) (I would recommend skipping the ride if you don't have lots of time or extra cash.) The nice thing about going at night was there wasn't a line to wait in! The last time I came we waited in a huge line that felt like it weaved through the whole building. This time we just walked right through!
It was close to 10 p.m. by the time we got done and we were starving. The thing is, there aren't tons of places open at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night. We ended up back in Times Square, and there were a few options, so we went with Red Lobster. Don't ask me why :) We had a fun waiter, name Ceasar, that talked Jenny into getting "fish in a bag". That's not the real name of the dish, but that is what he referred to it as..
By time we finished it was well after 11 and definitely bed time!
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