Sorry about missing a day in posting, but I was so exhausted yesterday by 6 pm that I skipped dinner and did not even think about blogging last night.
So here's a brief recap: Ship arrived in Red Hook, Brooklyn, to a drizzly, low fog. We had chosen a late departure time, and at 10:10 we started the departure process. It was a madhouse, but only because there was a line of people exiting the building looking for taxis. Everyone was stuck behind this line. Baggage was handled beautifully, found three of them together and all four inside of one minute. Customs was a three minute line, and then we battled our way outside. Once clear of that mess we ordered up an Uber ride, he was there in five minutes and we waved at the taxi line as we drove off. We got lucky with a really nice driver and a big car that held all the luggage. It was a bit of a traffic hoo-haw, but we got to the hotel at 11:45, and by then the sky was clearing up, too.
Dropped our bags off and headed over to the subway, bought our passes and off to the city we went. We were in New York!
I have to say, having seen photos and movies for years and having heard stories good and bad, it was really fun to actually be able to say those words. Our first subway ride ended up at Central Park at Fifth Ave. across the street from the Plaza Hotel, so it was a real surprise to exit the stairs with a view of leafy trees overhead and then to realize the ornate building was the Plaza.
We meandered through Central Park under what had become beautiful blue skies, along with the carriage rides, joggers, families with strollers and dogs, and just marveled at the fact that we actually made it. And we even bought a pretzel from one of the many food carts (just like the pølse wagons in Denmark!)
By 1:30 we were at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we did our best to see as much as we could. We had a short list of several 'must see' items, and we used the museum wifi and app to find out which rooms they were in and then we mapped out a route. Despite this, we ended up backtracking a few times because we got lost, remembered another item that should have been on the now-not-so-short list, or just decided that a room looked interesting.
Somewhere in there we stopped at one of the cafes for a late lunch, attempting also to give the knees, ankles and feet a little rest. We continued on as best we could, but by 6pm my fun meter was pegged, and we decided to head back to the hotel. A quick stop at the corner grocery got us a six pack and some cheese and bread, and we were set for the night. We slept like logs until the alarm went off this morning.
We had breakfast at the hotel, then caught the subway down to the Statue of Liberty at 8 am. We had another glorious, clear day for our trip. And we walked everywhere, again. Then we went to Ellis Island and walked through that, too. Are you getting a sense of what the day was going to be like? The tickets came with excellent audio headsets and information, but it was information overload.
View up inside Lady Liberty... The spiral staircase goes to the crown... Which my knees refused to even consider.
The original flame, built by the same guy that was the lead engineer of Mt. Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum.
Sculpture of Annie Moore--yep the same girl seen on our Cobh, Ireland post. First immigrant through Ellis Island. Her trip took 10 days, ours was only 6.
We could have spent a lot more time at each of these museums, but our joints were still feeling the effects of the day before, so we called 'enough' and went for a quick bite to eat. And while ordering, we got a phone call from a long-ago friend who migrated from California to New York. Amy was one of our first rent-a-kids when she was about 9. She's now forty-something and a mother of two, but we've been keeping up with each other on Facebook. Since we were in her town, she asked if we could meet for dinner so we could meet her family, so we agreed on dinner at one of her old haunts across the street from her former apartment in the West Village.
So with three hours to fill we decided to go up to the 9/11 Memorial, which was about halfway from where we were to where we would meet Amy and Rob. All I can say about the the memorial and museum is that is probably the most powerful museum I have ever experienced, and I've been to quite a few museums on our travels. It truly deserves an entire day to see it properly, and to experience the entire museum. There are many powerful messages and images; many you have seen or heard before, and many you have not. I was moved to tears by many of the exhibits, and in many ways it brought back many forgotten memories of that day. It should be on everyone's To Do list when in New York.
Words and still photos just don't capture the impact of seeing this in person. The sight and sound of all that water disappearing into a black hole, surrounded by the names of the victims is quite moving.
After a few hours there, we decided to head over early to the restaurant where we were meeting our friends, if only to decompress from our museum visit...and we started with a couple of very fine beers and moved on. We had a lovely visit and 'let's catch up on the last thirty years in person' talk with Amy and Rob, for which we are very grateful. We very much needed a fun evening, and we received a great dose of it with our friends. We managed to make it to 8:30 tonight....😄.
My mermaid and rainbow pictures by Kelly and Annie.
Now it's time for some feet up and relaxation before tomorrow's adventures. I'm not entirely clear on where exactly we're going, but we do have tickets to a show tomorrow night, so we hope to last a little later.