Saturday morning (Day Two) started out pretty early with breakfast at George's, which is a wonderful restaurant down in the Financial District. The restaurant, which has been open since 1950, was actually destroyed during the 9/11 attacks, because of its close proximity, but was thankfully rebuilt in the years after the attack. After homemade french toast and home fries, we went to stand in line to wait for the opening of the 9/11 Memorial.
We had tickets for the earliest time slot and its a good thing, because the place fills up quickly. I think the 9/11 Memorial was by far my favorite stop on our trip and I have to commend the person who designed the memorial, because it is one of the most beautiful tributes that I could have ever imagined. The flowing water into the black marble pits looks like diamonds reflecting in the sun. The continual flow of water reminds us that while the lives of those men and women were lost on that fateful day, their impact and legacy will live on forever.
After spending some time in the 9/11 Memorial park, we took a walk around downtown and saw sights such as Trinity Church, the New York Stock Exchange, and of course the Wall Street Bull! We decided not to take the trek out to see the Statue of Liberty on this trip, mainly because it is very time consuming, but very worth it if you have the time (we went to the top of the crown in 2009 and it was amazing!). In order to see the SOL and a good view of the island as a whole we hopped on to the Stanton Island Ferry for a 25 minute trip across the harbor. I have to recommend that you all try this if you are in NYC- its free, has the best views of the city, and did I mention it was free? A little tip that I learned this trip (thanks to a certain awesome tour guide/aunt) is to head to the back of the ship as soon as you get on the boat. This is where you will be able to see the best views of the city, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. Another note is once you are at the port in Staten Island, you do have to disembark, but you can go right around and get back on for the return trip. Do not make a bathroom pit stop or you might be left in Staten Island!
We left the New York Port Authority terminal and took a walk along New York's stockyards and seaport. Around the late 1800's and early 1900's, this area of the country was the biggest area of trade in the world due to the opening of the Erie Canal. This is what created the boom in population in New York City, because immigrants came to America looking jobs and found them here! Excuse the history lesson- that's what you get when you read a history teacher's blog. From there we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge. I was so excited to check this off of my bucket list! I will have to admit that this bridge is huge in person and the walk is no joke! We made it maybe halfway across the bridge and decided that we had seen enough and there was no way we were going to make it to Brooklyn and then walk all the way back! If you have some free time and like to bike, I suggest renting bicycles for the day and trying to make the trip across the bridge. However, beware of the professionals who bike it regularly, because they do not take kindly to pedestrians or amateur bikers getting in their way!
One thing I should probably mention at this point in my recap of the trip is that this was a very walk intensive trip. This means that breaks are necessary! So being typical Americans and frankly delirious from thirst we took a pit stop at McDonald's for sweet tea and french fries. They were amazing. After refueling we began our trek to the Flatiron District to see the infamous 112 year old Flatiron Building. This was another thing on my must see in New York list. The triangular shape building was so controversial when opened in 1902, because many believed its odd shape would cause it to fall over easily. It was built at the cross section of three roads (which is another oddity) and many business owners complained that it redirected heavy winds towards their buildings. In the end the iconic landmark stayed and you should definitely see it if your in the area.
We had a wide open afternoon, so I decided to channel Audrey Hepburn's character Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's and spend the afternoon in the gorgeous New York Public Library. It only took about 2 seconds of standing in that foyer to realize that if the Mr. and I could get married again this would be the spot! I mean everything about this building is to die for. Large marble staircases, classic lantern chandeliers, thousands of books, decadently decorated study rooms, the list goes on and on. I even registered for a library card- which was a temporary one, but hey it was exciting! We spent the remainder of the afternoon lounging in the courtyard area in front of the library, much in need of a rest after a long day on our feet.
When I traveled to New York in 2009 we found this amazing little Italian restaurant and we knew if we returned we would have to go again. So we set out to find Fagiolini later that evening. The problem was that there are actually two restaurants with the same name and we did not remember which one we had visited before, so we picked one and it turned out to be the one we had not been to before. No worries though, it turned out to be just as amazing as I remembered the other one being. I opted for one of their specials that evening and while I cannot remember the name of it, it was basically a Philly cheesesteak and lasagna wrapped into one. It was amazing! Everything was homemade and the pasta melted in your mouth.
An evening in New York would not be complete without a walk through Times Square, so after dinner we decided to walk off all the pasta we had consumed. Our destination: Juniors Cheesecake in Times Square. Juniors is one of my top picks in New York and while the wait for dinner is often long, they have a separate area for take out where you can choose from among their many flavors of fresh homemade cheesecakes. We grabbed slices of red velvet and chocolate swirl, headed back to the hotel, and chatted late into the night over our decadent desserts. There might have even been some popcorn to offset all the sweetness, but who cares about calories on vacation- they don't count, right?
See you guys later this week with the final installment of my NYC trip. Coming up: Central Park, Serendipity3, and Dylan's Candy Store just to name a few! Have a great Wednesday!
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