Now we are in New York City!

 Hi!  We decided to add NYC onto the end of this cruise/trip.  So, we found a cheap flight to NY and here we are!

The skies have been a bit overcast and it has tried to rain on us but we have already seen a lot in just 3 days.

Some highlights:

We bought a 7-day pass and are using the buses and subways extensively.  It is pretty easy really.  If you go the wrong way simply get off and reverse direction or try again!  Also, Google Maps shows you exactly where to get on what bus and the stops you are passing to get to your destination.

We are staying in Brooklyn - we took a nice walk on the Brooklyn-Heights Promenade.  It offers great views of Manhattan.

A quick trip to Wall Street to see the "Bull".

This is the "Fearless Girl" - she stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange.  This little statue was commissioned by State Street to encourage corporate Boards to elevate more women to their executive suites and boards.  It has been statistically proven that having women in the boardroom results in a more successful company!  Girl Power Baby!

Lady Liberty!  

Ellis Island

Today we had tickets to the 9-11 Museum.  This was a very moving museum with artifacts from the buildings, pictures of the victims, timelines of that day, etc.

This is a picture of a piece of steel that was twisted from a "beam" into a U-shape by the heat of the jet fuel and fire.

This ladder truck was parked near the North tower. When the tower came down it was partially crushed by the debris. 

This is the Slurry Wall.  This was part of the original WTC design and was considered an engineering marvel at the time (in the late 60's).  It was 7-levels down into the ground as the base of the skyscrapers.  The purpose of the wall was to keep out the Hudson River.  Had this wall collapsed during the attack, parts of the subway system and lower Manhattan would have flooded, resulting in more disaster and loss of life.

One of 2 memorial pools. According to the designer: The two memorial pools, these vast recessed empty spaces, are containers of memory and emptiness. They are absence made visible. 

The names of the victims are inscribed around the perimeter.

A view of One World Trade Center.

Manhattan

Chinatown.  We ate at Wo Hop, a restaurant recommended to me years ago by some friends. It was delicious!

The High Line is a 1.5 mile elevated linear park created on a former NY Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in NYC.  It was a lovely stroll with gardens along the old rails.

A stop for a drink at a piano bar.

We ended the afternoon with a rainy stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge.

After dinner at Grimaldi (Pizza) we are back in our place (after an exciting Uber ride!) hoping for an uneventful evening. 

Last night, we were super tired and had been asleep for about an hour when there were tremendous thuds that shook us out of our beds!  We had no idea what was happening - it sounded like there was a bowling alley above us!  

Carsten and Falk, despite Svenni and my protests, went upstairs to see what was happening.  They found a young man in the gym working out with free weights.  He was not careful about dropping them on the floor when he finished his "rep".  

Good grief!  That was crazy!  Carsten of course could not go back to sleep after all this excitement!  I had no problem :)

Tomorrow we will explore more of the city!

Take Care,

Sheri & Carsten