Sore feet, but satisfied.

The 9th and 10th of April, day 3 and 4.

The plan to get on a hop-on-hop-off bus sounded good to a large group. Unfortunately it was around 50 dollars. We decided that a walk would be way better for us. We came across the Charging Bull that marks the beginning of Wall Street.  It’s the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity. After a mile or so we saw the new WTC rising up and knew that Ground Zero was close by. We visited the memorial to pay our respects. It was really impressive and emotional as well. Standing on the spot where something so dreadful took place felt awful. Seeing the names of the people who perished there made me feel sad. It was amazing to see though, that one tree had survived the devastation. It was still standing strong.
When we left Ground Zero we walked on Wall Street and saw the New York Stock Exchange as well as the statue of George Washington. Not far away I noticed a Tiffany and Co. This is the jewelry store that you see in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly) eats her breakfast in front of the store there. I could feel a luxurious air coming from it, so I understand why she would have breakfast there. We walked towards the end of the street and finally saw the Brooklyn Bridge. It was amazing. And I felt delighted to see it. We also spotted the Manhattan Bridge because it’s right next to it. It’s as magnificent as I thought it would be. Splendid! Shortly afterwards we took the subway to Times Square, had some dinner, went back to the hotel, got changed and five of us went to The Phantom of the Opera. I absolutely loved it. I expected it to be a tad to earnest, but I simply adored the story and the songs as well. It was fabulous.

On day 4 we did a little walking tour. We had lovely weather, just like the day before, and saw the most immense buildings we ever saw. We started at the New York Public Library, which gave me the feeling that I was the most knowledgeable person in the world. The general feel of the library is lovely. After spending way too much time in the gift shop we continued our walk. We took a stroll on Fifth Avenue and came across a Barnes and Noble. It is a pretty bookstore. I interviewed an employee for my Master Project there. He was a nice man and quite helpful as well. Very talkative and ready to answer all my questions. I never expected that New Yorkers would be like that. We continued the walk to Rockefeller Centre and the Radio City Music Hall. Then towards Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. These last three tourist spots where magnificent. I loved it. For some reason it made me feel at home, especially the Grand Central Station. I don’t know why though. We ended our walk in Madison Square Park. Which was lovely.
Then we took the sub home, put some different clothes on, and got dinner at Times Square in the Irish Pub again. After dinner we wanted to watch a film. But it started pouring and we were quite tired so we went back.

Two fantastic days! Tomorrow will be the last one. We’re leaving on Friday again, sadly enough.

Pictures: New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, New WTC, Tiffany & Co, Ground Zero, Tree that still stands, Grand Central Station, Flags on Wall Street, Clock in Grand Central Station, Ground Zero and Memorial.