New York -- Day Two

Friday, February 13 -- Our Sightseeing Day
This was a big day of sightseeing! We started off by meeting Cecilia's brother, Gabi, and his friends at our apartment. They needed a place to stash their luggage until their place was ready. The group consisted of Gabi and his fiance Cat, her sister Carol, and brothers Joe, Bo, and Chevy. Later, we were joined by more of the sisters, Connie and Kim. It was quite the sibling vacation, as everyone in the group except me was a sibling of someone else in the group! Let's remember that my sister, Erin, was originally going to go on this trip but then couldn't come. That would have made it a total "let's be related" vacay! Here's a picture of Erin, just so we can think about her for a minute...Breakfast was at the diner by our apartment. They had great omelets and potatoes! We then got on the subway and went down to Ground Zero. I really wanted to see the area and it was kind of surreal to be there. It was a much smaller area than I pictured from what I've seen on TV. It was also really strange to try and picture WTC buildings 1 and 2 in that space. There were other buildings all around and they were really tall, so to try and picture the WTC buildings which were like more than double the height of the current buildings was really crazy. We couldn't see the hole that much as there was construction fencing all around it, but that was okay with me. We went across the street to St. Paul's Chapel, the location where so many of the workers and volunteers stayed between their rescue shifts. This place was amazing and so moving that I found myself crying while walking through it. I couldn't help it, and I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face. There are many tributes, pictures, letters, and other items on display around the sides of the chapel and while I was looking at everything, I started to picture what had gone on in the days after 9/11. It was just so sad, but also there was a lot of messages of love and support, which really touched me. I am very glad we went there and will always remember it.

This is the area where the WTC buildings used to be.

This is a picture of St. Paul's Chapel.

This picture is of a tree stump. The stump saved St. Paul's from damage on September 11. You can click on the link to read more about this.

After Ground Zero, we walked over to Wall Street. We all cast disparaging looks at the New York Stock Exchange for being so mean to us! We went into the Federal Building, which is notable, among other reasons, for being the location of George Washington's inauguration (see, Erin? I did learn some history!). There was also a special Abraham Lincoln exhibit on the 2nd floor that we checked out, and I did some bragging about my sister's starring role in the Abraham Lincoln documentary!

We kept walking around the Financial District and stopped for a picture with The Bull. Of course, we had to get a picture with the Bull's butt! We also stopped into the Trinity Church, famous for many things, including being a part of the movie "National Treasure." Next, we headed over to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty. We decided against taking the ferry trip because it was pretty cold that day, but sat for a while and watched the ferry instead. After the ferry docked, we caught a very interesting show in Battery Park!



Cecilia and I separated from the rest of the group, who went to take their luggage to their own apartment, and went to have a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant by our apartment. We had a delightful shrimp-themed appetizer, chips, and salsa. Later, we met up with Carol and Connie at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for their free Friday evening admission. Now, as with history, art isn't totally my thing. I appreciate art and it's totally cool to be in the presence of the actual works of art that you see reprinted elsewhere, but it's not as exciting to me as, let's say, visiting the location of a TV show or movie that I've seen. Let's just say that I was more excited to see Trinity Church because of it's role in "National Treasure" than for any other reason! I know, I'm slightly sad, but that is me and that's what I'm into! Anyway, the MoMA was interesting, to say the least! We started off on the top floor and worked our way down. We all agreed that "art" is subjective, but taping some masking tape to the floor and calling it art? I call dickie fraud on that! Also, just tacking a piece of string to the wall and taping the other end to the floor? Can we at least put a LITTLE more effort into it, artists? I mean, let's get serious here! One of our favorites was a completely white canvas that was entitled "Red Bird". Really??

We walked next to Rockefeller Center and saw the area where the ice skating rink is and where the giant Christmas tree gets put up every year. A trip through the NBC shop was fun, and I thought about purchasing some Saved By the Bell memorabilia, but I stayed strong!

We met up with the rest of the group for dinner and went to a tapas restaurant. Amazingly, even though it was crowded, we got right in at a table designed for nine people! Tapas are good, and it's a fun atmosphere with all the sharing, but I must admit, I prefer having a whole meal all to myself sometimes! But we had fun. We ended up going to this AMAZING bakery around the corner from our apartment that Cecilia and I had checked out earlier in the day. It's called Billy's Bakery, and OH MY GOD the cupcakes are the best thing I've experienced! We all got cupcakes or slices of cake and went back to our apartment to enjoy them. What a fabulous ending to a fun day!