2nd day in NYC

 

We got up at 6 a.m. or something!!!!! So we had an opportunity to have a looong day. Anyways, we headed straight downtown to take a ferry to Staten Island.  Oh, and the weather was lovely! Sun was shining brightly and it was really like spring. On the way to the island we also saw Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. As Tiina said, Ellis Island is really not worth a visit, so we decided against it and since the Statue of Liberty is currently under construction, we didn’t go there either. 

Afterwards, we had a walk along the bank of Hudson River - it was simply picturesque! And well since we walked most of the time, to see the city more, it took quite a long time. Anyways, next we went to see the 9/11 memorial, which was just opened in September 2011, so there aren’t so many people who have visited it. But getting in there is really a challenge. Firstly, you need to get a pass, which is like five blocks away from the site entrance. Then you need to get back and present your pass, which has a time on it, so you can’t miss it. After, you need to pass a security control, like in airports, and only then are you in. So, the memorial is seen here in the pictures. There are two huge holes and a big whole and a smaller one inside it. So the big one is a bit more than 10 metres deep and the small one again 10 metres deep!

The names of the victims of 9/11

one of two "holes"

Next, we went to see the Trinity Church, which is one of the oldest churches in NYC, it was built by the Dutch at a time when NY was only as big as from the Hudson River until Wall Street. This was actually were we went next. Well, I can say that it was exactly as you can see from the movies. An absolute must after that was the “Bull”. They have actually now surrounded the bull with an iron fence and there’s a police officer who regulates the line that goes to the bull. So we waited in the line and obviously took a picture of it. After that, we took the metro to drive few stops to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was huge!!!!! We walked on it, took pictures and enjoyed the hot sun:) By that time we were getting really hungry and decided to go to Chinatown and Little Italy to grab a bite. Anyways, we chose a lovely restaurant in Little Italy. The food was delicious (and no, I didn’t have pasta)!!!

Trinity Church

The Bull

Well, then it was the time to return to our hotel and start getting ready for the evening, when we went to see a Broadway musical “Wicked”. Before that we went to a Russian restaurant, where I didn’t eat much since I was still full from lunch. But it was a really nice restaurant and had quite authentic Russian food. Anyways, the musical was played at Gershwin theatre, which is HUGE! 

 

And there were about 3000 people in the audience. This musical is actually a prequel to the popular American tale “the Wizard of Oz” and how the Wicked Witch actually wasn’t wicked at all. So as Tiina explained to me, it also has a really big political connotation and it is quite satirical. Anyways, it was a really powerful experience. I can tell you one thing; I have never seen such special effects on a theatre stage! The actors were really great, they could sing sooo well and dance and act, obviously. The costumes were really lavish and well, it was just breath taking. But I guess I need to see “the Wizard of OZ” now in order to get the “real” picture.