Both visits to "the Big Apple" came at the end of big birthday celebrations tours. The first was New England & most recently we stopped off in New York on the way home from California. Aside from breaking up the homeward journey, there were a fews things that we wanted to do on this second visit. See the finished 9-11 Memorial, walk the High-Line & take in another Broadway show. Also, having only been inside Grand Central Station on our fist trip, I was keen to see if the exterior was as impressive as the interior!
After a long day of travelling, we landed around 7.00p.m. local time at Newark. We'd used this airport previously & then onwards on the New Jersey Transit into Penn St Station & our memory of that was that it had all been very smooth. Perhaps time had dimmed recollections or alternatively, the Transit ran much more slowly in the evening and the airport had been massively expanded but whatever, after feeling like we'd walked from New Jersey to Manhattan just to collect our luggage & then back again to find the station, we came into Penn Street station after about an hour's journey. A short taxi ride took us to out hotel close to Time Square. Classic Manhattan development - very narrow footprint but 32 floors, although each floor had only 5 rooms!
Next day we walked to the 9-11 Memorial. TOP TIP - book your entry to the museum in advance - we queued for an hour as we hadn't. However, it was well worth the wait. 2nd TOP TIP, allow plenty of time - we were in the museum for over 4 hours and still felt that we skimmed some of it! Have to say that we both felt it was a fantastic memorial to the horrors of that day in 2001. There was a real aura of calm & reverence.
Next day we headed back south again to walk the High Line - a disused high level former railway line built in the early 20th Century to connect the port terminals with the Hudson railway yard. After being de-commissioned, it was on the point of being demolished when a local resident suggested creating this "park". A fantastic linear piece of green space hidden in one of the world's most densely developed cities & well worth finding. A relatively early finish to the sight-seeing as we were booked to see "Beautiful" that night. What a great story of Carol King's musical career.
The final leg of our homeward journey the next day started with the trip to JFK - seems travel to all NYC airports takes a fair while! Quickly through security & time for refreshments, with the added bonus of a live NFL match on the TV screens in the Bar!
Wall Mural, approaching 9/11 Memorial
The new Westfield Shopping Centre, adjacent to the 9/11 Memorial site, Manhattan
One World Trade Centre, Manhattan
Memorial Pool, 9/11 Memorial Site, Manhattan
Entrance to the 9/11 Museum beyond one of the Memorial pools, Manhattan
Foundations of the original towers inside the 9/11 Museum
Funny how time never dilutes the relevance of a phrase!
Individually produced and hand-sen squares representing each victim of the 9/11 attack, Manhattan. Where a photo wasn't available, there's a candle. Stars & blue section represent the first responders who died
Picture of the original Twin Towers beyond the remains of part of their foundations, 9/11 Museum, Manhattan
Factfile on the original Twin towers, 9/11 Museum, Manhattan
A foundation pad from the Twin towers, 9/11 Museum, Manhattan
Westfield Shopping Centre, Mk 2, adjacent to the Memorial Pools, Manhattan
Street Chess, 5th/6th Avenue, Manhattan
Flat Iron Building, intersection of 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan
ime Square, Manhattan by night
Still building Skyscrapers in Manhattan!
Manhattan street, taken from the High Line
Train Track to nowhere, The Highline, Manhattan
Bridge with a view, crossing 10th Avenue, Manhattan
Wall murals on a grand scale! Mother Theresa and Gandi
The Edge, the highest outdoor viewing platform in Manhattan
Graphic lines of interesting buildings make for great black & white shots, Manhattan
Skyscraper & traditional buildings, Manhattan
Apartments overlooking the Highland with The Edge in the background
Traffic in Manhattan
Eye-catching Architecture in Manhattan
More graphic lines for black & white. Manhattan
The Vessel, Hudson Yards, Manhattan
The vessel, dwarfed by adjacent skyscrapers, Manhattan
Hudson Marshalling yards, filling with passenger rolling stock - it was the weekend!
The Vessel, Hudson Yards, Manhattan
Grand Central Station exterior, Manhattan
