New York, Day Three

The plan for today was to explore Lower Manhattan and then catch the free ferry across to Staten Island. So we caught the subway to Lower Manhattan and basically just walked around.

In this area are all the government buildings, along with Wall Street and the site of the World Trade Centres. We got to see all of them, and the amount of security was absolutely amazing. We were at the World Trade Centre site and we somehow got caught up in a procession being led by Giuliani, Pataki (the New York State Governor) and Bloomberg (Mayor of New York). We were eventually told that it was for family only (being so close to the anniversary of the attack), so we moved out of the way and watched everyone pass.

We also walked by the Woolworth Building, which was pretty cool. There was a sign out the front saying to walk in and look at the lobby, but it must have been out of date because the women on security quickly shooed us away!

We stopped to check out the Stock Exchange and the big gold bull before heading to a deli to grab some lunch. We then headed to the Staten Island ferry terminal for the trip to Staten Island. If you are visiting New York, you really should do this. The trip is free, but you get some pretty good views of Manhattan and Liberty Island (where the Statue is). Once we got to the island we just walked back into the ferry terminal for the return trip.

We then walked for a little longer, got some good views of the Brooklyn Bridge, before catching a subway back up to the Empire State Building. While it is a New York icon, it is a very ugly building. The Chrysler building (finished just before it) is much nicer, but not as famous.

We caught the elevator to the top and basically stayed up there for sunset. It was pretty amazing and I think I got some pretty good photos. Again, if you are ever in New York, schedule your Empire State visit for dusk so you can see the sunset and all the lights in the city!

From here we headed out for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.



Little Italy.



Street Scene.



The Court House.



City Hall.



The Woolworth Building.



World Trade Centre Site.



More of the World Trade Centre Site.



Wall Street!



The big bull!



Statue that was originally on the World Trade Centre site.



Brooklyn Bridge.



Lower Manhattan.



Statue of Liberty.



More of Lower Manhattan.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.



From the top of the Empire State Building.