NY Day 3

Thanks to a highlight by Mo Rocca from Foodography on the Cooking Channel, Robby and I knew exactly where we wanted to eat for lunch yesterday: Zucker's Bagels. That was the stop that kicked off New York Day 3 for us, and what could be a more appropriate meal than a soft, chewy New York bagel?

After filling up on those delicious carbs, we jumped on a wrong train then got on the right train to go to Battery Park. There, we bought our tickets and boarded the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands.

 

Ellis Island was very interesting. It is three floors with dozens and dozens of exhibits, one of the most remarkable being the walk-through of what it would have been like for an immigrant arriving at Ellis Island. It wasn't a simple disembark-the-boat-then-you're-free-to-go type of thing. These people--about 12 million of them!--went through multiple stations, screenings, and tests hoping to pass and enter into the land of hope and promise. Most of them did, but 2% had to return to their homeland. This is why Ellis Island was called both the Isle of Hope and the Isle of Tears.

The museum not only chronicles the entrance of immigrants but also their early years here and how America became what it is because of the many different cultures and lives coming together.

Art and music influenced by new cultures

Newspapers for every language

A common theme among the writings and stories of early immigrants: America wasn't the land of gold they thought it was going to be.

Lots of old photos

Soon, it was time to take the ferry back. We bought a cool drink and a snack (it was hot yesterday!) and made our way to the 9/11 Memorial.

The 9/11 Memorial (and rebuilding of the World Trade Center) is still in progress but what is there is incredible. Two giant pools are now in the place of the previous Twin Towers, the two main buildings of the World Trade Center, which was completely destroyed in attacks on September 11, 2011. Thirty-foot waterfalls--the largest in North America--cascade into the pools, each then descending into a center void. The names of the victims are inscribed in bronze around the pools. It was incredibly moving to stand in front of these pools knowing it was just over ten years ago that this devastation took place.

Besides the two main pools, there is a tree called the Survivor Tree that stands in the center. This tree, though badly damaged, survived the attacks and was nursed back to health, growing over thirty feet since that time. In March of 2010, the tree was uprooted because of a large storm, but it still lived! It stands today in this Memorial, a sign of hope and survival.

Below is a picture of the building of the new 1 World Trade Center, which--when finished--will be the tallest building in the United States at 1776 feet.

Being that the Memorial is in the heart of the Financial District, we walked over to Wall Street before heading to dinner, taking a quick look at Trinity Church on our way.

Dinner was the hit burger joint the Shake Shack located in Madison Square Park. (There are a few, but this one is the original.) It boasts fresh, trans-fat free food and creamy frozen custard for dessert. It was really good although our ice cream had melted before we got a chance to enjoy it.

 

The real highlight of dinner was walking out of Madison Square Park where--we couldn't believe our eyes--ten thousand fireflies greeted us!  Okay, maybe not ten thousand, but definitely dozens. Our camera couldn't capture them, but maybe we'll figure out how to do so to share a picture later in the week.

A great day of history, remembrance, and the joy of being with the one I love today :) Today's agenda: find calm and cool things to do in record-high temps in New York!