This morning I got up at 3:40 in order to be outside to see the Statue of Liberty as we sailed into New York Harbor. I’ve seen movies many times—Yentl, Sleepless in Seattle, Titanic—about coming into New York, and with all my studying of genealogy and immigrants coming to America through New York, well, I have to say, it was quite meaningful to me. And to see where the Twin Towers stood only 10 years ago. Well, we sailed right past the sites without much talking and a lot of respect for this city and the memories of the tragedy.
I was up in the Crow’s Nest watching as we neared the Verranzano Bridge and I thought I saw what looked like the Statue of Liberty—just a thin line of gray with a light at the top is what it looked like from way out. All the other people up there kept saying it was much further in, on the other side, anywhere but there. But I was proven right when we slowed got closer and she came into view. Everyone was congratulating me on being the first to see her. She is very pretty, I must say, and it was a very moving experience.
We also saw the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. Then a very special site—the building that was lit up in red, white, and blue lights—the new #1 World Trade Center building that was lit only yesterday for this weekend’s events.
Sitting right near where we docked is the Intrepid (the aircraft carrier that was involved in the NASA rescues) and a huge Concorde from British Airways! Also right here behind where we are docked is where Captain Sullenberger ditched the plane safely.
We had breakfast at 5:30. I have to say that this cruise was probably our very favorite ever. We had a really great Captain who was very accessible and kept the guests informed on every detail of the hurricane and other weather related issues. We have NEVER had a more friendly Captain, that’s for sure. And because he stayed in touch & was so knowledgeable about hurricanes, we felt very confident in his abilities. He let us know every step in his thinking and why he was changing course at certain times. On past cruises, we never saw the Captain and only heard from him once a day as he spoke in rote of the details of our location. No personality at all. We were very lucky this time.
We got off the ship at 7:30am and went on a 2 ½ hour bus tour that was supposed to be of Lower Manhattan where we would have seen Times Square, Union Plaza, Rockefeller Center, Battery Park with the Statue of Liberty, Greenwich Village, Central Park, Soho, the Empire State Building, Chinatown, and Ground Zero. I have to admit that when Ray booked this cruise, neither of us thought about it being the 10th Anniversary weekend of the September 11th tragedy. But since the recent threats, we have been informed by our tour guide that we won’t be able to get to any of these sites as they are closed off for this weekend. So…..
Instead we took a very interesting tour with Mike who has lived in New York for 30 years and seemed to know EVERYTHING about the city. So we visited Times Square, Hell’s Kitchen, Harlem, Broadway, went by 34th Street, walked through Chelsea Market, walked on the Hi Line, drove by the Soup Nazi’s store, Lincoln Center, Julliard, the Dakota, Central Park, all the buildings where the stars live, the 1st Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital, Columbia University, the Apollo Theater, toured the Catholic Church of St. John the Devine, the Bronx, and the Tri-Boro Bridge. Whew!
Interesting facts we learned today:
--We drove by the stables for the Hanson Cabs (horse-drawn carriages through Central Park for $50 for 20 minutes).
--Some of the areas we drove past had 1 bedroom condos for sale for $5 million.
--Saw signs for the play “Wicked.”
--There are 38 movie theatres on 42nd Street. When King Kong was playing, it played on all 38 at the same time.
--5th Avenue divides the city east and west. New Yorkers don’t refer to North or South. If you say North they think Canada. If you say South, they think Florida. You are either going uptown or downtown. It is a direction, not a place.
--population of New York is 8 ½ million people in 5 burroughs.
--At the Chelsea Market, we stopped and walked through the lovely little shops. The Nabisco Biscuit Company began here. Oreos are 99 years old! The Oxygen network and the Food Network broadcast from here. I stopped in at one of the bakeries and bought the moistest coconut macaroons I have ever tasted. And a nut brownie. Right across from the Chelsea Market is the FBI and their cars were illegally parked all over the place. But they can do that because they have special badges in the windshields. The Hi Line is the old rail line that used to bring dairy supplies to the bakeries here. It is now a park that has been created by Diane von Furstenburg and her husband. It is 1 ½ miles long and elevated above the streets.
--Saw buildings designed by Frank Geary and some by Clement Clark Moore of “Twas the Night before Christmas” fame!
--At the Charter School, the tuition for all grades K-12 is $45,000 per year.
--at the Yotel hotel, a robot takes your luggage and stores it for you.
--the new #1 World Trade Center at Ground Zero will be the tallest in the city at 1776 feet high.
--our guide recommended the 414 Hotel.
--we saw where stars such as Jerry Seinfeld, Helen Gurley Brown, Barbara Streisand, Kyra Segwick & Kevin Bacon live and lived.
--Central Park didn’t have any trees before it was developed in 1853. It was all bedrock and swamps. It now encompasses 843 acres and runs 2 ½ miles north to south and ½ mile east to west. The city of Monaco would easily fit inside the park. There are tunnels for taxis to cut through inside of going on the park roads.
--To buy a condo here, you have to be approved by the housing committee for that building. Madonna was turned down by 13 buildings before she got one. Mainly you get turned down if your presence would cause a hassle for the other residents because of security needs or crowds of fans, etc.
--the 1st Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital was a beautiful building with circular turrets because the belief by doctors then was that germs lived in corners, so they had no corners in the circular rooms of the turrets. The building is now condos and they cost $3 million dollars each.
--The Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Devine is the largest in the world! And I thought you could only find these magnificent cathedrals in Europe!! It was built in 1892 and is so large that it can hold the Cathedral of Notre Dame! It was built by hand and they actually taught the children in the neighborhood the art of stone carving. It is 601 feet long. And it isn’t even finished as if doesn’t have the “arms” that were intended. There are 19 cathedrals in New York. Today while we were there, they were having a wedding and we think it was of a gay male couple—good for them! It's about time! Our guide took us into the church and showed me the stained glass that was related to sports, and to professions and human endeavors. There was a Poets Corner in one of the bays that honored American literary greats. One even had a TV and Jack Benny playing the fiddle! There was a garden here and a Peach Fountain. There were supposed to be 3 peacocks—one white and 2 colored—but they had evidently “flown the coop” as they say.
Building of the Cathedral has been a stop and start process over the years meaning that has two distinctive styles of architecture, going from Romanesque to Gothic. A fire in 2001 destroyed the North Transept and caused extensive smoke damage.
--so cool to see one of the actual New York hot dog stands.
--found Monk’s Restaurant used in the Seinfeld series—it’s really Tom’s Restaurant.
--Drove by the Broadway Firehouse Engine 54, Ladder 4 & Battalion 9 that lost 15 of its 16 firemen on September 11.
--A theatre is considered Broadway NOT by its location but by how many seats it has. Above 500 seats is Broadway; 100-500 seats is Off-Broadway; less than 100 is Off Off Broadway.
--Drove by the Soup Nazi store.
--The Hearst Publishing Building had a stone bottom 6 floors and glass above that.
--Lincoln Center is where the setting for West Side Story was before the center was built. Juilliard is next to it.
--A sobering location across from Central Park is the Dakota. This is where Yoko Ono and John Lennon lived and where he was shot. Across from it in Central Park is where Yoko set up Strawberry Fields with a donation of $1 million. She stopped a statue being placed there of John as she said he wouldn’t have liked it. All kinds of plants from all over the world are planted there. Joe Namath also lives at the Dakota and “Rosemary’s Baby” was filmed there.
--At the San Remo lives Steve Martin, U2’s Bono, and many other stars.
--Harlem was a Dutch area at first, then White Jewish, then Black in the 1920s, then Italian, and now Puerto Rican and Mexican.
--At the Apollo Theatre, many people got their start on Amateur Nights including Tony Bennett, James Brown, and Ella Fitzgerald. If the crowds loved you, you became a star. If they hated you, you got booed until the Sandman came on with a hook and took you off by the neck. James Brown lost the competition then later won. Ella Fitzgerald won her audition with a dance partner! On the date of her audition, her partner got cold feet and didn’t’ show up. So she went on by herself and SANG—and the rest if history. She didn’t know which song to sing as she had practiced, so she just sang a song from her childhood—“A Tisket a Tasket.” But she forgot the words and started making up words, and thus was born the art of “scatting!”
--The Bronx was just a family farm owned by a Swedish family, I think the guide said. Their names was spelled Broncks. It is the only part of New York that is on the mainland. The rest is on islands.
--crossed the Tri-Boro Bridge to get to LaGuardia.
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and now want to go back to see more of it.
After our tour, we arrived at the airport early. Ate at Pat La Frieda. Watched some of the ceremonies for September 11th events. Flew home to Atlanta at 4pm and landed before 7pm. All luggage arrived safely so I am happy. Met Luanne to get the truck then to hotel. Back out for groceries and dinner then crashing.
Pictures from top: Landmarks of New York
Statue of Liberty; Statue of Liberty in the dark so hard to get an unblurred picture; the new #1 World Trade Center building; Empire State Building from the ship; Empire State Building on our tour.
