We switched hotels. Kris has always wanted to stay at the Marriott Marquee. This is a great hotel and it is right in the middle of Times Square. It was probably the fanciest hotel I have ever stayed at. Thanks to Kris travel for work in the past, we got to use points to stay for free again. It was more than worth it. The view alone was amazing. (And this is where the camera was really great. The night pictures were way better than I have ever taken before.)
Our room (the darker one does the rooma truer image) and the view
We caught our bus again. This time we were going to do the downtown loop. We did NOT sit out in the cold this time. It was warmer but the side of the bus that I was on had advertising over it. You could see out of it fine but the pictures are a little cloudy.
We started out by driving through the garment district. The guide (who was a true Brooklyn native; heavy accent and attitude to spare) was a hoot. He said that 70% of the clothing made in the US is made there (if I am remember correctly anyway).
We went past the Empire State Building. We were going to get off, but we wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty more. So we were going to go on the way back. We ran out of time though. Next time, we will go.
Then we went past Macy's. That was likely the biggest store I have ever seen. It was 8 stories high and and filled and entire city block. That whole space was retail. Really cool. We did not make it in, but some day.We made our way through SoHo. We saw a lot of expensive boutiques for clothes. The tour guide made a comment on how it seems that the less clothes they have in the store the more expensive they seem to be. And every store we went past for the next few blocks looked like it was going out of business.
Following SoHo, we went through Greenwich Village. We did not learn much in this neighborhood except great places to eat and go listen to music. He goal was to get us out of the Times Suare area and experience some real New York. He said there were great places for eating and he even had prices (way cheaper). Then they have great clubs to go and listen to Blues and Jazz. They do not have cover charges, so if you do not like them you can just get up and go next door without feeling like you are wasting money.
We then started to get closer to the World Trade Center. He told us some stories and how we can get the best views of Ground Zero. I have to say that I was affected by the whole thing before but listening to New Yorkers talk about it made it more real. There are still some spontaneous monuments standing. It was good to hear. We did not get there because we were touring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. But I think that hearing stories from New Yorkers was enough for me.
One of the Monmuent to September 11. Tiles made by children as a form of therapy.
We passed the Brooklyn Bridge next. I really get amazed by engineering and architecture and this was trully great. I have a picture but it does not due it justice. Did you know that they sent all the elephants from the circus across it first so that people would see that it was sturdy enough to hold people?
Brooklyn Bridge (from a distance).
We got to Battery Park next and got off to go and see the Statue of Liberty. This was something that I was really looking forward to. My geekiness about History and all this Civic related really showed through here. The line to get on the ferry was super long and moved at weird rate. We came to find out that we had to go through security that was a little more picky than the airport. It was bit of a pain to take all the layers you have on to stay warm off but I guess I understand. While we were waiting in line, there were James and Chrissy. Now, I did not expect to just run into people in a city that size. So, we rode out to Liberty Island with them.
It was really cool to see the Statue of Liberty up close. The view from the ferry to the city was great. And watching her get closer was really great. We split from James and Chrissy again to do different things. We decided to try the audio tour they offer. It is good at both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. If you are there, Do it. It was really great. They have so much information and make the places come alive.
1- View of city from ferry, 2- View of Statue from ferry, 3- The Statue up close
The Ellis Island museum, The Great Hall (The first stop for immigrants)
We caught the ferry back to Manhattan. As we were getting off, we ran into James and Chrissy again. So we took the subway back to our hotel together. It was funny the first time, but running into them again was starting to get weird.
We got dressed up and went to dinner at an ok but forgettable place in Rockefeller Center. Then we headed to our show. We saw Wicked. A Broadway show is an assault on the senses. The sets and props were like nothing I have ever seen. The story was creative and funny. It will change how you look at the Wizard of Oz. And the talent, the main charactors were especially wonderful. The way they could sing, I have never heard anything like it. I was mezmorized the whole time.And wouldn't you know it, on the walk back to the hotel we ran into James and Chrissy on the street. Apparantly, we are bonded in an unique way ;-)
We ended our time at a great lounge at the top of our hotel. They have a rotating bar area so you can see a 360 degree view of the area. It was breathtaking.
There will be one last installment from our trip to Philidephia to see our very good friend Jason.
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