Day 7 New York

 The tour we had chosen for today - Greenwich Village like a Local - was cancelled at the last moment.  So frustrating.  We were asked to choose another tour but as it was last minute, there was little available.  In fact the only tour available was Manhattan Highlights by bus.  This tour took us to all the places that are synonymous with New York.  Places like Hells Kitchen, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Fifth Avenue, Wall Street, Times Square and Broadway.  The Dakota building where John Lennon tragically lost his life with Strawberry Fields in Central Park across the road.  These places are iconic.  Our tour guide rattled off the names of rich and famous that lived in the multi million apartments as we passed them.  We were very impressed by his knowledge, or maybe he was simply ad libbing.  Whatever.  

We stopped at the Trade Centre to take a walk through the memorial dedicated to the 3000 people that lost their lives on the 11th September 2001.  Two beautiful water features lie where the twin towers were situated with the names of the dead inscribed all the way around the walls of the features.  It is sobering to see all those names. And let's not forget the firemen.  So many of them died bravely trying to rescue people.  Our guide said that he knew personally a lady who worked at one of the two restaurants at the top of one of the towers. She had no way to escape as the plane flew into the building below her.

I was surprised to see that the High Line (photo below) was so close to where we are docked and we could have easily walked to it had we known.  It has been something I have always wanted to walk! 

 The High Line is a 2.5km elevated railway line that was abandoned many years ago.  Some very smart person decided that if it was planted with trees and gardens it could be a lovely walkway.  How clever was that person.  The High Line attracts millions of visitors each year and real estate values in the area have soared because of that persons vision. 

New York is addictive and every time you come here you see another side to it.  It's a place you want to return to again and again.  I love it.