I was up at 6.15am bright eyed and bushy tailed, rearing to go. Vegemite on toast and a cup of tea for breakfast never tasted so good!!! I left Rodd to sleep in until about 7.30 and couldn't contain myself anymore... He really wanted a bit more sleep but got up.



We had passes to the WTC Memorial for 10am so we walked up to Grand Central Terminal and jumped on the subway ( 5 ) to Bowling Green. Now when I say "jumped on the subway" I do exaggerate somewhat.....it's peak hour.. the train comes along and a mass of humanity swarm out the doors whilst at the same time another herd are forcing their way in.. it was like a can of sardines in there, people squished up so tight not another person not even a tiny one, could fit in that car... we finally joined the swarm surging forward when the 3rd train came.

 It was only about 8.30 when we got there so really just wandered aimlessly for an hour finding our bearings. Saw the Charging Bull at Bowling Green and there was a police car parked there so I asked him if I could go behind the barrier to take a pic.



By the time we found the entrance to WTC we still had ages to wait so found a little cafe and had some coffee to warm up. The weather is actually pretty nice but the wind chill factor has to be accounted for.... my poor little face is bright red from wind burn! At the cafe there was this guy just sitting there talking to himself, laughing hysterically.. at one point he was saying " there's my wife Ruth and my wife Mary and my other wife Jane and my wife Catherine, and we can get a basketball and HAHAHA we'll play with it all day" and it went on and on, freaky!!!



The memorial was a truly sombre experience.... it really makes you realise the enormity of the tragedy. So many lives lost... and in a way "they" won.. the effects are seen everywhere, so many things no longer open to the public because of the threat of terrorism or so much extra security! I'm glad we went there and saw it, in some small way we paid our respects to those who died and those that continue to suffer their loss.






Next we wandered up to St Paul's Chapel, this was the place the firemen and police officers went to regroup, rest and eat.



It was probably 11am by the time we left there and we were due to meet our BAG at 1pm at the Municipal Building so once again we wandered, up to Chinatown and around the courts area. There are just so many police all over the city, everywhere you go there are police cars, or police on horseback. Even in the subway there's police everywhere, I haven't felt uncomfortable or unsafe once in this city and would have no hesitation wandering by myself.



A BAG is a Big Apple Greeter... this is a volunteer organization that offers to show tourists the "real" New York City. These wonderful people take time out of their own lives to ensure we, the tourists, get the most out of their amazing city. Once again this is something I discovered on TripAdvisor and would have never had any idea they existed otherwise. Basically you apply online, it is a free service but obviously they appreciate donations to help with the administration. The greeters then look at the list of applicants and decide who they would like to a assigned to, our greeter, Bill, told us he always picks Aussies, Kiwis or lastly Brits.



Bill was brought up in the Bronx and now lives in Park Slope in Brooklyn. We walked with him over the Brooklyn bridge while he told us about the history of Manhattan and the building of the bridge, which was very interesting.



We walked and walked and walked... up Brooklyn Heights to the Promenade where you get the best view of Manhattan.



Passed some of the most gorgeous houses and tree lined streets. We then got the subway to Grand Army Plaza which is at the entrance to Prospect Park. But first I have to tell you about my subway side adventure. I guess I forgot to say that the first time we used our cards I just swiped and walked through but Rodd couldn't get his to work... rush hour, remember?? these turnstiles are used as both entry and exits so just whoever gets there first pushed in the direction they're headed. Poor Rodd had people stacked up behind him and waiting on the other side to get through!!! This time it was my turn... Bill and Rodd went straight through but when I swiped my card it wouldn't work no matter how fast or slow I did it.. finally it said "card just used" doh!!! so I had to go over to the lady in the booth and get her to check my card and then she just let me through another turnstile, it was on the opposite side to where the men had disappeared so I just went down the stairs hoping I'd find them on the platform, phew, there they were!!!



Through the park which was gorgeous, after you go through the portal it opens up into this huge meadow where people are walking dogs and kids are playing, hard to realise you're in the middle of a borough where 3 million people live!!! By this time Rodd and I were aching.. we've done soooo much walking the last week.... so I suggested to Bill we could stop for a drink, he happily obliged and found a lovely little bar called 3 Boots which is owned by a lady he employed as a waitress in Manhattan 20 years ago as her first ever job. She came over and chatted to us and shouted us a round of drinks... pretty cool!! There was a couple from Brazil sitting next to us at the bar too who started chatting when they realised we're Aussies so of course Rodd gave them a Koala and some vegemite! We bought some of those little clip on koalas with an akubra before we left home and Rodd has been giving them out all over the place... mainly to cute little kids that are behaving themselves in public!!



Another hour of walking around looking at the gorgeous houses in this neighbourhood and then Bill took us back to his place for another glass of wine. He certainly is an amazingly well traveled and educated man. It was really fascinating get a look inside a brownstone and seeing all his artifacts from travels all over the world. He even has a Sepik carving!! Finally time to say goodbye so Bill walked us to the subway and headed us in the right direction back to Manhattan.



As the subway station we got off at was near Times Square we once again found ourselves there, a few stops at a few bars and then we found this great jazz club for dinner..... once again I had an eye fillet steak that just melted in the mouth, I don't know what they do to the meat here but I haven't had a bad steak yet! Rodd had the ribs which also were amazingly tender but he reckons the flavour wasn't as good as the ones Robyn does at the RSL at home!!



I think it was 11.45pm as we ordered dinner so I hate to think what time it was when we finally got home to bed!! Did the sensible thing and got a taxi home, only cost $5.00.. bargain, we were all walked out!