New York Part two - 13th June to 14th June

As I awoke the next morning my legs and feet were still throbbing from the day before. After managing to turn my alarm off in my sleep I finally got out of bed just before 9am, after a quick shower I headed straight for the door to being my next adventure on the streets of Manhattan. As I arrived in to the station and boarded the subway I waited for the doors to close to take me downtown, the doors of the train stayed open however, the driver came on the speaker to announce that there was a problem and the police would arrive shortly. Obviously deciding not to hang about I left the subway rats behind and made my way to street level. Walking intently I crossed west of Manhattan to Lexington Avenue where I stopped for breakfast in a small foreign café, after placing my order I attempted to make coffee although I managed to fill my cup up with grinded coffee beans much to the owners distaste, maybe that was the reason that my subsequent order arrived 20 minutes later with only half the ingredients… Taking it on the chin I eventually left my breakfast nightmare behind and headed to the Rockefeller centre. The sun had started to beam through the clouds, noted it was only brief but enough to brighten the streets. As I arrived I headed inside where I walked in circles as I tried to find the ticket office for heading up to the viewing platform on the top of the Rockefeller centre.

With ticket in hand I joined the queue for the picture of the steel beam, made famous by the builders of the Rockefeller centre as they sat eating there lunch on a steal beam overlooking New York City. After the snap I entered the lift where we were propelled up 67 floors, above us the roof of the lift turned to in to a cinema and blue neon lights shot passed as we darted past floors. As we reached the top the doors opened, the air was cooler but fresher, the breeze was brisker than at street level and the taxis now looked like yellow ants. As I started walking around the three floors of the platform I looked out over Manhattan in its entirety, from Central park to ground zero, the view was perfect; in the distance New Jersey covered the horizon while Lady Liberty patrolled the waters. After getting a few photos thanks to some Brits on a business trip I headed back down to the muskier air of the city.

After finishing my skyline view of Manhattan I caught the subway to Union Square where I had finished my trip the previous day, from their I carried on my walking bonanza of the city as I crossed through Soho, Noho and Loho admiring all the paintings and street art that the area had to offer including a huge fluffy dog that stood proud as it waited for its owner. Eventually after walking for a little under an hour I arrived at my destination of Ground Zero, the place that changed the world as we know it today. Walking around the site the area was clearly on its path to recovery, the builders seemed to be working hard to produce the future Freedom Tower that will stand out on the New York Skyline. As I entered one of the World Trade Centre buildings, I climbed up the marble steps to a viewing platform. Looking out of the windows I saw the entire site of which now is packed full of workers and cranes, the new Freedom tower I already starting to rise out of the ground after the clear up and new foundations were laid. Listening to a guides stories of her experiences that day were moving as I heard of the friends she had lost and colleagues. As I moved around the building I picked up an ice coffee and headed across the street to the museum which housed all the memorials, photos and objects recovered from the site. Admitted as a student I took the slow walk around the tributes and things recovered, there was even a plane window on display from one of the planes that flew in to the towers that day. As I walked around I got a feel for the pain that was felt but it felt like things were moving on, the new buildings were already under construction, tower 7 the one that 'so called collapsed due to fire' is rebuilt and has already refreshed a once bleak place. As I left the museum I noticed a fire station next door, the truck inside had the words 'still standing' written across the front of it. As I crossed the street I went and looked at the church that George Washington had visited, the church itself was situated just across the road from the twin towers yet had not a single window broken, nor and damage to its structure from the incidents. The place had now become an area of mooring and remembrance for the people of the area, the inside was covered with tributes from all over the world showing the global incident as it was.

After walking out of the church I wandered through to Wall Street which was only a couple of blocks down from ground zero, ironically as I approached the sky turned grey and the rain started falling, kind of fitting for today's current economic crisis. After darting in Border's book shop hoping the rain would subside I decided to brave it for a look around the financial district, if I'm honest the place could not have been anymore drab, I brought an umbrella from a street venture for a couple of bucks and joined the miserable financial workers who were all dressed in grey with black umbrellas for shelter. If someone could paint a picture to symbolize today's financial problems, this would be it I thought.Deciding to leave before I became completely depressed I headed out of the financial district where I took shelter in a Starbucks for an hour as I waited for some drier weather, I took the opportunity to catch up on my blog whilst enjoying a muffin and a coffee in a huge arm chair, 'I felt like a real New Yorker now.'

Once the rain stopped I headed back out, time was getting on now so I decided to head back to the hostel, after calling in Times Square I arrived back at the hostel where I sat and ate dinner whilst chatting to Chris, a lad I had met in the hostel. After relaxing briefly we decided to take a walk down to Times Square to see it at night once more, strolling down we joined the crowds, after a while we decided it would be fitting to grab a slice of New York pizza. As we ate our slice the locals ate entire pizzas that would feed a family of four in the UK.

After breakfast the next day I headed straight down to lady liberty, the sun was out today so there was no need for my umbrella thank goodness as I brought my tickets for the ride across the water to Liberty Island. Joining the hoards of people waiting for the ferry transfer we waited as the boat arrived to take us to the island, after boarding I got chatting to a couple of local ladies who were visiting the city, the boat was heaving with people, as we pulled away from port the French statue neared as we bounced across the water. As we arrived in port the doors opened and people poured on to the island like an avalanche. Making my way around I looked up and starred at the iconic statue that is such a definitive part of the New Yorker harbor, looking out across the water I looked towards Manhattan admiring the view towards the city. After taking my photos I decided to head back, once again joining the queue I felt like a sheep heading for slaughter, boxed in barley able to move.

After a pleasant boat ride back to the main land I exited the boat in the blazing sunshine, the Navy war memorial stood in front of me as I read through some of the thousands of name that had been remembered for their duties.With time already starting to pass I caught the subway back up to Mid town where I disembarked at Madison Square, the place that claims to be the most famous venue in the world, if that is the case they should really make some effort to improve the place as it now looks quite run down. But as I walked the halls and around the venue I did let my imagination run as I pictured some of the famous faces that had been here. Walking out I crossed the road to the post office, another large concrete building with pillars that rose out of the ground like the temple of Parthenon from Ancient Greece.

On departing the area I headed across the street to check out Macy's, one of the hundreds of shopping mall that occupy Manhattan, although I think Montreal's Simons impressed me more, or it might have been the fact that I just had no more money to spend on clothes. Making my way back towards Central Park I watched as Harlem lads rocked a car bonnet as it pulled in front of them, "Whatcha doing bro, gettcha ass out ere" one shouted as they all gave the car a kick, its occupant looking baffled. As I arrived at the bottom of Central Park after walking 25 blocks I joined the Puerto Rican's for their festival Parade, Lexington Avenue and the street running up the western edge of Central Park was completely shut off as hundreds of Puerto Rican's lined the streets dancing and waving their flags, the place was like a party as I wandered through central park and Bow Bridge to join them. Taking time out joining the party I watched as the parade passed by, from street dancers to singers all the way to postal workers. After enjoying some of the party I decided to make my way towards Harlem, I headed back across to Columbus Street station where I grabbed free coffee samples and made my way to the subway. As I reached 110th Street I walked up the steep road towards St Paul's Cathedral that had recently been refurbished, the most impressive part of the area was the monument at the front of the park that consisted of a number of creatures and animals wrapped around each other to form a work of art and tell a story.

Deciding for one more break before embarking on a huge walk I decided to take time out in a Hungarian café, well know in New York clearly as it was packed full of people, sitting down I relaxed and enjoyed my Russian coffee before leaving and starting my journey through Central Park. The sun was starting to drop behind the buildings of Manhattan, the air now slightly cooler and more bearable and the Puerto Rican after party was just getting started. As I walked through New Yorkers back yard through the green of Central Park I watched as people finished off their days with a gentle jog through the park and a paddle of one of the many lakes. Turtles bobbed up and down in some of the waters whilst on land a raccoon crossed a tree above me eating the rich berries on the summer trees. Walking slowly I took in the last few hours of my New York trip watching as the sun descended I made my way all the way down to the bottom of the park, all 51 blocks of it. Feeling my calf's pull I headed back in to the hostel where I spent the evening watching the basketball with Chris before heading for bed. An early morning the next day would set me on my way to Washington DC, let's face it I could not be late for my appointment with the President.