I am in a New York state of mind

Day 3 was the big “go see NY”-day! On our way down to Empire State Building we debated whether to walk or get on one of the double deckers/guided tours, and just a block away from ESB we were talked into a tour.
The tour ticket meant we did not have to line up for the entrance to the ESB, but there were tons of other lines in that building! Security line was one, and then to get to all the elevators, the line through the shop (clever people!), the line for photos, that we bought, of course, and the line to see the view on deck 86! It was a beautiful day, so we took plenty of photos.

On our way back down we had to stand in all the same lines again, but it was worth it – the view from up there on a sunny day was just fabulous!
We got on the bus and headed towards Ground Zero. On our way we passed Greenwich and Carrie Bradshaw´s house, and saw a whole bunch of cops and SC agents outside a famous restaurant that made us wonder what celebrity was there for lunch.

At GZ we walked past the construction site where the memorials will open in 2011, September 11th. There will also be a grand opening of the new WTC (only one) on the 11th of Sep 2014. It still was an emotional atmosphere there, and we were not allowed to take pictures of the site – I just had to take one, though.

The museum was also very interesting, but sad, and brought back the horrific pictures from the TV-screens that day.

After GZ we did the obligatory Starbucks visit and looked at the bridge to Brooklyn before we got on the bus again.
As we drove past the 9/11 site, the guide told us that the Church nearby was the only building that did not get a scratch, and that was the 3 time it had survived (the fire and 1776). Some of the other buildings in the area were damaged and it took years to fix them.

On our way to the Statue of Liberty we passed Wall Street. The corner of WS and Broadway is the oldest corner in NY, and we also saw the “good luck” bull they had moved to the harbor since they closed down the area after 9/11. If you touch it, you´re supposed to get lucky with money/stocks.
The line for the Statue ferry was even longer than the ESB lines, so we decided to skip it. We looked around, though, and got some nice pictures and a few minutes in the sun (in the park). We also looked at the 9/11 memorial and the eternal flame – burning so that the victims will never be forgotten.

We jumped on the bus again, and went past the harbor, the oldest police building in the country, and the bridges (the legendary Pepsi sign) and headed towards China town. It would not have been much of a town if the Chinese had not been allowed to bring their wives in the 60s. Then the town flourished.

We passed little Italy, and moved on to see the nice houses of the rich (McEnroe), the UN building, the Raul Wallenberg building and monument onto 5th Ave – with Sacks and then Waldorf Astoria where Obama stays when in NY.

Soon we were at our next stop – Rockefeller Center – were they still skated and the nearby Magnolia Bakery! We actually had to line up to get our cupcakes and the best double chocolate fudge brownie ever, but we got it and ate in the sun in front of R Plaza.

Next we visited the NBC-store and walked down to Macy´s for some shopping, before we headed back to 70 Ave at 38th W to have an hour to get ready for dinner.

At 8:15 pm we were ready for Brooklyn, the bridge and River Café.

Another taxi ride later we were there and ate a wonderful (and expensive) three course dinner in a restaurant with more waiters than people (although it was crowded)!

After dinner one of their cars took us back to the hotel – a smooth ride this time.

Good night!