In September I travelled to New York on the tailwinds of Hurricane Dorian to meet up with Kate and Kean. My flight was just longer than usual, having to travel around the active area through Canada. They though were bashed and battered by having to fly up through the heartland of America. But we all got there safely and it was lovely to see them.
The first lesson I took from this trip - Seriously? Get a cab! We arrived quite late and thought 'no problem, we'll get a train/metro, whatever.' No problem? Well, yes. It was a problem. When you're tired, 6 hours ahead of your timezone, have never been here before, don't know where you're going, have ridiculous amounts of luggage, get off at the wrong station, have to walk for what felt like miles, contend with the locals who must have thought we looked like easy pickings, but hey, we're from SA, give us a try. Just spend the bucks and get a cab. It took us about 3 hours (could have been 4) to finally arrive at our airbnb in Brooklyn - didn't stop these two from showing their appreciation.
A new day! Into Manhattan we went.
The skyscrapers here are just amazing. I spent the next week with my head thrown back and my mouth hanging open. You'll see - lots of pics.
We decided on the Staten Island Ferry rather than actually going to Ellis Island. It's a free trip for one thing and K&K only had 3 days in NY so it was a toss up of everything they wanted to see. It's fabulous though. I'd definitely recommend it.
Dairy Queen! Worth the trip.
Great view of Brooklyn Bridge.
Battery Park
A memorial to the American servicemen who lost their lives in the Atlantic Ocean during WWII.
The Immigrants - by Luis Anguino. A bronze and granite sculputure. Ironic in Donald Trump's America.
One World Trade Centre. The tallest building in America, it stands on the northwest corner of the 16 acre site. In two days it would be the anniversery of the attack on the towers. A poignant time to be in New York. It was on our minds a lot, imagining what it must have been like 18 years ago. New Yorkers are also amazing. Everyone has a story and they share it with you with the slightest encouragement.
The Great Spherical Caryatid (Fritz Koenig 1971) once stood on the plaza of the World Trade Centre. After the attack the battered artwork was recovered from the rubble of the Twin Towers and now sits on the the New Elevated Liberty Park near the St Nicholas National shrine and Americas Response monument overlooking the 911 Memorial and Freedom Tower.
There has apparently been some controversy about the placement of this Sphere, but to me this is a real link to the events of that day. Things don't have to be bright and shiny and untouched, to be perfect.
With sober reflections, it was time to head back to Brooklyn and try to catch up with the jet lag.
No comments:
Post a Comment