Day 3 in the Big City!

So today was another great day in New York City. This morning a group of us went to the tenement housing museum which fascinated me. It was quite the experience to see what life was like for immigrants in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Each apartment was very small. I would say that my bedroom and bathroom combined would be about the same size as an apartment that was known to house up to 15 people. Lighting was terrible. One entire floor, or 4 apartments shared one toilet. I wish I had pictures of it, but they would not allow photography.

Before we took the tour, Roger took us over to a doughnut shop that was apparently on the Food Network at one time. I had a coconut crème doughnut that was really good. Each bite my mouth would fill up with coconut crème. After the tour we stopped for some lunch at a Thai place before we went to go see Mary Poppins. I wasn’t very hungry so I just got a coconut soup that had chicken, green onion, and cilantro in it. Very very good. I think I have gotten my fill of coconut for the rest of the year… or at least the rest of the trip. 

After lunch we quickly got on the subway to go back over to Times Square to see Mary Poppins. Not the best show that I have seen here but the special effects and technical aspect of the show was amazing. Seeing the giant set pieces and how fast they transformed the stage blew me away!

After the show we were able to go tour backstage of the Lion King from the Resident Director. This was an awesome once in a lifetime experience. I am going to try to shadow the stage manager for one of the Saturday shows.

Tonight we saw War Horse over at the Lincoln Center. This show is beyond words amazing. The puppeteers were so good with the horses and other animals in the show. Very lifelike.

Tonight was my first time eating gelato, which is ice cream but with a lot more cream and a lot more calories. But I had Ferrero Rocher gelato that was amazing.

Coconut creme doughnut. As soon as you sink your teeth into it, coconut creme floods your mouth! It was so good! $4

Tenement Museum

full out soccer game

Our hotel room

This hall made me think of the creepy hall in the movie Manhattan Murder Mystery every time I walked down it.

Goal: Buy a hotdog at a New York hotdog stand... CHECK!

Doing that whole tourist thing...

These are the things that I experienced the second day in New York! This morning came way too early! We set the alarm for 7:15 am so that we could meet together as a group at 8 to go downtown to battery park to get onto the ferry to go to Liberty and Ellis Islands. I am so glad that I remembered to take Dramamine before this boat ride otherwise I wouldn't have made it five seconds. It was nice walking around both islands and learning about the history of each. I was so tired by the time we were on Ellis Island that I finally gave in and sat down for a quick power nap. I think that the time change and going to bed really late as well as waking up really early did it to me. But this power nap made all the difference. Around noon we took the ferry back to Manhattan, found a Chinese place to eat at in the financial district, which everyone in my group liked a lot but I wasn't all that impressed. But that is how it goes sometimes. After lunch we went and toured around the Trinity Cathedral which is right across the way from Wall Street. We went and saw where George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States. We then walked up to St. Pauls Chapel which is a church that was right across the way from Ground Zero. The church itself is the oldest public building in continuous use and the only remaining colonial-era church in Manhattan. In 1789, George Washington prayed at this church after his inauguration as the first president of the United States. The church suffered very little damage on 9/11. It became a place of refuge for victims, firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers. This was the place that Mayor Rudolph Giuliani gave his last speech as the Mayor of Manhattan. They had this church set up with flowers and as a memorial for those directly effected by the events of 9/11. (bell) After which we went into see the reflective pools and 911 memorial. I almost lost it emotionally here cause it was very somber being in there. I really thought it was impressive at just how reflective the new towers are. Very symbolic. Afterwards we went to Little Italy and shopped around found a good restaurant to eat at. After that we took the subway back to Times Square to the Sodheim Theatre to see Anything Goes which was amazing. I really love this city and I love love love being here! Night!

Where a scene in Hitch takes place. The acoustics where amazing in this room.

Possible ancestors who came through Ellis Island

Spring time in Battery Park

The famous Bull that has been in Hitch, For Richer or Poorer, The Associate, Just to name a few

Trinity Church

World Trade Center from Trinity Church

Headstone in Trinity Cemetary

Where Washington was inaugurated as first President of the United States

I was fascinated by how reflective this new building was.

St. Paul's Chapel

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This 'Bell of Hope' was presented by the church in London on September 11, 2002. It is rung every September 11. It was also run when terrorist attacks happened in Spain and England.

This one was gut wrenching for me

Standing at the base

This tree was planted in between the two towers and survived. It was then replanted, I think in Battery Park but then was uprooted from sever storms, replanted again at the 9/11 memorial and is now flourishing. It is called the 'Survivor Tree'

Little Italy