We saw her and she was beautiful

(Please appreciate this photo, Troy almost froze to death to capture it)

The Statue of Liberty is something we are all so familiar with, so while I knew we had to see her while we were here, I kinda had a feeling that I had seen it all before.

But she was all kinds of spectacular. 

We didn't do a tour, we jumped on the free Staten Island ferry which does a drive by and I was happy with that. I don't think you need to see her up close, she looks incredible standing there quietly guarding the city. I am so smitten, I now have a strong urge to buy one of those crappy plastic statues from the tourist shop.  

She was our first stop in downtown Manhattan or the financial district. It is such a beautiful part of town, very clean and full of history. We visited Wall Street, Trinity Church and the World Trade Centre site. I wasn't sure what to expect there, it now looks just like a really big construction site but when you stand there and imagine how huge those two buildings were the magnitude of what happened that day it really hits home. The tribute museum was so well done. It didn't focus on the terrorists or the hate, it was about the people and their stories. Instead of showing those awful images of which we are all so familiar, they showed the hundreds of missing person posters, artifacts found on the site, brought together quotes from those who lived it plus a wall of photos of those who were lost. It was a sad, peaceful reminder but at the same time it was hopeful. It brought to light the good things that happened in such an awful situation. Well worth the visit.

Our trip downtown was just a little cold at about -8 plus the wind chill factor (which they reckon feels about -20). All I can say is ouch. I seriously thought I had frozen my feet beyond repair at one point. You can imagine how cold it was on the Hudson...

Last night was spent with Luke and Gill who took us to drinks and dinner in the very cool West Village. It is a super swanky part of town and I very much liked the very little that I saw. We are so lucky to have Gill and Luke here, they get us out of the tourist traps and show us what it is like to live here. Plus they are just super people :)

Another fabulous day in the Big Apple.

Peace out for now.