9/11 Memorial, One World Trade Center, and Wall Street

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today is our last day in New York City, as we are flying home early tomorrow morning. For this final day, we stayed towards the end of Manhattan Island. Our first stop was the 9/11 Memorial and its reflecting pools. These memorials are quite impressive and somber, with the names of the people who lost their lives etched all along the edge.

We sat for quite a while near the memorial, I think partly because of the nature of the space, and also that we just needed a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. So after a quiet hour or so, we then headed to the top of One World Trade Center to the observation deck.

The elevator ride to the top is very interesting because the walls of the elevator are large screens which not only replicate the rising altitude but how the city changed all the way from its founding until the present day. It was an incredible show. Please check out this video, which will give you and idea.

As you might guess, the view from the top of One World Trade Center is stunning. But even though you are at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, both Bay and I agreed that the view from Top of the Rock was more impressive, mostly because you are outdoors. But I think the observation deck of One World Trade Center is a must see. With this trip, I’ve now been to the top of Rockefeller Center, The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, and the original WTC.

Next, we visited the 9/11 Museum, which is below ground. You can see the original steel foundation beams and slurry wall and many tributes in the forms of murals and paintings, but the heart of the museum has to be the historical exhibits that chronicle the timeline of September 11, 2001. It was shocking to relive that day, and there were several times when I felt tears welling up.

There was one exhibit/film in particular that describes the timeline of Flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania after the passengers stormed the cockpit of the hijacked jet. It was heartbreaking to hear the voicemail messages of passengers to their loved ones and families… That was extremely difficult to hear. 😢

I have to admit that I was not really looking forward to visiting this museum, but I am very glad I did. When we exited the museum I gave Bay a little hug. 😥

After the museum, I really needed to get some caffeine so we searched The Oculus building for the Starbucks. Unfortunately, we didn’t find one, but the building itself is really cool:

Luckily there was a Starbucks on the way to Wall Street, so we had a short rest, I got my caffeine fix, we were ready to go. From the coffee shop, it was just a short walk to the Charging Bull statue. It was pretty cool, but I really enjoyed seeing the Fearless Girl. I wasn’t sure if it was a permanent sculpture or would be there, but it was! I admire what this statue stands for. Resiliency and the strength of the underdog, the less-privileged.

A couple blocks away are the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Hall National Memorial. It was cool to be in the same place where George Washington was sworn in as the first president. You can actually see the floor that he stood upon to receive the oath.

After Wall Street, we headed back to SoHo for last-minute gift-shopping and then to our last dinner in NYC. And it had to be… pizza! 😆🍕

One the way back to our Airbnb I snapped a photo of this wall-art. I like to think of it as Bay and I enjoying our travel together. 😀

I hope you had a great day!

またね～

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