New York New York, well Manhattan really....maybe Camelot

After dropping the car and Julia off, we walked south to the High Line, which is an abandoned elevated train line which has been turned into a garden, walkway and community space...

The NY we are experiencing at the the moment is very busy, always noisy, and lots and lots of cars, which we, now as pedestrians, have to really watch out for.  The concept of waiting til the red hand (red man) has stopped before one crosses the road is not in the practical vocabulary of these people, lulling we foreigners into thinking the lights have changed.....Oi vey!!!

Caught the subway again, very ably navigated and guided by Nathalie, we found the ground zero WTC site.  It's the place missing two substantial buildings.    It is a very impressive monument/ memorial to the more than 3000 people who lost their lives that day.

...but similar to the flight 93 memorial, is very close to being a tribute to the memorial rather than the people interestingly it also remembers the 9 people killed in the 1993 bombing at the WTC.

Then we walked to Battery park where near the Irish Potato Famine Memorial(true,!!!) we happend upon a young Amish couple and their eight month old child.  They were down from Lancaster county for the day, as a company picnic type thing.  

Obviously they were not ultra orthodox, because he didn't have a beard, and there weren't a long line of horse and carriages blocking the street.  Plesant to chat with and  very interested in what we were doing, but had no idea where Australia was.  He was in construction, she was a home looking after the child.

Then caught the subway back to near our accommodation 

The Gem Hotel., obviously via the largest department store in the world: Macys. checked in, and were blessed with a fifth floor tiny room (room 604) at the going rate of about $240 a night...pretty expensive in these parts. But we got our own bathrobes...not to keep though.

Had a little bit of quiet time then......,,,

Out for tea and then walked again to Times Square, it is just a huge expanse of neon, billboards, five storey high tv screens  and many many people, just milling about.  We also saw at lest six Statues of Liberty, most on stilts sand frankly looked like scarey preying manti. 

A resting SOL

Andrew, Nathalie (front row) and a five storey tv screen behind.

Sat for a while here, then wandered all the way up to where one would find the Empire State Building.  It would have been 10 p.m by the time we got there, so did not expect the still huge crowds.  Paid our money...lots of it, to go to the 86th floor, which is the last floor before the pointy bit on the top.  The views were spectacular, and it was much cooler up there albeit windy.... With the haze of the last day the view at night as probably much better.

From the top...well the 86th floor.

And the genuinely unique gift shop 

Then we walked back,to our travellers garet, to await another exciting day....well now it is today...not tomorrow, because it itninnthe wee hours of Saturday now.