New York - Day 6

We dragged ourselves out of bed after watching the Republican National Convention late the previous night. We got ready and headed out to our first stop, the 9/11 memorial, we took the subway and walked to the ground zero site with gushing waterfalls where the previous world trade centre towers once stood. It was a quiet and moving place, I think it was a great decision to go in the morning as there were no large crowds and there was very little noise, we soon moved across the road for breakfast before heading to the 9/11 museum. We passed security checks and took the escalators down to the museum's main lobby. Here is what we saw up until then.

One World Trade Centre new metro building.

New World Trade Centre from the bottom.

Tower One memorial for the people that died. 

Memorial fountain of Tower One on exactly the footprint of the building.

Tower Two memorial sites.

After we received our audio headsets we met our group and started the tour.  We needed the headsets so that our guide could talk quietly in this respectful and sombre museum.  We first saw photos previous to the attacks before seeing pieces of the buildings as well as other artifacts, including belongings from people and tributes to the city and it's victims. Once we passed through the museum, which I would recommend, we taxied over to one of the piers where we took a short helicopter flight around the city.

For lunch we went to an Irish based restaurant which served very good food such as steaks, burgers, salads, fish etc. etc. We walked through the city through to Alexander Hamilton's grave(first US treasurer) and walked down Wall Street to see the stock exchange which had police heavily guarding it. This is what we saw.  

A photo of manhatten 16 minutes before the first plane hits the tower.

The final pillar that was removed from the aftermath clean-up.

Parts of the antenna on top of the towers that continued to broadcast what was happening allowing the world to listen.

what colour blue was the sky that day - tiles painted by an artist - same number of tiles as people that died and all a different shade of blue to show perspectives are different but all relevant.

The lift shaft engine that carried over 1,000 people to safety when they cleared Tower Two.

 

 

Tributes left to victims.

Firetruck used to recue workers etc. from the two towers.

Foundations of original towers and retaining wall.

Survivor stairs that enabled many people to survive by going out behind the buildings.

Twisted metal from the impact of a plane.

The victims of 9/11.

Pier 6 helicopter ride/tour.

Me looking snazzy with my lifejacket ready for the helicopter ride.

9/11tower and the two memorial fountains beside eachother from the air. 

 

Central Park from the air.

Governors Island.

Govenors Island.

Financial district of manhatten.

Lady Liberty.

Lady Liberty.

Yankee Stadium from the air.

Lunchtime food trucks in the financial district.

 

Stone street cafes.

Trinity church yard(where Alexander Hamilton is buried).

Grave of founding father and first Treasurer, Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza who organised the washingtpn monument in DC and the first orphanage in New York.

Grave of founding father and first Treasurer, Alexander Hamilton.

Hercules Mulligan, a key player with Hamilton in the revolution that brought about America's independence from England.

New York Stock exchange from Ferderal Hall Museum on wall Street(which is where George Washington first swore in as President).

We only had time for a quick stop before we went to the U.S.S Intrepid where we went inside the Concorde and saw how people travelled in style accross countries in record time. Me and dad rode on an aeroplane simulator which moved when you move(including sideways and upside down, I know actually upside down!) but you've got to believe me. We saw fighter jets and the retired Space Shuttle which was sent into orbit years ago but now resides on the U.S.S Intrepid. This is what we saw.

Concorde on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid.

Me inside the concorde behind the Queen's seat.

Concorde cockpit.

Visiting planes on the aircraft carrier flight deck.

Inside the hangar deck of the aircraft carrier.

Sply plane called the Blackbird.

Fighter jets.

More fighter jets.

Space shuttle back from orbit.

My dad with the space shuttle.

Space pavillion.

Inside the U.S.S Intrepid.

After we left to the U.S.S Intrepid we returned "home" where we had dinner and got dressed up for our final Broadway production of the trip. We went to the show Hamilton(see below) where I was surprised with box seats! We sat down and watched one of the greatest shows I've ever seen, I enjoyed every minute of the show and loved the experience of the box seats (as you can see below). The long line before the show (it's the hottest ticket in New York being sold out until next year) was worth it for the great experience, by us sitting where we were we could see the conductor as he worked and also the small conversations between the actors on stage as well as in the wings. It was a great show and I want everyone to see it. 

Hamilton - a hip/hop/rap musical that tells the story of the American revolution and the founding father on the $10 bill (Alexander Hamilton) who became George Washington's right hand man and the country's first Treasurer.  He established New York as the financial capital of America.

Hamilton show

Dad and me in the box seats.

Us being fancy in our seats.

Observe the playbill and the set behind me.

 

The audience and the stage(as you can see we can see the wings).

After the show we headed home ready for our day of travelling the next day and a well deserved rest and sleep.

Joseph