Sunday, November 18, 2007
2: Wall Street
Week 2 was Wall Street! I must say that I was pleasantly suprised by the new fun stops on this route.
First historic site: Fraunces Tavern. Fraunces Tavern was a well known gathering place during colonial times, and is most often associated with George Washington, who spent many hours enjoying the host's dinners and bar. It was here that General Washington gave his farewell address to his officers in 1783.
Next we visited the Vietnam War Memorial. Etched into the walls of the memorial are excerpts chosen from letters, diary entries, and poems written by Americans during the Vietnam Era. They were pretty sad to read.
I dared Megan to climb into the fountain there and she made me proud. I hope that wasn't part of the memorial, because we didn't mean to be disrespectful.
I think this was our favorite part of this walk: Stone Street. Stone Street was the first paved road in New York City, and these are the original cobblestones. It was such a cute little street!
Financier Pastry Shop - love it! This little gem is also on Stone Street. We enjoyed a delicious pain de chocolat and hot chocolate.
This is the spot where the Great Fire of NY (1835) began., which destroyed about 700 buildings. Megan told me to "look like I was on fire." At first I had a hard time.
We like NYC because there is always random weirdness going on. Like this Buck head for example. There were a few guys setting it up with a sign that said, "Take your picture with a buck, $5." We took ours for free.
Megan at the site where George Washington was inaugurated the first president of the U.S.
This is a bronze sculpture on the Trinity grounds. On 9/11, debris from the World Trade Center knocked over a 100 year old giant sycamore tree in the churchyard of St. Paul's Chapel. A sculptor used its roots as the base for bronze sculpture.
Here we are inside the roots.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
1: Battery Park and Battery Park City
Rule #1 in our club: you must wear your purple paraphernalia (we have an extra hat for honorary members).
This is a monument to all those who died at sea during WW2. See that little speck in the water? That's the Statue of Liberty.
Megan's best attempt at being solemn in front of The American Merchant Marine monument - it shows the sinking bow of a submarine with three crew members pulling up another man from the water. It is heartbreaking to look at and maybe a little creepy.
This statue baffled us. It is a cat and a monkey wearing clothes, and they appear to be in love. We do not pretend to know what it represents.
Are we still in NYC? Yep, there is a beautiful promenade along the waterfront at Battery Park.
Next week ... ??? Help me out here, Meg.
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