Empire State of Mind - Part Two

After watching the Miss Universe pageant on television and seeing Miss Australia come in third, we settled down to get some rest before our last day in New York. But if it was a good night’s sleep I was hoping for that night, I certainly didn’t get it. It was interrupted after Nel and I woke to hear rustling coming from the Subway bags we’d left on the floor. Knowing it was either a mouse or the world’s biggest cockroach, we were quick to extract the bags, much to our roommates dislike at 4am in the morning. It seems every dive motel comes with complimentary vermin.

To top off our tourist experience, day three was spent visiting lady Liberty. In every action/end-of-the-world movie where the State of Liberty has been destroyed by water or aliens or fire and brimstone, she has always seemed so big. But rounding the edge of Liberty Island and seeing her draw closer, I was a little disappointed that she wasn’t as big as the blockbusters portrayed. But as with all women, it’s not size that matters, its character and Lady Liberty certainly has plenty of it. The statue, a gift from the French in the 1900s, is a beacon of freedom and independence for America, representing the people who flocked from all corners of the globe seeking refuge and hope in ‘The New World’. Ellis Island, the second stop on the ferry ride to Liberty Island, is now a museum dedicated to the history of America’s social founding. With all this represented by the Lady Lib, you can see why Americans are so proud of her.

Proud and protective. The security screenings for both the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building were as strict as you would find in an airport. I had my laptop with me during the security screenings for the State of Liberty and the inspection process was so thorough I had to remove and replace the battery before they would let me board the ferry. The city is definitely a different place post 9/11, even 10 years after the attacks on the Twin Towers.

I was expecting my first glimpse of Ground Zero to be an eerie and off-putting experience, but with the new Tower now under development, the whole area is covered in scaffolding and building works. But even despite that, standing in the very site where that horrific event occurred made me feel uncomfortable. A temporary memorial is located further up the street (the new Tower features a mass memorial as part of the design) which was a museum of sorts, with time-lines and images of the September 11 events. As I read over the events of the attacks and saw the images and dedications to those who lost their lives that day, it was hard not to feel emotional and overwhelmed. Talking to my American friends and hearing their stories of what unfolded in their cities and towns, it’s not worth imagining what it must have been like to be in the country at that time, let alone in New York – so much fear and panic. A decade later and the city appears to have rebuilt itself, but there will always be a scar where those towers stood.

After our long day of travel (not to mention an un-planned journey to Harlem after we caught the wrong express train), Nel, Alyce and I (the three Aussies) donned our Carrie Bradshaw best and headed out to Broadway to see West Side Story. Having pre-bought our tickets at a fairly expensive price, we had amazing seats right on the orchestra and they were certainly worth every penny. It was the quintessential musical to see in New York City and the level of professionalism was unlike any other musical I’ve seen. The dancing and choreography was jaw-dropping and was almost enough to make me want to quit my day job and be an aspiring Broadway star.

Some friends from camp who were joining up with Nel and Alyce to fly to Florida the next day, arrived that evening so being young 20-somethings in NYC, we of course went out on the town to see what we could find. What we found was a bar called Brother Jimmy’s in Union Square which sold a drink named The Fishbowl – a concoction of who-knows-what called Swamp Water which comes served with a large plastic alligator which once tipped into the fishbowl, releases a red shot which turns the swamp water murky. The whole thing is too big for one person alone, so is served with giant straws and shared around the table.

Only in New York.

The 25th was my final day in New York (for this portion of my journey) and my final opportunity to say goodbye to some of my closest friends from camp. It seemed like I had been saying nothing but goodbyes for the last four days and saying goodbye to my ‘girls’ was far from pleasant. But as I waved them off on their next journey, I started a new journey of my own – a week of roadtripping down the East Coast with one of my besties from camp, Caitlin, with our final destination being her hometown of Miami.

One week, one car, one coast. Let’s see just how much mischief we can get into.

Ciao for now. xo