New York City!

There she blows! New York City is one big, busy, and vibrant city to see from afar or to actually visit into the depths of this historic and interesting place!

Let me start from the beginning of my journey to this wonderful place!
I woke up bright and early to get in my car and make the nearly two hour drive into Jersey City, NJ. Jersey City sits right across the famous Hudson River (remember Sully and the plane crash from a few years ago) from New York City. The picture above is the view from Jersey City right before I hopped on the ferry.
This picture is of a giant chess set! Where is my big bro when I need a chess partner...or for that matter, anyone who likes Harry Potter books/movies and wants to reenact the chess battle from book/movie 1. 

 This is a permanently docked boat that sits at the entrance to the ferry ride.

 This would be the view as we approached the other side of the river...

The ferry was fun, especially because I got to ride for FREE! Yep that's right, a free ride. Let me explain...a nice young man who collects the money on the ferry proceeded to "hit on me." He really wanted me to accept a date with him, either today (the day I was in NYC) or at a later time. I had to explain to him that I am NOT coming back....He initially thought I was just blowing him off, but after I told him I was moving West, he understood! It was fun to chat with a native to NYC, and he gave me nice recommendations of places to see or to eat ate while I was there. He was even nice enough to give me his phone number in case I wanted a tour guide/company with me. I never called. Sorry Steven, but thanks for the free ride!

The ferry drops off right in front of the World Trade Center site. I didn't visit it right away, I wanted to get into the city and walk the streets first!
I came across the St. Paul Chapel right off Broadway, and I am definitely not religious or interested in churches, but this one had been highly involved with 9/11 and was a resting place for the firemen and policemen that helped clean everything up.

 An actual fire suit wore by a fireman during the 9/11 rescue and clean up

 A dedication to those that lost their lives and the badges of all the men and women who gave their lives to save others during 9/11

I walked up and down Broadway and some side streets, I stopped into a lot of fun shops and saw plenty of interesting people. About 50% of the people walking the streets were wearing business attire and literally looked like they walked off the set of a movie about New York. Its true, everyone is on-the-go.

While I was walking Greenwich in Tribeca, I spotted a mob of paparazzi. Surprisingly they didn't notice me or want to take my picture! Oh yeah, that's right...I am not famous yet! Well I will consider it their loss!
Instead of taking a picture of the celebrity shopping (still have no clue who it was) I took a picture of the paparazzi!

On my way back up the other side of Greenwich, they were still there and the celeb hadn't been identified...so I waited with the other spectators

 I don't live in NYC and I can't imagine I looked like I belonged, but anyone who walked by would ask me who everyone was waiting for. It was fun to feel like a New Yorker! I still don't know who was the celeb, but I guess it was some rapper or something...

Next up was a big, red delicious apple from a farmers market and a sculpture garden right in the middle of the block. Best apple I have ever had in my life! Maybe that is why they call it the "Big Apple" because the apples are HUGE and delicious!!

I failed at taking pictures of what I ate, because I was so consumed with experiencing things, not flashing my camera all the time. That and my mumsey told me not to look too touristy. Taking pictures of what I ate might come off as "touristy!" I was so busy sightseeing I didn't eat much, but I did have a famous hot dog with sauerkraut and mustard from the street vendor, Sabretts. I also had a gelato and fresh fruit from one of the many "variety markets."

Last stop was the 9/11 memorial. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures there either. I am not a very patriotic person, but I can tell you that I got pretty emotional seeing the sight of the two towers and reading about all the men and women who died that day and the days after. When you grow up halfway across the country from where it happened, it sort of feels unreal, but seeing it and being there was incredibly eye-opening and tragic. I recommend that anyone who is able to, visit some time in their life. A strange feeling came over me while I was standing there. It is hard to believe that it happened more than 10 years ago.

 They are building up something right next to the memorial site, but I never caught what they were building.

I also came across a general memorial for police officers that have lost their lives defending the streets of NYC.

And just for fun, a few other photos from my day in the city...

The last thing I saw was the Statue of Liberty on my ferry ride back to Jersey City. There was a ferry to the Statue, but it was $17 and you could only go to the Statue, Ellis Island was closed. So I didn't think it was worth it. But I did get some good pictures...

That was my time in New York City. I had a blast and would definitely visit again. A single day is not enough to see it all. I did come to the conclusion that NYC is not as high on my list of places to live as it was before I visited, although it is fun and interesting, I just couldn't deal with the hustle and bustle of everyone...It would be way beyond my stress level capacity.

Today I will be visiting the smaller towns on the outskirts of Philly, lots of fun boutiques and cafes to see. Stay tuned!!