Having arrived the previous day, Lindsay and I were settled in our last hotel of the trip, the Comfort Inn in Chinatown on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. the weather was HOT, and New York was in the early stages of what would become a heatwave (lucky us!). The weather did not help our surroundings, as Chinatown is full of little market stalls along the side of the road and the heat combined with rotting fish and fruit resulted in smells wafting up and down Chrystie and Canal Streets which were not for the faint of heart.
But anyway, on the Friday we decided to take a walk to Lower Manhattan and the Financial District. So we headed downtown by Canal Street. But before we were to reach our destination, we had one little stop over, a place very close to my heart -
The above is the 8th Hook and Ladder Firehouse. The exterior of which was used as the Ghostbusters HQ in both films.
The sign used in Ghostbusters 2 still hangs inside the firehouse (which was closed but we got this shot through the cloudy window).
There is also this painted on the sidewalk.
The men and women of the 8th Hook and Ladder were also first responders on 9/11, which brings me to our next stop in Lower Manhattan.
The 9/11 Memorial. The bases of both towers have been converted into fountains, surrounded by the names of those who died that day.
It really is quite beautiful what they have done. I am sure it will be a place of pilgrimage for all Americans for years to come.
These are the new towers being erected at the site. They do not stand together but across from one another. Due to these still being in construction, it was actually quite difficult to get into the memorial itself, as there was a weird ticketing system and security checks.
After the memorial we headed further south to Wall Street.
Memorial Hall.
The New York Stock Exchange.
Further down Broadway is the famous Charging Bull statue. Apparently in an act of guerilla art, the creator of the bull, artist Arturo Di Modica, installed his work outside the New York Stock Exchange in 1989 to represent the "strength of the American people" after the stock market crash of 1987. The Police impounded it, but the outcry from the public was so fierce it was placed just a few blocks south from the NYSE at Bowling Green.
Next stop was Battery Park. All the parks in New York are beautiful!
Battery Park is one of the gateways to the Statue of Liberty. And since we had a City Pass which allowed us access to many landmarks around the city, we decided to take the ferry over to Liberty Island.
This is the view of Lower Manhattan from behind the ferry.
And here is Lady Liberty on our approach across the Hudson River.
The Statue itself as closed to visitors due to renovations, so we just circled the island before heading back to the mainland.
Once we returned to the mainland, it was time for a late lunch.
For lunch we went to Les Halles which is the restaurant in Lower Manhattan owned by Anthony Bourdain. The food was amazing, and the restaurant looked great but it didn't offer all that much respite from the overbearing heat outside (made worse by the fact we were walking everywhere).
We finally returned to our hotel later in the afternoon and prepared for our journey into Brooklyn to see the live comedy chat show Night of the Living hosted by comedian Kurt Braunohler with special guests Judah Friedlander (30 Rock) and musician Amanda Palmer.
Yes, there was a sleeping man below the desk the entire time!
Amanda Palmer plays her ukulele.
Host Kurt Braunohler and some very potty mouthed puppets.
After the show, the audience was asked to come up on stage for a group photo.
Behind me with Amanda Palmer is her husband Neil Gaiman! I really wanted to meet him but they took off like a shot right after this photo was taken.
But we did get to meet Judah Friedlander which was exciting!
After the show, we decided on a late dinner and took a cab from Brooklyn to Katz's Deli which became my favourite place to eat in Manhattan (we ended up going three times!). The reason for this is that they make the best sandwiches I've ever eaten!
Well that ends our first day in New York!
NEXT TIME: A Superhero Walking Tour, meatballs for dinner and a night at the movies!
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