See Forever….

After the emotion of 9/11, we were off to the top of the world! 1 WTC Observatory was our next stop (thank you, Sarah, for the tip). It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and has recently opened a viewing platform on floors 100-102. The lift can take you up in 48 seconds which we agreed was blooming fast for a lift!

We have discovered that, apart from the museum, New York likes to keep you waiting and guessing. Not for them a simple queue that takes you to a lift, you have to join a number of queues, be herded through an exhibition and then, if you’re really lucky you can get in a lift. Obviously us English are far too impatient! The exhibition was a simple walk listening to stories from some of those involved in creating 1WTC as a symbol that the New York spirit wasn’t crushed by 9/11, in fact it brought New Yorkers together as community. The lift was very clever – very fast and ear popping. The visuals on the way up showed you how Manhattan has developed since 1776 and it would have been great if the journey had been slower to be able to take that in.

We arrived on 102 to be treated to another show before, ta da!, the curtains were raised and we were treated to the view. Luckily the skies had cleared, after earlier rain, which felt a little symbolic when we thought about how we’d spent our day so far! Finally we arrived at the viewing deck which was spacious and prompted a conversation/row ‘Shard, Heron Tower or 1WTC’. It was amazing but, for Kim, you cannot beat an aerial view of the Tower of London.

 

The rest of the afternoon saw a walk through Battery Park and a trip across the harbour on the Staten Island Ferry as a way of seeing the Statue of Liberty without paying.

Sorry, no photos from Ferry until we’ve worked out how to get the from camera to iPad