Our Great Adventure - Day 2 - 9/11 Memorial

We had a 10:00 am appointment to take a tour of Rockefeller Plaza.  This also included a visit to the "Top of the Rock".  When we arrived we were told that the visibility was only a quarter of a mile and we would be allowed to reschedule our "Top of the Rock" tour for another day when the sky would be more cooperative.  

 Rockerfeller Plaza is a cluster of several buildings in Midtown Manhattan.  It houses the NBC Studios as well as Fox News, 

Bill O'Reilly and I point at one another

Christie's Auction House, an ice skating rink and many high end shops.  Many shows are filmed in this complex including the Today Show (we saw Will from the "Will & Grace" show), Dr. Oz, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.  

As we were led around the complex we were told about the Rockefeller family and the lavish art spread throughout the building.  Our tour guide pointed out one tiny little jewelry store in the complex and she said that their rent for that little space was $1,000 per day.  Wow!  

We finished our tour just in time to run around the corner to church.  We usually go to the Episcopal Church on Wednesdays so I found a church close by called St. Mary the Virgin, affectionately known as Smokin' Mary's because of the heavy use of incense.  

The beautiful old church, in addition to being a place of worship, that day served as a sanctuary for folks to get in off the streets and out of the elements.  You could see them reclining in the pews along the sides of the church.  I wasn't aware of them participating during the service but they certainly were not a disruption.  I think it is wonderful that the church is open to them.  The service started with the   short noonday prayer.  Following this, the priest invited us to the sit in the chancel area for the healing service and eucharist.  It was a special and memorable touch that I really appreciated.

  

After the service we headed for the subway and Chinatown.  We got off at Canal Street and aside from the advertisements in the windows being in Chinese, it looked just like the rest of NY, not at all like the foreign look I was expecting.  There were lots of gift shops selling name brand knockoffs and open front food and fish (peweeee!!!!) markets.

Right beside Chinatown is Little Italy.  In fact it's hard to find  the dividing line between the two.  We were hungry for pizza so we found a cute little place called  Il Cotille and ordered this....  

and a salad.  The experience was made even more authentic by the other diners in the restaurant who were conversing in Italian.  It was a great experience.  After lunch we walked around a little more and then headed back through Chinatown, past the Dentist's office, courthouses, the Brooklyn Bridge and a tiny, bird-filled park

into Lower Manhattan.  We went to St. Paul's Chapel, the oldest surviving church in Manhattan, which served as a triage area during the tragic fall of the twin towers during the attacks on 9/11.  

We also visited its sister, Trinity Church, just down Rector Street, both Episcopal churches.

We left Wall Street and headed to the waterfront where we found this little lady.....

We made our way up to the  9/11 Memorial area.  There is no charge for visiting the memorial, however they suggest a $5 per person donation.  There is a screening process with metal detectors before you are admitted and it was much less intrusive and intimidating than the TSA screening at the airport. It was a reminder that this is the spot that caused our lives and feelings of safety to change in 2001.  Has it really been that long ago?

The memorial is simply beautiful.  It is tasteful.  It is elegant. It is dignified and shows honor. There are two large dark pools with falling water situated where each of the towers stood.  Around each pool is a plaque that runs around the perimeter and has the names of those killed in each tower.  

There is also a park area and once the trees are fully grown, it will be even more beautiful than it already is.

We headed back to Midtown and stopped in for a sandwich for dinner.  What a busy and exhausting day.  Even with taking the subway, my pedometer said that I had walked over 9 miles!  Time to rest up for tomorrow and another museum!