Day Before Hercules
January 2, 2014
New York City, NY
What can be more archetypal of NYC than the Statue of Liberty?
A gift from the people of France, the Statue of Liberty embodies the one most valued possession of every American - freedom. It is this very iconic copper statue that welcomed immigrants who crossed oceans just to avail of this very basic human right.
A visit to NYC will never be complete without paying Lady Liberty a visit. Paul and I really tried to wake up early to catch the early morning boat ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. For the first time during this trip, we made it on time. :)
The port where the ferry docks sits amid the skyscrapers of the Financial District of NYC.
The first stop of the boat was the Statue of Liberty. Upon seeing the long line of waiting passengers to board the boat, we decided not to get off and see Lady Liberty up close and personal. It would have taken more than 30 minutes in the line before we could board another ferry to Ellis Island, and we still had a long list of places to check out for that day. A ferry crew also tipped us that there are more things to do in Ellis Island (thank you, good sir!).
The weather in NYC was unforgiving, but Paul wanted to take unobstructed pictures. Despite our faces freezing from the harsh cold wind, we sat outside most of the time on the way to Ellis Island.
Ellis Island houses the Immigration Museum. The island was once a federal immigration station that welcomed people from all over the world, especially those from the European region.
This massive hall of the main building was once a witness to the influx of thousands of immigrants who patiently lined up to have their medical examinations done and documents checked by immigration officers.
We searched for our last names in the museum's database and we were quite thrilled when we found them.
The ride back to the port from Ellis Island shaved a big chunk of time off our travel time to the port where we had to take the Circle Line Sightseeing cruise. We rushed our way back to the subway station and then ran three blocks in order to get to the cruise on time.
As far as I can remember, the cruise took a good three hours to circle Manhattan. But it was a very much welcomed respite, especially after the grueling ball drop experience. I think I even dozed off a couple of times. Thankfully, I have a husband who tried to document every nook and cranny of Manhattan and the surrounding places.
It was interesting to see the different sides of Manhattan. From the skyscrapers, to the public housings, to the industrial area, the island indeed holds a lot of character.
After the cruise, we headed out to have dinner at Pio Pio, a Peruvian restaurant at the Hell's Kitchen area. We were quite stuffed with the very tasty orders of ceviche and rotisserie chicken.
Since it was the holidays, and this is NYC, a lot of the more popular broadway shows have already sold out. Luckily we were able to score cheap and front seat tickets to MacBeth which starred the very talented Ethan Hawke.
When we left the Lincoln Center Theater, fresh fluffy snow greeted us on the doorsteps! The Hearst Plaza was fully covered with white velvety snow. It was a magical sight. The kid in me wanted to run and make a snowman and snow angels and just enjoy the magical moment. But when I made my first step I had a horrible revelation... fresh snow is very slippery. I struggled to maintain my balance and had to make sure and heavy steps. I was clinging to Paul for dear life.
The travel back to where we were staying was not boring at all. Paul and I definitely looked like very slow penguins trying to find our way around the city.We arduously crossed the treacherous streets of Times Square to get to the subway station. The streets were bustling with people trying to get home or find shelter as the city was to be put on a state of emergency due to Hercules.
Despite the dangerous weather conditions, NYC still remained very much alive. Every corner of the city was still filled with people trying to make it big in the Big Apple. Musicians, magicians, poets, you name it, NYC has it. The subway provided venues for these people to showcase their talents. It was storming out on the streets, but as they always say, the show must go on.
Hercules, the untimely snowstorm, pounded on our windows that night. It created a winter wonderland on the streets and rooftops, which by the way still looked really pretty to me (sorry, tropical girl here). Nevertheless, we did not let this deter us from exploring NYC more on the last few days we had left in the city. And so with a cup of hot apple cider prepared by our gracious host, we regrouped in our room, rearranged our schedule for the next days, and called it a good night.
- Dai
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