ShannonAlbert.com - June 2009

After the ferry, we headed for some other areas of NYC.

One side of the New York Stock Exchange. This side used to have the street open to drive on but after the first World Trade Center attack in 1993, the street was closed to through traffic.



The other side of NYSE...


Me insisting on wearing my brand spanking new furry hat so that I don't freeze and so that I can annoy my mom...


View of the church up the hill from NYSE...


Next stop is the area where the World Trade Centers formerly stood and Trinity Church where rescue workers slept, ate and were cared for while working all day and night at the site...

An example of what each pew looked like w/a rescue workers coat draped over the end of the pew...






Across the street is where the towers stood but it's a major construction zone right now. This is what you can see through the cracks in the posts into the construction area...


Future plans...







Shortly after this, our tour ended and we were starving! We asked our tour guide where we should get some good pizza and he recommended John's Pizzeria. We were thinking more of a pizzeria where we could order a slice but this ended up being quite a nice place w/really yummy pizza.

We ate the whole thing...


At this point, we were just exhausted and returned to our hotel room to sleep. We slept for a couple of hours, changed into some nicer clothes and then headed out to see The Color Purple musical.

While in line, we waited along the road that goes between where the Late Show is taped and the Broadway theater...


I have to admit that I've never seen The Color Purple or read the book (despite my love of Oprah and her constant talking about it). The story is so fantastic and this musical is the best thing I've ever seen. The main role of Celie is currently being played by Fantasia and her performance brought tears to my eyes on TV and way more in person. It's so moving, she's so good (critics say even better than the actress she replaced who won a Tony for her role). Her run ends in a couple of weeks and I feel so fortunate to have seen it.

Fantasia's performance of one of her main songs at the Tony awards...


Afterward, we had a late dinner at Rosie O'Grady's Steakhouse and once I finally stopped crying, the martinis and food were excellent. Perfect night.

Tomorrow - Tavern on the Green, FAO Schwarz, Rockettes Christmas show and Rockefeller Center

We chose to take a 5 1/2 hour bus tour of some of the NYC sites. We met our bus and at 8:30, a group of 12 of us were off w/our guide showing us the way.

First stop of off the bus is the Strawberry Fields portion of Central Park which is a memorial to John Lennon. His apartment is across the street from this park and Yoko Ono still lives there.






The top floor belongs to Yoko...


Back on the bus, a foggy view of the Empire State Building...


Flat Iron building as seen in Spiderman...


We eventually stopped at the South Sea Port for a bathroom break, some shopping and for some food. I was so cold that I had to get a big furry hat and some extra socks while we were here.

A foggy bridge view from the sea port...




We then boarded the Staten Island Ferry which is about a 25 minute ride and takes you close to the Statue of Liberty. The SoL is closed for refurbishment so it's not worth it to go there right now.

Foggy skyline view from the ferry...





View of another ferry just like the one we took...