Day 3: 9/11 museum and the Statue of Liberty
Our third day was also very busy. The day had an emotional start. We visited the 9/11 museum on Ground Zero. There was a very long line, so we were lucky to have bought tickets upfront. We really recommend a visit to the museum. We were speechless by the sight of the terror that shook New York on 9/11.. The museum left an everlasting impression.
From the new One World Trade Center we went through Battery Park to get to the ferries for the trip to the Statue of Liberty. Honestly? The best views of the statue are on the ferry, not on the island itself. But we must say the statue is impressive. We didn’t go all the way up into the crown, but we climbed the 195 steps to get on top of the socket. We had a great view of the New York skyline.
After our visit of the Statue of Liberty we went to another New York City icon, Wallstreet. We saw the world-famous facade of the New York Stock Exchange. From Wallstreet we continued our walk to the South Street Seaport, but it looked like the shops didn’t exist anymore. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and headed for BXL, a Belgian restaurant. We loved the menu, all Belgian favorites. Jelle enjoyed the stew with a white beer and Heidi tasted the pasta carbonara with a raspberry beer.
We ended the day on top of the Empire State Building. Visiting the Empire State Building is like visiting a themepark. Long lines, a lot of entertainment. There is even a ride, the spectacular elevater ride up to the 80th floor. From there on you can take the stairs or an elevator to the 86th floor. There were a lot of people up there, all enjoying the sunset over the city. The view of all the lights in the city was amazing.
Day 4: Brooklyn Bridge – American Museum Of Natural History
On our last day in New York, we went for a walk, again.. We took the subway to Brooklyn, to walk across Brooklyn Bridge. The weather was very nice, just like the view of the city.
After our crossing of the bridge we walked passed the Criminal Courts Building. There was a lot of press (we could see all the satellite dishes on the vans), so we thought there was a major crime case being covered. But they were just filming an episode of ‘The Newsroom’.
We continued our walk to China Town. We heard a lot of noise and drums. There was a dragon competition. Different teams were competing by showing of the best moves of their dragon. A nice extra! From China to Italy in a few minutes, it’s possible in New York. We had lunch in Little Italy. Pizza, of course!
Next stop was Economy Candy. A small shop with a lot of candy! You can find every kind of candy here. They even had Kinder Bueno and (very expensive) Côte d’Or chocolate!
Then we took the subway to the American Museum Of Natural History. This museum was one of the reasons we were in New York. But we were a little disappointed.. It was very busy and there wasn’t a clear structure. We thought the Natural History Museum in Berlin was better.
After our visit we returned to the hotel to rest a little. Before going back to Times Square for dinner, we reserved a place in a shared van for the ride to the airport the next day.
Day 5: New York – Las Vegas
On our last day in New York we went to The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. Nice store, but a little expensive… Just like the DKNY shop..
Around noon we left New York and returned to Newark for our flight to Las Vegas. We were lucky, the flight only lasted 4,5 hours instead of the 5,5 hours posted.
Once we arrived in Las vegas we were waiting for our luggage, but it didn’t come.. Then Jelle saw some bags in a corner of the baggage claim hall. There was a little sign saying “Newark”, next to our bags! Apparently our bags were flown to Las Vegas with an earlier flight.
We took the shuttle to the Car Rental Center to pick up the car. Alamo had a nice Ford Fusion on the lot, so Jelle was happy!
We slept in the Circus Circus hotel. Luckily it was just 1 night. It’s a cheap hotel, and it shows… It’s old, noisy and not very clean..
