On the second day in NYC we booked a free walking tour of the SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown. Best decision ever! We would have never gotten as much out of walking around this area as we did with a guide. It was absolutely freezing (hand and foot warmers came in really handy!).
We learned all about the history of SoHo, an acronym for South of Houston Street. We learned about how these magnificent buildings were once factories with tall ceilings, that later they stood untaken care of for years until people started remodeling them and selling them to artsy people, thus making it more of an art district. And later it has flourished with famous brand name stores on the bottom as well, driving the price of real estate upwards. A few celebrities own properties in the area, which creates extra popularity and demand for SoHo.
We found this area charming, very different from the busy streets near Times Square.
We also had an overview of Little Italy, the neighborhood laced in history of hard working Italian immigrants and mafia. We had THE most expensive cannoli at the recommendation of the guide. It was fantastic! Definitely better than Harris Teeter:))
And we got acquainted with Chinatown, a rather large neighborhood next door. We discovered that Chinatown is pretty much its own town as everything is done in Chinese and you could pretty much live and work and go to the doctor and school and shop--all without leaving this part of Manhattan or speaking English. It's quite incredible.
It's also incredible that this lady at the "Fried Dumpling" is so famous, or rather infamous, for being very non-nonsense and borderline rude to her customers...as in it comes with the experience and those who live in this place are used to it and support it. But first timers--it wasn't very pleasant. The dumplings were indeed fried and pleasant though.
After the tour (and the dumplings) we ventured through Brooklyn towards the Financial District and 9/11 Memorial.
We walked over to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked on it for a bit before turning around as we didn't really need to go to Brooklyn:).
Where we did need to go was to Joe's Pizza.
It's famous so it's crowded! You just place your order and hope to find a seat.
We ended up sitting outside--the pizza was delicious!
After this snack, we made our way to the 911 Museum. We had an appointment for 1 pm, so we got in line, got through security and then started our self-guided tour.
I won't write too much about it because really, the emotions we all felt at the museum were simply overwhelming. It was the totality of this horrible event, the aftermath, the details of people's lives, and the reality of how it all happened that broke our hearts all over again.
These are the flags of all the countries whose citizens perished in the attack.
I know our kids needed to see this museum and learn about this terrible disaster.
This was most touching and real--learning about people who that day woke up and went to work just like on any other day.
Pieces of the foundation from one of the towers.
Demolished firetruck.
After a while it was hard to breath...it was hard to be with so many people and such heavy emotions. Outside, we caught the last rays of sunshine at the reflection pools.
In place of the twin towers, they made two pools filled with water.
Here is another picture. The walls of the pools carry the names of all the victims.
We all held each other tighter after the visit, celebrating life that we do have.
We were close to Wall St., so we decided to follow the map to find the bull!
And we found it, but they line to take a picture with it was too long. So we kind of improvised.
Seriously, what's so special about this charging bull!? Oh! It's a symbol of courage and can-do spirit of Americans and New Yorkers in particular.
Just a nice selfie with Christmas lights.
And Lyena with the Fearless Girl statue that we kept looking for and not noticing.
We walked, and walked, and walked...pass Chinatown and beyond, all the way to the Ukrainian village, all with one reason-have some Ukrainian food for dinner!
Veselka is the name of the famous Ukrainian restaurant. It's perfect for tourists and those who want to sample some pretty authentic Ukrainian food.
We managed to get seats but outside, in a heated and covered "booth". It was getting crowded!
The food was very expensive compared to Ukrainian food in Ukraine, of course. But it was worth it!!!
I recommend it to anyone who wants to try some of the Ukrainian dishes.
We had to satisfy our sweets craving though so we found a cozy gelateria!
It was the perfect end to such a busy and fulfilling day!
In the morning of our last day, we checked out from our hotel, Lyena got her coffee, and we took the subway to New Jersey where we rented a CAR!
It was super economical for us, for just $120 to rent a car for 24 hours to drive home. We picked it up at the mall in NJ, which was located just a few minutes from the Statue of Liberty Park. It was so simple to get there and we really did want to see the Statue of Liberty. Picking up the rental car in that location made it super easy.
First, the monument is called Empty Sky. It's a memorial to the NJ victims of 911. It's situated just across the Hudson river from the World Trade Center towers.
One of the most amazing city views!
It was a particularly windy and cold day! No way we were getting on a boat to go to Ellis Island.
A temporary Statue of Liberty lying down:).
And of course, here is the Statue of Liberty! Biggest surprise? It looks a lot smaller than I had imagined!
Yet, it's so famous and so recognizable!
Mark with the Statue of Liberty.
Alex with the Statue of Liberty.
Lyena and the Statue of Liberty.
Lyana and the Statue of Liberty.
Yeah..we took a lot of pictures, and very quickly, because we just had to escape that wind!!!
We felt like our mission was completely accomplished! We did everything we set out to do in those 2.5 days and we did it pretty successfully (with minor adjustments plus no ice skating).
Our minivan was waiting for us, so we quickly ran to the warm vehicle and enjoyed our VERY LONG drive home. Seriously, it showed us it was an 8 hour flight at first, but as the day went on, it got longer and longer...traffic got worse and worse. I am still glad we drove and saved hundreds of dollars plus saw a bunch of other states, but we have also realized how much easier it is to fly, for sure...
I am looking forward to going back to NYC and see more!
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