Saturday in the City
One of the fabulous things about New York City is the shopping. If you can’t find it here, then it probably doesn’t exist. The selection and range of the stores in this city are outstanding (especially along 5th Avenue). I was telling Gary today that it would be fun to come back for a “shopping” tour of the city. Ah, I could do some serious damage in the stores here.
We visited the world’s largest store, Macy’s on 7th Avenue, this afternoon. It boasts one million square feet of shopping space — a girl’s dream! My main goal was to find some comfortable shoes that wouldn’t further irritate the blisters on my feet, and while I was there I couldn’t resist doing some additional shopping. Yeah, I’ll be bringing home some great “souvenirs” from Macy’s. 😉
Although shopping was fun, the real highlight of the day was our trip to Ground Zero. After exiting the Subway, it was obvious where we needed to go. A huge empty gap marked the space where the buildings once stood.
You can’t see much at this point. Ground Zero is a large hole that is slowly being filled in by new construction. Freedom Tower will replace the World Trade Center buildings that were destroyed on 911. Construction should be complete by 2012. The new tower will pay homage to the twin towers in several ways. The base of the Freedom Tower will be 200 feet square — the same dimensions as the original towers. The observation deck will be at 1,362 feet: the height of World Trade Center Tower Two. The glass parapet will be at 1,368 feet: the height of World Trade Center Tower One. Freedom Tower along with three other WTC towers, retail development and a performing arts center will occupy 8 of the 16 acres that previously held the collapsed World Trade Center buildings. An 8-acre landscaped Memorial Plaza also will be erected as a place for people to reflect on the events of 911.
As we walked around the site today, memories of that day flooded back into my mind. I know exactly where I was and what I was doing when it happened. I watched live on TV as the second building fell to the ground. It was one of the most horrific things I’ve witnessed. I can’t explain the feeling I had today as I walked around looking at what’s left of the site where so many people lost their lives. All I can say is that it was truly a moving experience.
Where the buildings used to stand…the sky seems empty without them:
Ground Zero as it looks today:
Bored in the subway:
I’ll be loading more pictures onto the “photos” section in the next couple of days. A few from yesterday’s photo tour are up now, but I haven’t had time to upload all of them yet. Check back tomorrow for updates.
