First Tour Day Over!!!(warning some photos have an M+15 rating)

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Well today was the first day of our New York Explorer tour and what a day it was. We basically did a lightning tour of down town Manhattan.

Our first stop was St John's the devine, an impressive Cathedral on Amsterdam Ave. This massive church is 2 american football fields long and the height of the ceiling is high enough for the statue of liberty to fit under without her flame touching the ceiling. The Rosary stained glass window in one of the photos cost approx $20,000,000 to install and the centre circle of it is about 2m diameter

We then drove through Harlem, where we saw the appollo theatre, to our next stop at Rockefeller Plaza where the have the huge christmas tree each year.

Our next stop was grand central station, for lunch. The clock in the centre of the main concourse is worth $20,000,000. For lunch I ordered a small pizza, which I couldn't finish!!!!!!!

Our last stop before afternoon break was ground zero. The memorial reflective pools were opened to the public on 11/09 this year by reserved ticket and the waiting list is already several months long. There's an immense sense of loss at the site, and speaking to New Yorkers about it their whole posture changes. Their jaws firm up and their heads lift slightly in defiance and resolve, saying "Yeah we're hurtin but there's no way your stopping us". In the pictures the building with the US flag on it is one of four new towers being built on the site. The tower when finished will stand as tall as the 2 original towers but will have a spire topping out at 1776 feet symbolizing America's independance as the height is the same year America was declared independant. The whole site is a fitting remeberance to those that were lost and a display of the American spirit to not give up and to never surrender.

Our final stop of the day was Time Square(where Sarah tripped over). It is definitely a must see, so many lights, so many people and sooooo much advertizing..... Time Square is the reason for our M rating on this blog as Mel and I got photos with the Naked Cowboy and Cowgirl.

Tomorrow we're off to see the statue of liberty, go on a jet boat ride on the Hudson and see a Broadway show!!!

This is Tim sigining off, stay classy Australia 😉

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