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Published: November 4th 2008
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The Long Walk
A new day and a new adventure. I wake up early...well, if you consider 10 am early...lol. The surprising thing is that Mourad is still asleep. Boy, that guy can sleep. Wish I had that problem..lol.
Greenwich Village
After a quick breakfast, I meet up with Mourad and we head out on another adventure. We've decided to go down to Greenwich Village and not to the Statue of Liberty as the lineup was a nightmare yesterday. Mourad tells me that he wants to walk as he loves walking and hates the subway. I'm up for it as it's another beautiful, hot, sunny day in NYC. So, looking at the map, we just need to go from 103 Street to Greenwich Avenue. That's not that far, right?
It would take us about one hour 30 minutes to go that distance. What was I thinking? I really don't know, but I was so wired from all the fun and excitement I had over the past two days, walking that distance didn't seem to be a problem. Especially since Mourad and I were having a fun time trying to figure out what the other person was saying.
Food
Yummy Note to self: take a French refresher course. The village was really nice although I was expecting more. Guess I should stop listening to people as they get my expectations up...who am I kidding..lol.
Ground Zero
After taking a few pictures in the village, I ask Mourad if he wants to go to Ground Zero. He says yes in his French accent...wish I had that cool French accent; I'm sure I would be more popular with the girls...lol. So off we go heading straight for ground zero. On our way there, we walk through Tribeca. It's a really nice neighborhood and we even stop for a drink in a pizzeria. The second pit stop we made on this whole walk so far. Two pit stops. That's not bad for the distance we walked. 30 minutes later we finally arrive at Ground Zero. What was I thinking? I knew it wasn't close, but it's just sore feet right?
We come at Ground Zero from the side where the memorial resides. I didn't actually see this side as I left without viewing the whole site. It's more massive than I imagined. God, the sheer size. It's impressive and depressing
Traffic Jam
Glad I'm not driving at the same time. We spent time taking pictures and looking around the site for a bit.
Statue of Liberty
Against my better judgment, I suggest to Mourad that we go see the Statue of Liberty. He's up for it to my dismay...lol. I know, I'm a gluten for punishment. It's a shorter walk (15 minutes; not bad) to the South Ferry Terminal where we can catch the ferry to Liberty Island. Was I insane to walk so much? We walked for almost 2 hours without sitting. Maybe I should run the marathon next?
I have come to the realization that lineups are the norm to see any famous site in NYC. We had to lineup (surprise, surprise) to buy tickets for the ferry and then we get in another line for the ferry. 30 minutes later and a security check we are on the ferry to Liberty Island. That was much better than the Empire State Building; mind you the line at 3pm in the afternoon on Sunday was a lot short than it was at 10 am Saturday morning.
The view of NY and all the islands around the South Ferry terminal is breath
Parking
I wonder if thieves can break into these cars? taking. Coming up to Liberty Island I expected the Statue to be larger. I wonder if I need to lower my expectations a bit. As we make our landing on the island, we make our way around the base of the Statue. Unfortunately, we could not get tickets to get into the Statue as they were all sold out for the day. Time for us to make love to our cameras...I mean take pictures...lol. The island is very quaint. Although the Statue is the main attraction, the view looking back at NY is well worth the trip. I can't imagine how the city would look from this island late at night. That would definitely be one incredible Kodak moment. It's too bad the last sailing off the island is at 5pm.
The Hunt for Dinner
After getting back to the ferry terminal, I ask Mourad if he wants to go eat and he says yes. I ask him if he wants to walk (please say no, please say no) to Times Square (42nd Street) and I show him the
map. He says, "No. Let's take the subway." Thank god! I think I would have died of starvation if
Another Celebration
Looks like parties all over the city. we had to walk that distance...lol. So, we make for the subway and get to Times Square in 15 minutes. Got to love transit 😊. I suggest a few places to Mourad but he tells me he only wants to eat fish. This becomes a problem as most of the places we look at don't have fish on the menu. We finally find a restaurant that gives us a recommendation to an Italian Seafood restaurant. We walk up Broadway towards 57 Street.
The Detour
As we head towards the restaurant, Mourad stops at a jewelry store. He tells me he is looking for a watch for his friend in Belgium. We go into the store and the shop keeper is able to speak French (thank god). Mourad talks to the shop keeper for a few minutes and mentions a ring that he's looking for as well. We find out that this location doesn't carry rings but the other location just up the street does. So, we head over to the other location. Once inside, a nice sales lady who speaks French (we're really getting lucky here) helps Mourad with his requests. I won't go into the details but
Ground Zero
I wonder what it looked like before with the towers? the owner got involved in the negotiations and we were stuck in the shop for an hour. God, I thought I was going to die of hunger. Looks like our luck made a turn for the worst. I must say this though, the store owner was very pushy. He tried to make a sale even though the price he gave Mourad was out of his price range. He even made Mourad call Belgium and get his friend's okay to buy the watch and ring. I thought that was going a little too far considering it was Midnight in Belgium. As soon as we stepped out of the store, Mourad started running away (I kid you not)...lol. I called after to stop and just walk away casually, but I felt like running away like he did...lol.
Will the Walking End?
After a good diner where we met a nice retired couple, we head home. Mourad and I are so stuffed from all the food we ate that we decide to walk home...yes, I said walk home. We are walking from 57 Street all the way back to 103 Street. I think I need to get my head examined. What
do you think?
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Beth
non-member comment
WHHOOOT!!!!
Gday Malllyyy...cough....I mean Rich...lol, looks like you are having an awesome time and I am SOOOO jealous...lol. Enjoy and I will pop back and see if you even have any feet left from walking....byeee Bethy