Getting our bearings Downtown

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Spring is in the air and there's a spring in our step. How good is sleep? Heads is clear and ready to tackle these mean streets. The kids down a bowl (coffee mug - our kitchenette has no bowls) of regret - Lucky Charms - and we hit the pavement. It's cold out and the Pret a Manger croissants and hot beverages hit the spot.

We can't avoid this any longer - time to hit the subway! Travelcards purchased and we're in the flow. Catching the 6 from 33rd St to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall is a breeze and we emerge to see the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. We're at the tip of Manhattan and the Ave/Street grid of Midtown is gone. The streets down this end of the Island are less structured and we meander towards One World Trade Centre to get a birds eye view of the city and beyond.

The September 11 memorial reflecting pools are a powerful tribute to that tragic day. Names of all those that died in the attacks are inscribed in bronze panels framing the two pools. I was surprised how emotional being there and remembering that day made me. It's a sombre and powerful space.

It is straddled by two of the fanciest shopping malls I've ever seen. We wander around Brookfield's Winter Garden astounded by the marble atrium and the view of New Jersey across the Hudson. And the adjacent Westfield Shopping centre's all white hall beneath the WTC Oculus is also an assault on the senses. But we're only killing time before our allotted 1.30pm timeslot in One World Tower. It's freezing in the queue and a relief to get inside this impressive building rebuilt after 911 attacks. It's 1250 feet tall and the first couple of hundred feet are covered in blast proof glass and built with steel so thick that a repeat attack would not have the same result.

The ride up to the 100th floor includes a 360 surround video outlining the history of Manhattan's development from open space to it's current day skyscrapers. There's a second video presentation that finishes with the walls rising to reveal the ridiculous view. It's a super clear day and the vastness of the view takes your breath away when you first take it in. We start with the view of New Jersey and move anti clockwise - Downtown, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and finally Uptown. The scale of the place is hard to articulate but seeing it from this perspective puts it in.....perspective.

We descend and grab a drink and some snacks from the Wallgreens before heading down to the financial district for our ferry ride to Staten Island. We pass the Wall Street Bull and the NYSE. This part of the city has powerful stone buildings and winding streets, giving it a very London feel. Not sure why the Staten Island Ferry is free but it's a bargain! We manage to secure prime position for viewing Lady Liberty on the trip over and seeing her with Manhattan in the background is an awesome and iconic image. We literally disembark, walk out one door and back in the other to board the awaiting ferry back to Lower Manhattan.

We weave our way back through the winding streets of the financial district. Amongst the august stone buildings and equally large luxury vehicles dominating the tight streets, there's another ecosystem of all the sub-workers that are drawn there to support it. These streets are filled with cleaners and delivery drivers - existing in a parallel universe to the uber wealthy wolves of wall street inside these stone fortresses.

We miss our stop on the way home and have to walk an extra few blocks. Fortunately this causes us to stumble upon Grand Central Markets where we buy some sushi and soup for dinner. After some downtime and dinner we head back to experience the lights and madness of Time Square after dark. It's busier and there's more buskers and street hustlers among the swelled crowds. It's an assault on the senses. The constantly flashing lights, cocktail of pot, waste and exhaust, orchestra of sirens and horns is a lot to take. It's impossible to capture it in a photo and we move on to check out the nearby theatre district / Broadway.

You do get used to the amount of people pretty quickly and somehow they all get around and get along. But there is a crazy number of people here and what a mix. Homeless people lay quietly on the pavement while tourist like us hurry past on foot and those higher up the pyramid blast by in their blacked out mega SUVs. I'm amazed how it seems to work so well.

We stop into IT Sugar so Deaks can grab some Big League Chew. A bucket list item from his childhood. And there's enough time to grab a half dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for our hotel room supper. The comedy channel makes it a later night than expected and a communal wake up at 4 am suggests that jetlag is yet to be defeated.

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