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Published: August 23rd 2007
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Mom in her first cab ride!
As we head to the city from JFK airport, Mom is excited to be in the city! It is currently 6:30 pm EST on Thursday July 12th, and 1:30 am on July 13th in Egypt. We are about to embark on an 11-hour plane flight across the Atlantic putting us in Cairo from JFK airport.
First though, I just spent 36 hours traveling and touring in New York City. It all began at about 7 am on Wednesday morning where after spending the night with Lizzie, Mom and I took off and picked up her friend Terri and headed to Columbus airport where we flew out to NYC and arrived in the afternoon at JFK airport.
The first day in NYC, we jumped on the subway and headed straight to Battery Park to get a view of the Statue of Liberty - it was Mom's first time on a subway and in New York. When we got off the subway, we first walked by a sculpture that had been outside the World Trade Centers, which was battered - there is an eternal fire lit next to it to memorialize what happened.
I never realized just how far out the Statue of Liberty was from the shore - it's a long ways from the shore of the
WTC Sculpture
What's left of the sculpture that had been outside the World Trade Center. park, but still visible and standing bright. It is interesting how it has become a symbol of freedom placed next to Ellis Island.
After a few quick shots, we headed to the World Trade Center site, which is currently a huge hole in the ground. Remember that day still evokes a lot of emotion for me and many others. The hard part is that President G.W. Bush has ruined our ability in some ways to truly rise above the WTC tragedy and be better as a nation.
We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for "Wicked" - a play at one of Broadway's theaters. Cameras were not allowed in the theater, so I didn't bring mine, but the theater was so beautiful, and the musical was amazing. The cast of characters were full of energy and had a stage presence that kept he audience fully engaged. The only thing that compares to seeing "Wicked" was seeing "Les Miserables" at the Aranoff in Cincinnati.
The city was beautiful afterwards in the theater district and so close to Times Square with all the lights and thousands of people out and about. After grabbing food and alcohol,
WTC Site
The big hole that was the World Trade Center. the three of us went back to the hotel to relax and head to bed. Before bed, I called Jacob and chatted with him for a while, eventually talking in the hallway, because Mom and Terri were ready for bed. He is truly an amazing and great guy.
The morning of our second day in New York, I didn't want to wake up... but got up at 7:30 am, when most days I sleep in until 9:30 am. We started the morning by eating breakfast at the hotel, and then taking a long walk from 57th Street to about 79th Street (mostly through Central Park) as we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met). We arrived around 10 am, so we only had about an hour to walk through the museum, before heading back to check-out of the hotel.
I started out in the Egyptian area (fitting for the trip) with the highlight being a temple that was actually transported to the museum. Then quickly moved on and headed around the museum - trying to quickly take in as much of the museum as I could - walking briskly from area to area - stopping long
Outside the MET
Hanging out on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. enough to glance around and snap photos of pieces that stood out to me. In that brief hour, I went through about 50% of the museum - hitting some famous artists such as Gilbert Sheart's oil on canvas of George Washington, a variety of Greek and Roman statues, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol's "Skull", Boticelli, and more. I would love to take a couple different tours of the museum - especially about the African pieces, as well as European paintings. Now that I think about it - I must have entirely missed the Asian section of art! The museum (regardless of the minimal time) was wonderful.
After time in the MET, it was time to check out, and see the Empire State Building, which was crowded today and unfortunately - we didn't have enough time to take a tour! Instead, we took photos from outside and ate hot dogs (the best) from Papaya Dog's. It was SO delicious - they put some sort of sweet sauce on them (some mixture of papaya I'm sure) - yummy! It's a must have again.
After that we headed back to pick up our bags from the hotel and make the trek (via
Inside the MET
The beauty that is the Metropolitan Museum of Art - taken in one of the Roman Art Rooms. cab) from our hotel to the JFK airport. After 11 hours in the air - we'll be in Cairo, ready to start our tour of Egypt! So exciting!
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