Chai Espresso?

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Gotta love a city that makes something called a "chai espresso"! The old imagery of hot dog stands and pretzel stands needs to move over...in my many miles of walking already I have come across carts that sell souvlaki, sushi, tacos, and even specialty drinks like fair trade organic coffee and 70% pure cocoa hot chocolates!!!

Weather is humid and muggy but no complaints...I figure it is a natural moisturizer!

Today I visited the World Trade Centre site and was quite stunned by the massive and vast emptiness of that area. I remember visiting it years ago and being on top of the observation deck. I remember sitting on the steps of the Century 21 shopping store that faced the two towers and staring up at its seemingly endless passage into the sky. The entire site is under construction as they are working on building a new tower, a museum and a memorial site to honour all of the victims of 9/11. At one point as you circle the construction site, you can look down and see the two empty square foundations that once were the bases of each building. I cannot imagine what it was like that day to watch them crumble to the ground now that I have visited this area.

There is a small and very moving tribute centre near the site that contains some of the things found when they began the cleanup...employee pass cards, receipts, twisted steel and a series of films outlining the events of that day. Despite the conspiracy theories that abound and the endless rhetoric of who was responsible for the acts...one cannot but helped to be moved by the thousands of photographs and posters lining the walls of the centre that were posted throughout the city when family and friends could not find their loved ones. "9/11" suddenly loses its status as a "news" story and becomes very real when you stare into this seemingly infinite graveyard.

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