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Some days writing these blogs are easier than others. In the case of the last entry I published, I couldn’t wait to get the words out as it would be a chance to describe the day I’d asked Ellie to marry me. Unsurprisingly for the happiest day of my life, I couldn’t wait to relive it for anyone that cared to read. Other days tend to be a bit more difficult to put together but it’s still a chance for me to try and walk others through our experiences in a lighthearted and hopefully occasionally amusing fashion. And then comes today, where a large chunk of our day was spent at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Oh boy.
Ok, strap yourselves in. We’ll try and get through this one as best we can.
As we woke this morning neither of us could believe that today was to be our last exploring New York. The time has gone by so quickly yet we’ve seen and done so much during that time, and that’s even before you get to the small matter of our engagement!
Our first stop for the day saw us catching the subway south to Canal Street on the outskirts of Chinatown. We were on a mission for breakfast but I had planned this route to include via Hook & Ladder Company 8, a fire station better known as the filming location of the Ghostbusters headquarters. I loved both of the original Ghostbusters films growing up (and also the little-remembered animated series) so I was very glad to have the opportunity for a small side quest to take some photos and stand outside a location I’d seen so many times on screen. Thank goodness Ellie hadn’t planned for a Ghostbusters themed proposal though - although I have to admit the concept of Slimer showing up with the ring would have been pretty cool.
After a few minutes I accepted defeat that Ecto-1 wasn’t going to come screeching out of the building and we took the short walk down the block to our next destination. It was a perfect New York morning with clear blue skies and the weather in the perfect sweet spot of ‘warm, but not too warm’. Ellie certainly had a bounce in her step but I think it was inspired by more than just the weather, as pancakes were soon to be on the agenda.
We arrived at a bustling restaurant called Bubby’s, which came very highly recommended and was certainly popular as there was already a 30 minute wait to eat indoors. Thankfully the outdoor tables were a walk-up and we were soon seated, then seated again as our first table featured a bench that was on the verge of collapse.
Although there were a variety of breakfast options on offer we both went for the pancakes, which featured a range of toppings including blueberries, caramelised banana, walnuts, Nutella, other mixed berries and whipped cream. The pancakes themselves were huge and after one bite I realised they were so good I was going to have to finish them, even if it left me immobile for the rest of the day. Ellie tapped out early but I showed true courage and determination to leave a clean plate. Casting an eye across the tables of our fellow diners I was pleased in retrospect that I hadn’t selected one of the savoury options as these came on plates twice the size of mine and resembled a competitive eating challenge.
And so with a bloodstreams that were now 50% syrup we made our way to the subway and further south to the World Trade Center stop. The subway itself exits out into a huge shopping mall and it took us a little while to navigate our way up and out in the direction of the memorial and museum. Eventually we found ourselves outside and looking up at the glass facade of One World Trade Center, the huge new skyscraper built to replace the buildings that previously stood in this location.
The site of the original twin towers is now a memorial to those who lost their lives in the attacks. The blank areas where the towers once stood have been replaced by reflecting pools fed by waterfalls on all sides. These eventually drain into a large square void in the centre and the edge of these are plaques listing the names of all those lost, be they on the flights, in the towers or the emergency services personnel that were caught in the collapse that followed. It’s a remarkably well done and poignant tribute.
At this point I think I would have been quite relieved to step away. When I think back to that day I find it easier to remember my own reaction, even though at 15 years ago I remember feeling a sense of complete despair that this event was the start of the end of the world and that the planet was on the edge of total global conflict or nuclear war. What I find much more difficult to comprehend and cope with is what it must have been like to have been there that day, the terror and senselessness of it all.
I don’t normally gravitate to visiting memorials like this, I’m more likely to try and swerve them altogether, or at the very least by trying to deflect with humour. When the wind unexpectedly whipped the freezing cold water from one of the pools over the crowd and I shook the icy droplets from my clothes my mind responded with the probably the darkest punchline possible - ‘this is the worst thing to ever happen on this spot’. Thankfully I kept my goddamn mouth shut and left that one in my head, but I could tell from this I was scrabbling internally to keep my emotions in check.
And so we headed inside to the museum itself which is located in the former foundations of the buildings themselves. It was hard going to say the least. We found differing things the toughest to cope with. For Ellie it was the recordings of answerphone messages left by those in the towers as the attacks unfolded. For me it was the sight of a partially crushed fire engine and the massive loss of life suffered by the fire service and other first responders. To see such a catastrophe unfolding in front of you, and instead of running away, running towards it in order to try and save others. Incredible.
Did I mention the museum was hard going? At one point I thought we were done only for Ellie to point out we had about half of the experience still to go. At this point we weren’t really even talking, just moving from exhibit to exhibit trying to take it all in, no matter how difficult. Eventually we reached the conclusion and moved up and out into the daylight. After briefly stopping off at ‘The Sphere’, a sculpture that previously stood between the two towers and remarkably survived, we left the site and back into the bustling city streets. After seeing the aftermath of what this area looked like 23 years ago, to see life going on as it always should in the New York sunshine was a much-needed palate cleanser and I felt my spirits lift for the first time in several hours.
We headed back down into the now traditional wall of heat that is the New York Subway system to catch a train under the East River to Brooklyn, with our intention being to then walk to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge. After arriving in a new borough to us I had a small diversion planned first which was a street with a viewpoint of the neighbouring Manhattan Bridge. When I was given this tipoff prior to travelling I thought this might be a relatively unknown spot for hardcore bridge fans (Google tells me this is a pontist), but as we approached the amount of merchandise sellers on the street suggested otherwise. Sure enough, we could soon see hordes of people at the bottom of the hill, each one of them giving it their best Instagram poses.
We briefly joined them in doing it for the ‘Gram before Ellie suggested we make our way back towards the bridge via a different less-crowded street. This turned out to be an excellent shout, as not only does it give me an opportunity to say that this area of NYC has the truly wonderful name of Dumbo, but we also managed to stumble across the Dumbo Sunday Flea Market underneath the Manhattan Bridge. This was full of interesting artefacts, clothing, records and trinkets and I think we both would have loved to pick something up but putting the word ‘vintage’ in front of something in Brooklyn means that you can charge £85 for an old t-shirt, so no dice.
And so to the Brooklyn Bridge. Poor sweet Ellie does get dragged on a lot of walks when she’s travelling with me. Thankfully even she said this one was thoroughly worth it as the path along the grand old bridge gave us amazing views of skyscrapers on both sides of the city, as well as the Statue of Liberty off to our left. It was almost a mini highlight reel of our amazing trip.
After a well deserved rest back at the hotel we briefly popped out to Trader Joe’s for supplies for a light dinner and some of our favourite snacks to take home with us. And then the process of checking in for flights and packing for home. Never the most fun of tasks but as I travelled here with a girlfriend and am returning home with a fiancée I can’t complain too much! Same person too, which is ideal.
Thanks for reading and for all the congratulations on our engagement. They mean a lot and we are both very grateful.
Until next time…adios amigos.
❤️
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