My Time In D.C. and New York Part III: Manhattan

One thing I discovered while on the Eastern coast was that I could not sleep at all. The time zone was different, which was the main point. The supporting point was that I wanted to save time by exploring two more cities. I usually woke up at 6 a.m. or sometimes 5:30 a.m. I wanted to sleep more, but I could not sleep back once I woke up. So anyway, after returning to the hotel, I was exhausted and could not feel my legs. Both were so painful. I walked a lot that day and probably walked more the next day. I got in the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and let it run through my feet. Nothing is better than taking a hot water shower after a long day. Then, I showered, did my hygiene, and dressed. I turned on the TV to watch the news to see how the weather was because it was hazardous the day before due to the wildfire in Canada. Thank God it got better. I looked at the schedule of what I would do on that day. I was like, Damn, how can I do all of this? But I didn’t have any choice. I had to do all of those things listed in my schedule. I collected all of my belongings and checked out. I went to a coffee shop downstairs, a pizza shop in the evening. I order a cheesecake and a cup of coffee. As I ate breakfast, I looked outside the street to see the New York street in the morning. It is the same like they are getting home in the evening. They are all hustle and bustle. After the energy for the morning was filled, I began my journey in Manhattan.

Again, I walked. The first place I came to was Brooklyn Bridge. It is such a long bridge. Below us is the road for cars. People walk above. Standing at the bridge’s beginning, I sighed because I had to walk on the bridge. But as soon as I walked, I didn’t feel tired. A sense of excitement ran through my body and forced me to go to the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge. The whole walking road was made of wood. I looked up at the bridge’s structure and was amazed by it. I can never understand how they could build this bridge without technology. The Brooklyn Bridge is the perfect place for everyone to exercise in the morning. They only need to run to Brooklyn and get back. They will only get their body in shape in a short amount of time. On the bridge, I can see New York and Brooklyn. However, it is not a good place to take pictures because the steel wires from the bridge prevent the view. I could not walk to Brooklyn because I had many things to do. I walked off the bridge and headed to the next place.

New York is a place that focuses on three things - Fashion, Finance, and Diversity. When you come to New York, you must come to Wall Street, where all the financial companies and the stock market exchange stays through time. When the stock goes up, people are happy. When it goes down, everyone cries. Seeing Wall Street reminded me of two movies that I used to watch, and I fell in love with them. “The Wolf of Wall Street” by Martin Scorsese and “Wall Street” by Oliver Stone. I stood at the New York Stock Market Exchange, amazed at its structure. It is like a bank. People cannot get in because it is closed. Each morning from 8a a.m. to 1 p.m., the stock market opens a trading session. Everyone stays focused on the number. Buy or sell? Isn’t it amazing? In front of the New York Stock Market Exchange is the statue of a little girl. I don’t know why they put her there, but I remember that statue used to be with the Bull statue. Yes, I came to the Bull statue next. The statue is beautiful. But the funny thing is that fewer people took pictures of the front of the Bull. They took pictures with the back of the Bull more, which means they love to touch its testicles. I don’t know why. Maybe it is for luck.

One of the places that I could not miss when coming to New York is the World Trade Center. It was just a normal day like other days—a Tuesday morning, on September 11th, 2001, with a clear sky and peacefully. But nobody would expect that something horrible could happen. At 8:45, an American Airlines Boeing 767 hit the World Trade Center North Tower. Everyone was shocked and did not know what just happened. It did not stop there. 18 minutes after the plane hit, a second Boeing 767 United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower. It took away the lives of 3000 people. The pain, the loss, the desperation, the burden that each family member of the victims had to suffer and perhaps will never go away. Every firefighter had sacrificed their life and tried to save the lives of every remaining alive victim inside the rubble of two towers collapsed. Former President George W Bush said in the documentary “9/11: Inside the President’s War Room”, produced by AppleTV+. “The first plane was an accident. The second one was an attack. And the third one was a declaration of war.” The third one crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. A declaration of war had begun after the tragic event of 9/11. The United States of America had gone into the war in the Middle East for over 20 years with many losses of soldiers who fought and sacrificed for the flag of the U.S. We always remember them for what they did and their purposes. 22 years have passed, and of course, America always knows how to overcome every challenge, pain, and failure to return to the top and be the first. It had changed history forever. Right now, where it happened, two cold, gray metal frames are in the pools and memorializing the victims’ names to honor them. The water was falling deep. When I was standing there, I felt like it had a powerful meaning. Water falling to the bottom is like every victim in that tragedy had come with the motherland, and she opened her arms to welcome them. Sending all the love and thoughts to each family who had a family member killed on September 11th, 2001, to each firefighter’s family who had family members sacrificed to save others, to each soldier’s family who had family died in the battle, and to all the victims. May your soul rest in peace. We never forget. Nowadays, the World Trade Center has only one tower near the two old towers. It is so powerful.

So, are you ready for the next place? The Statue of Liberty. There is a port at Battery Park where we will get on a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. The standard ticket to the island is $31.50 per person, including a Round-trip Ferry to the Grounds of the Statue of Liberty at Liberty Island and also Ellis Island and a museum tour. The advance ticket is $31.80 per person, which features the same thing, but you can get inside the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a gift from the French to the United States of America. It is the symbol of freedom and equality. It is more significant than I thought before. This statue was built and completed in France. People wrapped them together and took them off, and placed them on a ship to bring to the United States of America. Then, they had to wrap together into the Statue of Liberty. When every boat took immigrants to the U.S., they went through the Statue of Liberty, which was meaningful. You will get inside the Museum of the Statue of Liberty. This is where you will watch a short movie about how the statue was built, what inspired this construction, and its meaning. You can go shopping for souvenirs too. After that, I went to Ellis Island. This place was used to welcome many waves of immigrants from Europe. They stayed on this island before settling in the U.S. Now, it is only a museum with many tourist exhibitions. One meaningful thing is the room to travel back in time. Anyone descendant of immigrants can come to Ellis Island and search for their ancestors. The archives are still there for people to explore their family’s roots.

There are three things I’d like to share with you as tips when you visit the Statue of Liberty.

1. When you get on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, you need to get on the top deck because you can take pictures of the whole of New York City behind you and have a good view of the Statue of Liberty. However, it would be best if you watched your time to sit on the top deck. Of course, you don’t need to sit down. The journey there is only 10 minutes. When you get on the ferry from the Statue of Liberty to go to Ellis Island and back to New York, you should stay on the lower deck. In that way, you can get out quickly. There are two ferries that you have to pay attention to. One ferry starts from New York and one from New Jersey. After you finish the trip to Ellis Island, you should watch out for the right ferry to return to New York.

2. When you book tickets, it will say only 3 hours to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. But you don’t need to worry about not having enough time. Eventually, you can spend time in both places as long as you want. Just return before the last ferry round. I understand that there are so many good views on both islands that you want to check in, so enjoy both islands without worrying about time.

3. Enjoy because you don’t know when you can come back here again.
   

By the time I returned to New York, it was 4 p.m. I had a hamburger and a cocktail at a restaurant in Battery Park. Then, I took the Metro to the bus stop for my trip back to D.C. at 6:30 p.m. But I didn’t know that my bus stop was near Time Square, so I walked to Time Square again as a goodbye. When I got back to the bus stop, my battery died. I was freaking out because if I couldn’t open the phone, I would not be able to get the ticket. Luckily, a plug was at the bus stop, and I put it in immediately. Thank God, it went up to 40%. More fortunately, there was a plug on the bus under each seat. Here is another tip for you. Always bring your portable charger because I observed that the coffee shop doesn’t have a plug for you.

Sitting on the bus back to D.C., I looked at New York City again. More than two days were needed to get to every place of New York. It must take you at least 4 days to discover every hidden gem of this marvelous city. I love this city so much. I felt like I was a New Yorker with only two short days. I will come back to this city one day soon. Or move there.