Jan
25
New York, New York the big city to be… What can I say… This is not the first time that I’ve been to New York and each time I come back it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful, vibrant and fast paced this city is. From standing in the middle of Times Square to Climbing the steps of The Empire State Building or strolling along the paths of Central Park; the city seems to grab your attention in one way or another.
Since we were there for a few days and were adament on seeing every major sight there was to see Tash and I bought a New York Pass which gave us access to over 100 sightseeing places for 2 days straight… before we knew it we were navigating the subway lines like the locals and managed to see The United Nations Headquarters, Empire State Building, Statue Of Liberty, Times Square and Maddison Square Gardens all in one day! I would say even though it was my second visit to the UN Headquarters, both Tash and I were amazed with the work that is being done there and our very informative tour guide from Israel was able to answer every question we asked in addition to the “off the record” chat that we had once the tour was over where many opinions were aired openly… 😉
 
– Random Fact: Did you know that America is one of the only countries in the world that would not sign an agreement to never use or produce landmines for use in combat. Also they are the biggest producers of landmines in the world. For every land mine that is produced it costs $3; and it costs $1000 to remove and disarm it once it is active!!!
Over the next couple of days we managed to make our way to Rockerfella Centre, Trump Towers and Ground Zero (The site of the former Twin Towers). This truley was a heart wrenching moment as we looked around. Even though most of the twisted steel and concrete was cleared away and the foundations for the Freedom Tower were being laid down, there is still a sombre feeling around the site as there are still many memorial photos, letter, flowers and candles for those who were lost on September 11, 2001. When you look around the area it brings a tear to your eye as you read some of the cards and letters tied to the fences…
From one sad moment to a happy one… I managed to meet up with my mom’s sister (Aunty Barbara) while I was in New York. I haven’t seen her for over 12 years and I was so excited to meet her again. When I was small we always used to joke around and we have the sort of relationship where even if there is a long absence from each other we always pick up as if we were never apart. It was so good to catch up with her and tell each other stories… hopefully now that we’re living on the same continent we can make these meetings more frequent!
From here we’re off to Europe… Will keep you updated soon!