Hi all!
Didn't sleep very well last night, some idiot kept yelling in the street so I kept waking up!!
This morning we set off early in order to avoid the increasing crowds coming up to New Year's Eve. We went to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and luckily just made a ferry by one minute. The 20 minute ride took us right past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island, and then we arrived in Staten Island. I'll be honest, there's not much to do there in the way of tourism. But they're building the largest observation wheel in the world there at the moment so I think they're trying to attract people to stay rather than just do a return trip on the ferry.
We stayed for an hour. We walked to the roof of the ferry terminal and enjoyed the views of the harbour. Then we walked along the waterfront and went to the 9/11 memorial that commemorates specifically the people from Staten Island that died that day. It had a beautiful outlook out onto the water.
Then we walked down the main road for a little while, but there wasn't much to see apart from some nice houses. We turned around and made our way back past the baseball stadium (it had such a lovely view towards Manhattan!) and hopped on the ferry back. Getting up early was worth it, our ferry over was pretty empty. The one back was choccers. We went outside and picked the side opposite to the Statue of Liberty and enjoyed a view out over Brooklyn and beyond on the outside deck, just as Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey did in 'How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days'. The coast guard followed the ferry the entire way, with a giant machine gun on front. We thought that was a bit over the top but that's how it is here I guess!
Once in Manhattan again, we walked towards the Brooklyn Bridge. On the way we had lunch at the Fraunces Tavern, which we passed yesterday. To refresh your memories, this is where George Washington had a farewell dinner and drinks with his officers at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War in 1783. Six years later he would become the first president of the USA. We enjoyed a lovely meal in the cozy pub. Jess and Alisha had mulled wine, Shannon beer and myself a warm apple cider (which turned out to be $14 US without tax and tip - lucky it was nice!). I had a burger to eat. It was nice to chill out and chat in the pub. I'm having such a great time with Alisha, Jess and Shannon. It's funny how events and decisions in life take you places. By accepting a two week supply contract at the school Alisha and Jess were working at last year, they came into my life and here I am. I miss so grateful for all the lovely people I have met on my travels over the years. I'm looking forward to seeing a few more of them on the rest of this trip too!! :)
We continued walking and arrived at the bridge. It was so busy!! The Brooklyn Bridge was opened in 1883, and at the time it opened it was the longest suspension bridge in history. It was much needed, as by 1868 there were 1000 east river crossings per day, with 50 million people crossing the river annually. The city needed a more convenient way to cross between Brooklyn and New York City. John Roebling was the brains behind the operation, but unfortunately he died before building commenced properly when his foot got crushed by an arriving ferry while he was at the docks surveying where the bridge could be built. He contracted tetanus and died 24 days later. His son Washington took over the operation and unfortunately succumbed to The Bends (decompression sickness from a change in atmospheric pressures) when doing underwater excavation to construct the bridge. This caused him to basically be bedridden for the rest of his life, so his wife Emily oversaw the end of the operation to construct the bridge.
On the first day it opened, 2000 horses and carts crossed the bridge and 18000 pedestrians did. Unfortunately someone thought it would be funny to yell that the bridge was collapsing as a joke, and a stampede that followed claimed the lives of 12 people who were trampled to death.
Luckily for us nothing of the sort happened today, and we enjoyed a lovely walk over the bridge with sweeping views of Manhattan behind us. We saw a marriage proposal take place (she said yes!) and just took in all the views.
When we got to the end, we walked back down to Dumbo Park and enjoyed views from both sides of the bridge. We went and had a look at the carousel that features along with the view in many movies (such as 'The Bone Collector') and then got the subway back.
Jess and I made a quick trip to the drug store as they call it here (I need vitamin C - trying to avoid colds and eating much less fruit here!). Now we are in the flat having a chilled out night. Heading out for Mexican for dinner soon and then we are planning on watching 'How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days' later on to enjoy all the film locations we have seen so far this week.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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