Photos by Maria Ngo
Today is Thursday. I arrived in New York on Saturday night. This is now the fifth day of my grand adventure as a solo female traveller.
So far the weather has been excellent for this time of the year - early November. I will miss the worst of it. But I can do without getting stranded in NY because of bad weather, so I am very grateful.
I am off to see that grand French lady that sits in New York harbour. I realise too late that I have forgotten to pack my umbrella this morning in my backpack. Showers have been predicted for today. So after I get exit the subway at Chambers St Station, I look for a shop that sells umbrellas. I locate one and so now I have a NY souvenir.
I am headed for Battery Park. I drop in on Trinity Church on the way. Many NY notables are buried here - including Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton, Albert Gallatin, John Peter Zenger and Elizabeth Schuyler. NY is rich with history and if I had more time, I would have loved to check out some of these self-guided tours.
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| Trinity Church cemetery |
A short walk later I am in Battery Park. The ticket office is in a historical fort Castle Clinton National Monument (It was called Castle Garden before.) This castle once served as the New York State immigration station from 1855 to 1890.
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| No queues today at the ticket counter |
The departure point for Liberty Cruises is to the rear of the remains of this castle. You have to walk around the building to get there. There is a security check before you are allowed on board. (Sorry, no photos, it's a secure area.)
National Park Service informs us that there is only one official ticket seller for cruises to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is sited. This ticket entitles you to ranger tours and audio tours on Liberty Island as well as Ellis Island where the Immigration Centre for processing migrants was located. This too is worth visiting. For an extra fee you can either go up to the pedestal or the crown. Tickets to the crown are often booked out quite far in advance - I had purchased my ticket before my departure and my ticket was safely in my bag. Unfortunately, by the time I had confirmed that I was going to NY and the dates I would be there and finalised my itinerary before leaving, tickets to the crown had all been snapped up.
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| A lovely view of Manhattan as we pull away |
I find myself a seat on the upper deck of the boat and we are treated to a really lovely view of Manhattan as the boat pulls away from the harbour and steams towards Liberty Island. Soon I can see the Statue of Liberty.
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| There she is |
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| Liberty Island |
After disembarking, I follow the crowd to the flagpole. Along the way I pick up my free audio guide. I join a ranger tour. He is an entertaining story teller and I learn about how America was gifted with this huge statue from the French.
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| An entertaining ranger tells us about the history of Lady Liberty |
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| Selfie with the Statue of Liberty |
I then make my way to The Statue to get in by my prebooked time. There is quite a nice view from the pedestal. I content myself with taking photos from ground level from every angle I can manage. I then discover that there is a lot more information about the island itself contained in the audio guide. So I turn my attention to that.
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| View from the Statue of Liberty |
Afterwards I head for the other solid structure on the island which is the museum. Although it is not a large museum, it is very well presented.
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| The man with the big dream |
I had not realised that there was so much more to learn about the island and have actually spent too much time at the statue itself. I can only skim through and pick just a few highlights from the audio guide as I wander around the island foreshore.
Now I hurry to the ferry terminal to catch the one headed for Ellis Island. I don't know what to expect but am quite surprised at what I do find there. Depending on how much time you have, there are suggested 'routes' you can follow to take in particular themes of the National Museum of Immigration. The main building is open for you to wander through with information boards and exhibits in many of the rooms. This is where I turn to my audio guide again.
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| Now, which tour should I choose |
"Ellis Island began receiving arriving immigrants on January 1, 1892. Annie Moore, a teenage girl from Ireland, accompanied by her two younger brothers, made history as the very first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island. Over the next 62 years, more than 12 million immigrants would arrive in the United States via Ellis Island." (https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-history/)
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| 12 million immigrants were processed here |
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| Immigrant children |
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| Descriptive displays |
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| You can see Manhattan from the island |
I encounter a ranger guide along my wandering. They are a wealth of information and very entertaining.
It is now getting close to sunset so I head for the wharf to wait for the ferry. Unfortunately I get distracted and end up on the ferry headed to New Jersey instead of Manhattan! I don't realise my mistake until I have disembarked. To my horror, I am told that I am not allowed to get back on board the ferry - besides it is not heading back to Manhattan. I have to find my own way back to Manhattan.
I am told that there is a half hourly ferry that ply between the two places. I am totally lost and walk in the direction that was pointed out to me and walk along the water front. This supposed ferry terminal is not clearly marked on Google Maps* and there are no signs to indicate where it is to be found. I actually walk past it in the dark and it was only with the help of a restaurant staff that I locate the tiny jetty. There are only workmen there who don't speak English when I inquire about tickets. There are no ticket machines anywhere to be seen. Eventually a well-dressed lady comes along. After asking her if this was the place to catch the ferry back to Manhattan, she tells me that I am in the right place. She tells me that I can get a ticket on the ferry. We get chatting and I tell her my story. We board the ferry together and she even buys me a ticket to get back to Manhattan. Her husband is waiting for her at the other side and he directs me on the best way to get to the station I am after. Just as well I had taken a screen shot of my route this morning so I can tell him where I need to be. I am every so thankful for these two kind souls.
It starts to drizzle as I walk towards the station. My umbrella comes in handy now as I walk past a school - there are parents with kids about and I don't feel unsafe. Eventually I recognise the landmarks from this morning. I am very relieved - to say that I did not panic upon discovering that I had landed in territory I had not intended to be at would be an untruth. I have had enough of my fill of adrenaline for one night.
Penn Station Plaza is a welcome sight with its neat small food joints. I decide to have something quick and simple - sushi and green tea looked perfect. I was reassured of its quality given how quickly the packs were being snapped up by the hurrying commuters as soon as they get off their train.
As I savour my sushi, I mull over the day's experiences and contemplate tomorrow's mission which was to find Grand Central Station and take the train to upstate New York to visit a friend and join an afternoon tour of Kykuit Estate - the Rockefeller home!
It is rather damp as I head outside of the Plaza and establish my bearings. There are so many exits and entrances to each station that I won't know where I am until I am outside and can read the street names.
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| A rather damp evening in Manhattan |
*PS April 2020 - You'll be glad to hear that I have since rectified the lack of accuracy with regards to the location of Liberty Landing Ferry to World Financial Center from the New Jersey side in Google Maps.
#Manhattan #USA #NY #NewYork #EllisIsland #StatueofLiberty #LibertyIsland
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