10 February, 2007

Exploring the Financial district - New York

So, after my "breakfast" this morning I headed out with the vague idea of seeing what Battery Park was like IRL (my last visit was at night, involved killing lots of policemen and homeless people and was also virtual, being in one of the early stages of the seminal PC title - Deus Ex, it's odd how close it was to reality (in shape and feeling, rather than actual activity, of course), but I digress (I didn't have my sniper rifle with me anyway ;)...) it would also take me past a few landmarks I hadn't seen before, like the central federal courthouse -
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- and Brooklyn Bridge (which is *very* long) -
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- and quite high up when you get to the central section, this is a view back at the financial district -
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- and a few of the other sights around there -
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- (and no, I didn't go in), oh yes, and not to forget ground zero, I spent a bit of time here, just drinking in the feeling of the place, my Limo driver "Major", as well as asking me when valentines day is (he had forgotten his wife's birthday and Christmas presents...*how* do you forget Christmas?), mentioned that they are *still* finding remains as they are digging the foundations for Freedom tower...nasty...
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- what I thought was a little odd, is that they have left up the information signs on the New York heritage trail for the World Trade Centre, still talking about the number of employees and the number of elevators etc...just like nothing had ever happened...
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...spent a little while poking around Century 21, but I didn't find anything that really grabbed my attention -
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- then walked on down to Battery Park -
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- which was almost exactly as I had experienced it in the game(!), right down to the groups of homeless people (I let them live this time though), saw the temporary monument to 9/11, if it looks a bit bashed up, then it's not suprising, they dug it out from the ruins, where it *had* been an art installation symbolising "World Peace" -
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- took a quick walk around the Battery itself (an old fort built by the Dutch, occupied by the British) and then, to look out across the harbour towards the Statue of Liberty -
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- and yes, the river is frozen, it's *THAT* cold -
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- someone pull the poor chap out... ;)

Anyway, went and did a bit more shopping, found a nice little supermarket to buy a few things Flyingpops had asked for, and then walked all the way back to Chinatown where I found a tacky little tourist shop to get a few *more* things that Flyingpops wanted, then walked back to the hotel, watched a movie on the laptop (The Ipcress File), typed this, re-charged the camera, and now I'm off for some lunch, hopefully something naughty! ;)

6 comments:

kipperfrog said...

Have you seen any snow in NY yet??

Unknown said...

Nah, bits of ice here and there, you need to go upstate for the snow...(few hours on the train)...when are you out here?

Anonymous said...

well I never... your a brave man........ tacky little tourist shop and flyingpops in the same sentence...... s'pose your let off a bit though cos you haven't confessed to actually buying anything in said establishment.....

Unknown said...

Did actually, but quite what the items are will have to remain a secret for the time being... ;)

kipperfrog said...

Yeah I heard there's tonnes of it upstate! We're flying out on Monday

Unknown said...

Okay, I'll email you...