Wow .. What a Day

                Our day started off with a six a.m. wake up call – two in my case. After breakfast the day got started quickly. Right off we got on the bus to catch a ferry to Liberty Island. After a visit there we got back on the ferry to Ellis Island. By this time we were all ready to quit because the temperature was reaching the high nineties. After the third ferry ride you can imagine that the air conditioning in the building was very welcome. Getting to tour inside the museum was awesome! I couldn’t help thinking that some of my ancestors had come to America here. After the tour we got right back on the ferry! We docked in Battery Park in broiling heat.

                After that, MORE walking in crazy heat! This time off to the 9/11 Memorial. It was absolutely   breathtaking. Located where one of the towers once stood, gallons of water flowed into a rectangular basin, and drained. On the side rail, (it was quite wide) were the names of the deceased on that tragic day. After that groups were turned loose to find air conditioning and refreshment. Unfortunately, the heat had gotten to some people so walking was hard.

                Well, with walking comes another destination, and for us it was the Seaport. On the way there my group walked down Wall Street and met some…..interesting locals. I made a comment about Occupy Wall Street and was promptly told to hush up unless I wanted to be arrested. Not long afterwards my friend was dubbed “Wonder Woman” by a total stranger. Finally arriving at the pier the groups enjoyed A.C. and a bit of shopping. By this time we were all pretty hungry so we hopped on the bus for dinner in China Town and Little Italy.

                My group chose Little Italy and we had quite an adventure. We decided to eat dinner at a small place called Pastierno’s. The food was fabulous and we learned some Italian.

Bonjourno-Hello

Ciao-Hi/Bye

Graci-Thank You

Prego-You’re Welcome

Bella-Beautiful/Young Lady

Sciacca-Bounty

                We used our limited Italian to converse with the staff.

                After our dinner we walked down the street for some shopping and dessert. We all (team leaders too!) split some cannoli and most of the kids got some gelato to cool down. Sadly, The gelato didn’t compare to that from the Gelato Fiasco in Brunswick. We sat outside in 100 degree weather and savored the cold treat.

                Surprise! Surprise!  We  got to walk back through China Town to our busses. On our way back we saw a man with a very thirsty-looking cat on his head! Once back on the bus everyone was happy to be in cool air, and heading towards the hotel and showers!

                Driving to the hotel we took another bus tour through Times Square. The lights were incredible and every billboard vies for your attention. Times Square is New York’s hotspot and there’s always something interesting going on. There were two interesting things for us. First was the ‘Naked Cowboy” walking around in only boots, a hat, and underwear…….. The second, and I kid you not, was yoga! There were maybe a thousand people doing yoga in Times Square in the incredible heat.

      But, that’s New York for you!

 CIAO BELLA!

~Libby