The next day our main target was the “Grand Central Station” & “St. Patric Church”. We might also visit the Financial Street & New York famous library. However, we would only see them from outside.
We had our breakfast & ready by 10 AM & booked our cab. Our first destination was the “Grand Central Station.” This time our cabby took us through a new tunnel, which helped us to reach the station faster than initially estimated by the app.

The cab dropped us opposite to the station. We had to cross the road.

We saw one victorian statue that was placed on top of the entrance. Just below this, the entry alley decorated with old lantern-like lights. A door followed it.
We were stunned once we opened the door. We entered this big hall-room, which had some of the fascinating chandeliers.

We entered into another giant room, which had a ticket counter, stalls & many more. The architecture & the intricate details of this room was mindblowing.

I noticed that many people were watching towards us from an upper lobby. It couldn’t take me long to find the staircase to reach that lobby.

I saw another fantastic view of the lower lobby from there. I lost my words. We decided to say “Sionara” & left for the next venue.
Our next venue was the famous “Empire State Building.” One of my childhood memories with Hollywood movies was “King Kong.” There was a battle between the army with Kong, which happened at the top of this iconic building. Kong lost the war & felt from the top of this building. So, this building had a special love & childhood nostalgia in my heart. We were not able to see the entire building from the ground once we reached there.

We entered the main reception room. We were not allowed to go to the top of the building due to the ongoing maintenance work. However, I was happy to see it closely.
As you can see, the model (showed in the left-hand side) & the below picture was their main reception room.

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Since we didn’t climb at the top, we decided to visit another famous place – “Rockefeller Center.” This time we saw 90% of the empire state building from a close view.

We reached the “Rockefeller Center.” This place used to depict wonderful Christmas in many Hollywood movies.

We spent almost an hour before we rushed to “Central Cafe” as we were starving.

When you are craving for food & you served with some delicious hot food, you won’t complain. Neither you talk. That happened with us over there. All we knew that we ate & enjoyed our food.
We started our walk after we finished our food.

This time I noticed another architecture marvels from modern times – “Chrysler Building.” It used to be the tallest building before the crown was awarded to the Empire state building.
We went further & realized we reached the famous place known as the “Walls Street,” the world’s financial hub.

We crossed the road with other tourists. And we saw a beautiful old architecture between two modern buildings. This quality of New York amazed me as it blends the new with the old.

Once we reached the crossing, we gazed at the full gravity of this place. I was super impressed by just viewing the exterior architecture. However, I was dumbfounded once I entered there.

On every inch of the wall was the classic example of human craftsmanship, dedication, aesthetics, stories & history. We were running from one side of the corner to another side to view many such intricate arts.

Even the glasses of the windows meticulously built, which depicts some stories.

We spent over two hours. We felt hungry again & also we needed to plan for a few other memorable places since we had a few additional hours in hand.

We googled it & find a place called – “Celtic Pub.” This time we ordered some fish-n-chips, cold-drinks & chilled beer. And we decided to visit the “World Trade Center One.”
After a brief rest & food, we started our last league for the day. I noticed the famous “New York Library” near to this place.

Finally, we reached that place. We gathered at this waterfall created to tribute those souls who lost their lives in the incident that shook the entire world.

I witnessed the calmness even when so many people were present. I offered my respect & solidarity.

I noticed one exceptional architecture. It was like a bird’s wing.

We entered this prominent place, which represents peace. It had a couple of floors. However, we just viewed that from the top.

We came out of that place & went to the museum built on the space from one of the towers – I guess. It was a living tribute for all those souls who never had the opportunity to view this beautiful planet ever again.

We saw some of the heart-wrenching moments starting from a broken fire engine, someone’s last message in a letter addressing her son to someone’s purse containing his family’s images to someone’s wedding ring. Tears almost came out from my eyes without even realizing that. I know how difficult it is for the living member of their family to cope with such a loss in any tragic incidents.

We came out from there & saw the new “World Trade Center One.” This new building represented the true spirit of NY & it echoes to the rest of the world that they celebrated life over destruction, sorrow & how they fought back. After watching that, we couldn’t speak that night. We all silently ate our dinner once we reached our room.
I took my DSLR camera with ultra-long telelens & find the “Statue Of Liberty” at night from my room.

Arpita & my elder sister started packing for the next day’s flight to San Francisco. Meanwhile, I took the “Empire State Building” photo one more time at night for the last time.

Even now, when I think about this trip, I miss this incredible view of this suite.
I’ll come back with our next adventure in San Francisco at my backyard. I hope you’ll like that installment as well.
Till then, keep yourself safe, healthy & happy. |