Day Two

Spent most of the night waking up wondering if it was time to get up. Worked on the premise if Ann's 600 decibel alarm hadn't gone off then it wasn't. Eventually woken up by Ann getting up and having a shower at roughly 5.45am. 

Was up and ready by 6.50am to head out to Artpresso Cafe for breakfast. It was a short walk. Had orange juice and a croissant. Ann had something. Nipped back to pick up what we needed and then headed out for the day.

Walked the short distance to Queensboro Plaza metro station. Found the ticket machines. Stood and looked at them. Metro customer service employee then did all the work for us and we got our MetroCards.

Hopped on the W train heading to southern Manhattan. Kept checking to make sure it was the right train. It was. Rode it all the way to the end of the line which was Whitehall St-South Ferry. Took about 40mins all in. Got out the station at 8.30am and made the short walk to the Battery and the City Cruises terminal. We had pre booked tickets for the earliest time possible which was 9am. This was merely the time to arrive not necessarily when you would travel. Thought getting there early would mean not many people but already there were lots. Got beeped in and then had to go through airline style security, belt off etc. Got through quickly and joined the back of the queue. 

Remarkably got on the first boat despite all the people ahead of us. Even managed to get a spot out on the deck by the railings. Boat headed out onto the choppy Hudson River. Tried not to drop anything in the water. Short journey and then we and the entire boat disembarked onto Liberty Island. We had never been despite being in New York twice before. We knew how busy it gets hence the decision to go on the first boat of the day. As we got off we checked the times of departure. Had a plan that we would not stay long due to all the people. Went straight to the shop and got the first magnet of the tour. Poor selection if i'm honest. We then headed around to the south west side of the island and saw this.

Lady Liberty

An impressive sight. Had also made the decision when we booked not to pay more to go in the pedestal or up to the crown. We both agreed once stood here that it had been a good choice not to. If you are inside it, you can't see it! 

Stopped in some shade and put on some suncream as it was getting warmer. Headed into the museum. Had a quick gander but it wasn't a massive place. Learnt how the statue was constructed. Metal framework built by Eiffel with a copper covering designed by the artist Bartholdi.

Soon was out and heading back to the dock. Got on the boat ready for the next stop, Ellis Island. Got off and wait straight to the cafe. Sat and had a drink and a snack. Next went and picked up audio players and then did the tour. 

Ellis Island

Registry Room

Heard all about the immigration process which went on. Only 3rd class passengers arriving had to go to the island. 1st and 2nd class were just allowed into the country. Up to 5000 a day were processed with 12 million passing through the building in total. The process sounded brutal. People marked with chalk if there was any sign of weakness or illness and invasive medical checks, although anyone stuck there could eat off fine china. Completed the tour and then went down to the Immigration Record Search. Here you can look for anyone who arrived at the Port of New York between 1820 to 1957.

Found this.

Entry No. 4

This is the entry of my Great Great Aunt, Ellen Bird, arriving in New York on the 18th April 1912. She was onboard the Carpathia when it docked, having been rescued from lifeboat No.8 of the Titanic. She had been employed as a maid to Ida Strauss, whose husband Isidor was a co owner of Macy's. Ida refused to get in a lifeboat and put Ellen in instead along with her fur coat. It is likely Ellen didn't have to go to Ellis Island itself as she was a passenger in first class and only about 200 steerage passengers from Titanic had to go there.

Once we had completed the search, we went to the shop and got a magnet and then queued for the trip back to Manhattan. Got on the boat and then headed back.

Manhattan

Once we were off, we went and sat under a tree in Battery Park to discuss our next move. Decided to catch the 5 train from Bowling Green. Walked to the station and got on. Alighted at Grand Central and headed to the food court. Walked around until we found somewhere to get food which was a place called Veselka. I had a grilled cheese with fries, Ann had something. Had to eat standing up at a table.

Then we caught the 6 train northwards. Only wanted to go one station up but luckily the train we caught just drove through it. Had to get off at the next stop and then catch a train back down. This one did stop.

Made the shortish walk to the Museum of Modern Art.

We had about two hours until the museum closed. Ann said she'd heard it is best to start on the top floor and work down, so we did. Top floor was rubbish. Man shouted at Ann for getting too close to an artwork. I agreed. How dare she point at it?

We gradually made our way down the floors. I occasionally warned Ann not to get too close when she was within ten yards of anything. Came to the conclusion that I am not a fan of modern art. Give me Gainsborough, Turner and Constable any day.

We found about three things we actually liked.

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Whilst we looked at picture 2, Monet's Water Lilies, some woman was posing in front of it whilst her boyfriend took photos. When I say posing, I really mean posing. Doing all sorts of weird things. Felt sorry for him having to photograph a twat. Discussed with Ann why it is people don't just look at things anymore. You are in front of one of the best paintings of all time and yet instead of looking at it, you just wave your arse like that adds to its worth. I decided to stand in front of it and actually study it to stop anyone else being a dick.

Picture 5 was from near the end. An ultra modern piece which was just stuffed toys stuck together. Weird. The museum then announced it was shutting so we had to get out. Man told us to go one way. We and others go, just to get shouted at by woman for going that way. I said man told us to. She said man was wrong and then told man he was wrong. Went to shop and got magnet.

Next we had to decide on dinner. There was a bar downtown that was hosting an Everton evening with ex player legends going to be there. Thought about going but eventually we decided we were knackered, so we went to a shop and got groceries and then caught the W train home. Ate sat watching TV.

Ann is now asleep as ever. She has told me to let her know what time we need to be up in the morning. That is hard to do without waking her up.

States visited - 1