NEW YORK CITY & NIECE HEATHER November 13-16, 2017

It wasn't long ago that I added New York City to the top of our destination list for a very special reason. We'd visited NYC several times already but now a chance to reconnect with our niece, Heather Jane, was our main motivation. Finally on this trip we made it happen on a Monday evening.  What a joy to see our beautiful and talented Heather after so many years. We met at a small cafe in Brooklyn, La Cigogne, where her fiancé Sam was already waiting when we arrived. We sat for a couple of hours in their favorite restaurants just talking, talking, talking!! It's amazing how instantly comfortable it was to be with her again, though we hadn't seen each other since she was in her teens. She's been working as a landscape architect in NYC for several years and lives in Brooklyn. We would be returning to NYC in a week for another two nights and have another day with Heather and Sam, love that!!!  

 Visiting the 9-11 Memorial and Museum on Tuesday morning was a very moving and emotional experience, reliving that morning through the exhibition. We'd taken the subway from our AirBnB apartment with the easy and direct J-line. As we walked towards the area this beautiful cross caught my eye.  The story of its creation is one I will always want to remember, so I write it, paraphrased, here in my memory journal. The cross was formed from the steel girders of the previously standing twin towers, as a symbol of hope.  The Malibu sculptor who crafted the hollow cross was raised in New Jersey. As it traveled from California to NYC the artist, Jon Krawczyk, encouraged people to put notes and symbols of loss inside. That hole was sealed with a piece of the fallen World Trade Center. When it rains, rust from the piece of metal will drip down the cross, simulating a bleeding heart. The base of the cross includes metal book with 35 pages listing the names of all the 9/11 victims. The names were etched so rubbings can be taken by visitors.  The inscription on the memorial book of names is:

The cross is the symbol of hope. It speaks of life's journey and of life's limitless potential.

For the innocent, whose lives were taken from them, this cross stands as a memorial.

For the courageous, who faced death so others might live, the cross stands as a tribute.

For all of us, walking the streets today, this cross reflects who we are

and who we may choose to become.  

After that beginning of our experience at Ground Zero, we walked to the next striking structure, the Oculus.  This is the new transit hub at the rebuilt World Trade Center and is a train station, plaza and shopping mall, opened in 2016.

Another block and we turned towards the memorial itself, a forest of trees with two square pools in the center where the Twin Towers stood.

After walking around them both and reading the names written along each ledge we visited the Museum where we slowly walked down into the foundation of the towers, where the Last Column stands in the center and several adjacent areas displaying different items from that day. Such sadness.

After about two and a half hours we left the memorial and took the subway uptown to have lunch with Heather at this darling Greek restaurant.

Later, we wandered around the neighborhoods for a while but since days are short and sunset seems to be about 4:30 we headed back to our cute apartment for the evening. No need for dinner as a late lunch took care of that.

Wednesday we returned to Manhattan to visit the gorgeous Frick Collection Art Museum, housed in the original Fifth Avenue residence of collector, Henry Clay Frick. It's a lovely experience walking through the rooms to see masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough and so many others. This beautiful interior garden was not original to the home, a very peaceful place to enjoy.

One of my favorites...

The exterior view of the Frick, one of New York City's few remaining Gilded Age mansions. What a perfect way to spend a day in New York. We followed our visit there with lunch at a small Italian cafe nearby; delicious, cozy and crowded but also a reminder of how expensive it is to live in this city!

We'd had a wonderful three days in New York; time to be with Heather, seeing the city again after many years and a stay in a beautiful apartment.  Next on our agenda, a flight from JFK Thursday afternoon for a ten day tour of Croatia and Slovenia.