The footprints of the Rockefeller family are all over New York City. They purchased 17 acres of land in downtown Manhattan in the late 1940s, and donated to the City, who then donated it to the world in the form of the United Nations.
A tour of the UN leads you into the actual rooms where war is declared (or isn't), shows you gifts from its member countries, usually in the form of interpretative works of art, and contains portraits of bodacious people. It even shows you the obligatory Nobel Peace Prize. (What, you don't have one?)
Even though it has its own security force, the NYPD look after the border, which is guarded by Jon and Ponch.
We found a nice place in Café Metro to have lunch, and Det. Stabler from SVU wandered past the window. This wasn't entirely unexpected, as the neighbourhood was plastered with signs suggesting that the show was shooting, and trailers blocking off streets. Unfortunately, we couldn't find him again, which means we're not very good stalkers.
Instead, we took a little more time to look around the famous Grand Central Station, which we last visited on Day 2.
Next stop: Wall Street, via Trinity Church. You could see a lot more here on September 10, but these days you can only wander around the outside of the stock exchange, under armed watch. You can still go into the Federal Hall National Memorial, which is run by the Department of Conversation (or National Park Service as they're called here). It is the place where George Washington was inaugurated, and the Bill of Rights was signed.
There wasn't much to see at the World Trade Center site - not much of a memorial or anything. Saw a Jewish guy on a skateboard, though. Of more interest to people in the area is Century 21, a discount department store.
With a big day under the belt, we wandered down towards the South Street Seaport, to have a look around. From here you get a good look on the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.
There are a great number more photos on the day's gallery.
Tags: travel
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