II
Mary wrote: We both awoke at 0640 so got up, as we are scheduled to reach the Statue of Liberty at 0800. We went to Deck 7 forward and I managed to be in the middle of the front and we could already see skyscrapers appearing in the distance. I had plenty of clothes on including my hat, but it was most enjoyable and the Empire State Building (that I thought I was photographing) was bviouly something else, when the real one came into view. The Statue of Liberty was smaller than I expected. The people beside me thought the Brooklyn Bridge was one f those we went under on our way, but I could remember the pillars looking ‘gothic’, and this bridge we went under used plastic and was more modern.
We went for breakfast at around 0900, and I had a dish of hot porridge followed by one piece of lean bacon, one egg and half a tomato and one slice of toast, as we are going to be limited for time, before meeting at 1245 for our tour of the Brooklyn Bridge walk and the Financial District.
We had a very good guide but I've not been able to get much lunch as the USA inspectors had been in the FO kitchens and they could not tell us when it would open. We were allowed to sit down in The Palm where we given water, which we needed, as we had been out to ensure that we knew the way to the Metropolitan Opera House for tomorrow night. It took us 45 minutes from leaving the boat and there are a lot of road crossings to make to get there.
I had a small round roll with four slices of chicken and Mel had a soup before we went on the tour. It would be 8 hours until our evening meal! The Brooklyn Bridge was considerably longer than 1.5 miles. Initially, it was along circuitous walk to the bridge, which looks very impressive, but once you are walking on top of it, it is less impressive. The walking route is still well above the cars. There were occasional people with stands and iPads set up for taking photos, but I didn't see anyone being photographed.
On the path off the bridge were lots of stalls mainly selling caps for $5. When we had finished the bridge we went to the financial district and saw the Stock Exchange with price changes showing on a neon sign, and also the Federal Reserve Building that contains all the gold. Apparently it is possible to visit and see the gold??? We also saw huge larger- than-life bronze statue of a ‘Bull’ that had originally had been placed in front of the Stock Exchange, but has since been moved. There were lots of people around us, mostly taking photos of it’s rear end. It had been well endowed.
I photo’d many skyscrapers and we were told about lots of them, but there was too much to take in. It included Chinatown and Little Italy. We were tired after our trip and had mugs at tea when we go back, and I wrote my log. We feel tired and may get a taxi to the opera tomorrow. We did not go to the Neptune Lounge after dinner, as they were showing a film starting at 2130 and not ending until 2330. We needed to be up as early as possible tomorrow, so we do not waste our time in New York.