NYC: Monuments of Courage, Sacrifice, Freedom, and Liberty

The next day we spent the day exploring more sides of New York. We ate bagels at a bagel place our New Yorker Friend suggested to us. We then braved the chilly winds and took a ferry our to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. It was so COLD! But it was also a truly amazing experience. (Fair warning, you have to go through MANY security checks--which makes taking layers on and off harder)

We loved imaging all the many people, some of them our family, who arrived from many places to the hope for a better life in the United States. At one part of the museum we could even read their journals of seeing the Statue of Liberty and what it meant to them. They were very emotional stories. 

We also went to Ground Zero and saw the 911 memorials. THat too, was a somber place to talk about all the brave people who served our country. 

Walking around lower Manhattan has all kinds of magical places to find. Even a cemetery qualified for a stop and ponder moment. 

We had lunch at the top of the mall in the Eataly. Yes, it is a bit touristy to eat in Eataly when Little Italy is a few blocks away, but we were starving and it was nearby. It gave us a beautiful view of the memorial while we ate. 

This guy was in heaven when he saw the huge pillars of pasta in the store outside the restaurant. 

Stopped at the Wall Street Bull. It was very cold and windy...so we chose to snap a quick photo and not take time to wait in the long line of people waiting to take photos. 

We found a playground with granite slides in Battery park. It was a fun way to let the two Muggles get their energy out! 

Doing our part to hold up the foundation of Lady Liberty!

As we walked we went passed Mood! I have been in there in years past, but it was fun for us to talk about how we see Mood together as we watch Project Runway!

It was as successful trip to NYC. I think that we did everything that we wanted to except for going into Central Park. We also did some unexpected things and it was so great! I am glad we had the chance to go. What an amazing early Christmas present!