big apple day.

ok so on the next day i went to get the statue of liberty tickets. bright and early. and it's really wayy too early. i was SO sleepy and i was on my own, clutching my usual vanilla latte and a bagel on the subway, making sure i didn't board the express train which would bypass my intended destination and bring me all the way to brooklyn. yes that happened to me. so silly. so after getting the prized tickets i hung around the area and ate my breakfast on a park bench that overlooks the waters and the statue of liberty in the distance. very nice time on my own. great weather.

sculptures depicting early immigrants into the united states, all yearning for a better life in the land of american dreams. i like this the best.



after breakfast i decided to explore the city on foot and subway. so i walked to the financial district (again) and see how the morning rush is like in the world's busiest city.



the wall street bull. this became my entrepreneurship group's symbol of strength and power.



the NYSE again, without the sun and shadow.

then i took a short train ride and arrived at brooklyn bridge. this is the view of the city from the start of the bridge.

and the bridge proper. the word's first suspension bridge. i think. i'll always remember this bridge was featured prominently in the movie 'kate and leopold'. =)



the rustiness and rustic-ness of the bridge.



the suspension cables.



another short train ride brought me back to city hall. and i was here again because i had to change trains to get to my next destination.


and i'm here at chelsea, a neighbourhood where the gays gather. and i like it 'cos it's got the rustic small-town character.



my destination: magnolia bakery. famous for its home-made old fashioned cupcakes. i knew of it from sex and the city. that's how famous it is. and it is VERY GOOD.



the address is here. so if you are ever in NYC, go and buy! and you can smell it even before you get there. really. i was trying to find the correct intersection and sudden;y i smell this amazing freshly baked goods smell. and i knew where to walk.



on my way to the statue of liberty! the ferry ride resembles the ferryboats in seattle, just no space for cars. purely passengers. the nyc skyline is behind us.

the tiny statue.

the police coast guard, who waved at us. =)



the winds were very strong and a little chilly. but very nice.

me in the liberty pose. not very flattering. i think the statue looks so much better. haha.

after clearing security checks and some drama things that happened, we headed up to the pedestal (where the statue's feet is). on the way up, you'll walk through the statue of liberty museum. oh yes. my 2 new friends. they are students at UCLA but they're from argentina and guatemala. and i met them, well it's a long story. in a nutshell i met them while queueing up to get on the ferry. and because i was alone, it was nice to have some company and to make new friends.

the museum drafts the making of the statue and information and historical stuff about the statue. like it was a gift from france.

the view from the pedestal.

the 3 of us again. with the NYC skyline. the view up there is just b-e-a-utiful.



shadows.

the inside of the statue. looks familiar doesn't it? like another famous landmark in paris?





look at how tiny the skyscrapers are!



after the liberty island, we took a ferry and headed for the neighbouring ellis island, where early immigrants who are entering US through new york city had to pass through many rounds of interviews, tests, medical exams etc before they are allowed to enter US. and many of them are rejected because they didn't pass any one of them. which is quite sad because they probably spent the last 3-4 months stuffed in a small container and had no food to eat or clean water, plus spending a lot of money arranging that pathetic transport, only to be rejected by US immigrations.

inside the immigration building. many exhibits depicting the early struggles of immigrants and the immigration process.

the big immigration hall, holding area once they got off the ships.

after walking around and exploring, we headed back to manhattan on the ferry.



we headed straight to times square 'cos we had tickets to catch beauty and the beast. but we had some time to eat dinner first and i decided we should try bubba gump shrimp company! it was inspired by the movie forrest gump of course andit serves very gd seafood! we had a good time trying the different shrimps and very good clam chowder (although the san francisco one beats it, but that's a story for another day.)

i caught beauty and the beast on broadway. it has ended its run, so maybe i'm quite lucky to have caught it. and it was GOOD! the sets and singing and music and lights. wow. i was quite impressed, maybe because i didn't have high expectations of it to begin with. i actually liked it a lot.

this is the guy that was the beast! he's quite handsome right. hence it was such a pity that he was behind all that fur and mask for the entire show, short of the first 1 minute and the last 2 minutes. but he has this incredible voice. and was nice enough to sign my playbill and take a picture with me. =) this photo really made my day.

me in the middle of the mayhem also known as times square.

one last look at times square. and one of my favorite cities - new york. it's quite apt that the first time i came to new york, i came to times square first. and now on my last night of my 2nd time in the city, i'm back there.

ohhhh looking at my pictures make me miss new york so much. if my grad trip with mel materializes i'll be back there!

and that concludes my very long recap of my 6-day new york city trip. i still haven't finish seeing the city, so many unexplored corners which i hope to explore when i go back. =)

the next day we packed our bags and left VERY early to get to the airport for our flight to las vegas. and we saw grand central terminal too. reminds me of the photograph where don't-know-how-many naked bodies laid on the floor of the station.

well next up would be vegas. and the grand canyon. =)