New-York - New-York City

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We reached the Big Apple from Arlington and Washington after two stops in Pennsylvania: one in Lancaster and the other Philadelphia. We got close to it as we engaged into urban traffic routes. On the horizon, the Manhattan skyscrapers rose side by side in perfect parallelism but with different height, as if they were waging a fierce battle to know which one of them would reach the sky first. We already had a foretaste of the hugeness that was waiting for us. We had a more romantic and more dreamlike picture of it the same evening from a park in Staten Island where we stayed: in the distance, the Manhattan skyline pierced the darkness in a mosaic of multicolored lights under the watchful of the Statue of Liberty. The whole was reflecting on the smooth water of the Upper Bay. We lingered on that privileged view in a contagious silence, eager and impatient to discover the city after a good night’s sleep.

The morning after, we took the ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan, thus mingling with locals. Our parallel looks were set on the Statue of Liberty (photo) and Ellis Island. We imagined what could feel the thousands of immigrants who escaped from diverse misfortunes they were going through in the Old Continent one century ago, to start a new life in what they considered to be a promised land. Crammed in colossal ships that crossed the Atlantic Ocean, they looked at the Statue of Liberty getting closer, vibrant symbol of their American dream, with a deep emotion, leaving behind them their European worries. The excitement grew as we were getting closer to Downtown Manhattan. The myth was coming true. We disembarked on the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal. Unfortunately, we had a terrible storm as soon as we arrived, accompanied by endless torrential rain. We had to wait a long time under cover before a lull appears at last. We started with the southernmost part of the very long Broadway Avenue. There, we could see superb buildings from the 19th century close to more modern buildings. We got close to Wall Street, where stands the very famous New-York Stock Exchange - the greatest in the world - but access was impossible because of construction works. So, we went to visit Trinity Church, 86 meters high Gothic Revival style church. In its old graveyard planted with oak trees lie some iconic characters who played an important role during the Colonial era. Graves are bent and randomly laid, which gives it an old-fashioned charm.
We reached with emotion Ground Zero, where once stood the World Trade Center Twin Towers destroyed during the attacks of September 11th 2001. From now on, the 541 meters high One World Trade Center rises there. At its foot, the overwhelming Reflecting Absence is composed of two almost ten meters deep basins on the original locations of the Twin Towers in which water flows relentlessly. They are surrounded by black bronze parapets on which are engraved the names of the numerous victims. A white rose is put every day on the name of each person who has birthday. Its sober aspect made a lasting impression on us, and reminded us the Vietnam War Memorial in the National Mall in Washington. And for good reason: the architect Maya Lin - who designed the latter - was part of the selection jury for the final project. She seems to be the common thread of those two memorials, to which she undeniably brought her personal touch. America knows how to forget its sometimes ostentatious side to commemorate the darkest and most traumatic episodes of its history, having modesty and sobriety that make it endearing at such times. You do not get out unscathed of the visit of that memorial, provided that you have been so caught up in the symbolism and above all the recent and painful part of American history which it is impregnated with. And it took us long minutes before we recover the casualness that filled us just before our arrival in that protected place.
We passed in front of the Woolworth Building, built in 1913 in Gothic Revival style, dwelling on its beautiful architectural details. Then, we crossed the City Hall Park, passed by the City Hall – built in the early 19th century in Colonial style – before we cross the mythic Brooklyn Bridge, built in the late 19th century, that was for a long time the longest suspended bridge in the world. That was a unique experience! Real feat of Civil Engineering, it emanates solidity and an aestheticism like no other. The view of Downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn and East River is breathtaking. We lingered on Main Street Park close to Pebble Beach, from where we could admire the Manhattan Bridge, another suspended bridge, dating as for it from the early 20th century. It offers a privileged view of Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan.

The day after, we had a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We took the ferry again from Staten Island. Then, we walked through Battery Park, haven of greenery by the Hudson River. Its promenade where benches run along is very pleasant. We embarked and a few minutes later we were finally at the foot of «Freedom illuminating the world», masterpiece from Auguste Bartholdi offered to the American people. Emotion was high. Finding ourselves in such an iconic and rich in history place was exhilarating. Seen hundreds of times in cinemas and on our TV screens, it rose in front of us with all its grace and its majesty. All the symbolism it exudes inevitably appealed to us. After Corcovado’s Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro two years before, we had once again the great pleasure to find ourselves in front of a mythical statue. Obviously, we lingered much there before we reach Ellis Island: also filled with history, 15 million immigrants came there from Europe to escape from crisis, poverty or epidemics, seeking a better life. They were selected by Customs, who were charged with sending back home all those who – among others – had a criminal record, carried disease, or showed signs of insanity. Its Immigration Museum, in Renaissance Revival style, houses suitcases, trunks, bassinets and other period personal items that belonged to newcomers, as well as a register.
Then, we took the subway to Chelsea district, where we admired the Flatiron Building and its amazing triangular shape. Built in 1902, it was the first skyscraper in the city; it was 87 meters high, which was really remarkable for the time. We dwelled on its nice architectural details, before we walk down the famous 5th Avenue and its numerous shops to the very famous Empire State Building, iconic Art Deco building in the city which was the highest in the world for a long time (381 meters). Then, we took the West 33rd Street to have a quick lunch in Greely Square Park in Koreatown district. There, we met with happiness a shoeshine boy, which became very rare even in the Old Continent, and which carried us back a few decades ago.
We took Broadway Avenue to Times Square, nerve center of the city where a cosmopolitan and colorful crowd hurries up in narrow rows in a permanent parade, overlooked by disproportionate illuminated signs that seem to extend to infinity. The show of the yellow cabs is unceasing, the noise is relentless. Sometimes, you can see in adjacent streets some steam going up from manholes, which is part of the decor. You are in the heart of the theater district, but the main attraction is definitely in the streets. We lingered there for long minutes, and then we decided to split up for a while, having a taste of the exhilarating and unique experience of getting lost in the hugeness of the streets of New-York. It was really fascinating!  You have to live it at least once in a lifetime. I carried on along 7th Avenue, admiring on the way the mythic Carnegie Hall and its Renaissance Revival façade, oldest concert hall in New-York known all around the world, with impeccable acoustics. Finally, we met again in the haven of peace and greenery of Central Park after we turned our necks for the last time to contemplate the extraordinary architecture of the Alwyn Court building, which is a mix of Renaissance and Late Gothic. Its façade is adorned with uncountable moldings. We moved straight from the fervor and the hustle and bustle of Times Square onto the sweetness of life of the park, and that contrast was striking. Such a wide and varied green area in the heart of such a hectic city is simply breathtaking. There we recharged, we took a long walk through some shaded lawns, or wide open lawns where some regulars ware handling all kinds of Frisbee with a remarkable dexterity. We attended softball and amateur baseball games in an area of sports facilities. We walked to the Lake, to which the superb Bethesda Fountain with its biblical angel stands opposite. Nearby, the famous Bow Bridge (photo) - seen in numerous movies or series romantic scenes – spans the most narrow part of the lake in the heart of an idyllic setting where couples in rowboats or gondolas slowly move forward on the water in a sweet reverie.
After we had dinner on 7th Avenue, we immersed ourselves again in the eccentricity of Times Square, even more amazing at night. Then, we took the subway reluctantly: it was time to go. Our fabulous adventure in New-York came to its end. We left that extraordinary city feeling a twinge of sorrow, admiring for the last time the whole Manhattan illuminated and the Statue of Liberty from the back of the ferry that brought us back to Staten Island. We were observing that unforgettable panorama grow more and more distant in a reverent silence, filled with the certainty to come back someday. Then we figured out that city made a lasting impression on us and we were definitively attached to it.

Published on January, 4th 2019