No, we didn't grab the bull by the balls.

Yesterday was another great day in the city. We felt more like tourists yesterday (much to my dismay) since we hit up more touristy things. I wanted to make sure Daniel didn't just come to NYC and hang out at neat local places, but that he got to see all the iconic scenes that make NYC popular.

Our first stop was Ground Zero. I was pretty guarded when we arrived because when I went there 5 years ago, St. Paul's Chapel was a really emotional memorial for 9/11. I was surprised to see that much of the memorial material was gone, and only few stations were set up for memorial. I had mixed feelings about this because before the story was moving, brought people to tears, and made the whole day of 9/11 so much more real. Real people. Real situations. Real heroes. But now, it shows the way that people around the world united together during and after the tragedy to help in relief efforts. I like that it emphasizes the unitedness of nations. I missed the hard reminder of what took place in our nation, and the strength of our nation to move on. However, an AMAZING organ player was playing in the church while we were there, and that was the highlight of my Ground Zero experience. What a treat to hear classical organ played so perfectly.

Another pleasant surprise at Ground Zero was the half built Freedom Tower! It's awesome. When I was there before they were still in the process of clearing out rubble, and digging for the new tower. Though they had much of Ground Zero fenced off so you couldn't see it, I found a crack and saw so much improvement. They are building a fountain memorial/park and the new Freedom Tower where the two towers stood before. The Freedom Tower is so neat, and I encourage you to go look at wtcprogress.org see the plans. After a little reflecting, I decided that it was probably for the best that most of the memorial was removed from St. Paul's. The Ground Zero site itself is covered information about the Freedom Tower, and the rebuilding of the Transportation Hub. It really gives a sense of hope and takes the focus from the tragedy to the future. Though what happened there will never be forgotten, it is neat to see that they are picking up the pieces and building an absolutely beautiful building.

From Ground Zero we walked through the World Financial Building, walked along the bay, and then headed over to Trinity Church and Wall Street (which was packed). Just off of the hustle and bustle, we found a cute little pizza place in which we indulged in fine NYC pizza. Daniel experienced first hand the fold-your-pizza-into-a-taco technique, and I think he is sold on the idea. NYC just knows how to do pizza.

The rest of the day consisted of Bowling Green Bull Balls, Street Performers, Walking by the Water, Resting on Pier 17, water and ice cream at McDonalds, Street Performers, More Street Performers, Brooklyn Bridge crowd dodging, shameless self portraits on said bridge, and riding home to our perfect little place in Harlem. Order out Chinese, french bread and brie, strawberries, and good books. We were beat. I don't think we've ever walked so much... but we are so excited to explore more today!! Times Square, Empire State Building, Old Navy (for forgotten flippy-floppies), Grand Central, Central Park.


Prayer Requests:
- Daniel's cold goes away quickly.