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Today was the only day where no cloud was forecast so we decided to go up the One World Observation Tower at the new World Trade Centre. We caught the train down & found that there is now a Westfield Shopping Centre down there. We went in but it didn't seem to have that much in it. Parts of it were still being built.
The queue to buy tickets for the observation deck was outside when we joined it. Thankfully it moved pretty quickly because it was very cold. We had to go through security before getting in the lift that took us up 102 floors in 60 seconds. It was pretty clear at the top & we got a really good view of how many buildings are squeezed into NYC.
When we came down, we joined the queue to buy tickets to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Then we had to join the queue to enter the museum & go through security. These queues moved a lot slower & it was freezing. Even though it was a sunny day, the memorial plaza was in shadow.
The museum was very well done. It told the story of what happened in sequential order. There were a huge amount of items from the buildings & people in there. Even though we have seen these images many times, I still can't help but look again and be amazed at how huge steel girders could be so buckled and bent. There was what looked to be a large rock but when we read the sign, we found it was actually 5 floors all squashed down together. They don't believe it contained any human remains but they couldn't be absolutely sure. Some of the most harrowing images are still of the people just jumping out of the building. It was good to see that even though it was very crowded, it was very quiet and people were being respectful.
It was nearly 3pm by the time we left the museum so we stopped at a nearby pizza place for a slice of pizza. Yum!!
Robyn was still looking for boots so we headed for a Columbia store on 14th. We caught the train to Union Square where there are Christmas markets. The city had increased the police presence around all the holiday markets since the Berlin attack. There were heaps of heavily armed police around the markets. We didn't have much time so we will go back to the markets another day. We found a bus to take us to & from the station to the store. We had to get straight back because we were off to the theatre tonight. The train ride on the way back was very festive. Firstly Santa got on and he & his mate played music & danced in the carriage. They got off & 3 guys got on - 2 with guitars and 1 with a squeezebox. They played & sang Feliz Navidad before moving to the next carriage.
We were seeing Aladdin on Broadway tonight. It started at 7pm so we didn't have long at the hotel before going back to the station. We got there very quickly & were able to check our coats in which was very handy. I'm very glad James Monroe Iglehart playing the Genie. He won the Tony Award for this role in 2014 & was excellent.
Once the show finished, we wandered around a bit - the Sketchers shop & the Disney Store before going to Juniors. They are famous for their cheesecake & we had to wait at least 30mins for a table. It was nice to have a hot drink & something to eat but neither of us could finish the cheesecake. It was delish but incredibly rich & huge. Just about everyone seemed to walk out with a doggie bag.
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