New York – Day Three

On Monday, we picked up breakfast in Dunkin’ Donuts and took the subway to the financial district. We visited the 9/11 Memorial but I had little interest in visiting the museum (because, you know, grief porn). The sky was a beautiful blue after the cold and wet of the day before so it made sense to get out on the river. We got tickets to visit Liberty and Ellis Islands and queued up for security checks before queueing up to get on the boat. I became fascinated by accents while we were away and invented an American character who would sometimes talk to Jaz, repeating phrases I had heard. I’m sure it was desperately annoying.

The ride out was beautiful. The water was calm and the brisk wind woke me up. We pulled in around the front of the Statue of Liberty and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Is there anything else as recognisable? We visited the small museum. For a country that’s so new, they really dig their own history.

We walked around the statue, had a good look at it and that was it. A sweep through the gift shop, which confirmed that I hate buying tourist tat, and then we were back on the boat to come back on ourselves to Ellis Island.

This was the site where immigrants were processed upon arriving in the States. The museum had a lot to offer and I was overwhelmed by the stories about people giving up everything for the chance of a new life in a new land. They wouldn’t have known anything about where they were heading but they were hopeful it would provide a new opportunity for them and their families. As I watched a bunch of millennial idiots eff around with the exhibits and pay over $10 for the “Immigrant Menu” in the canteen, I couldn’t help but wonder where it had all gone so wrong.

Once we were back on the boat and I had calmed down, I told Jaz how I felt about what we had seen. She said she could tell because I had grown unusually quiet, a sign that I was feeling feelings.

We got a train to Williamsburg and wandered around. We had made plans to meet friends at the Nitehawk Cinema but were characteristically early so wandered around the market stalls and bespoke shops. We got dinner at the cinema where we saw Jojo Rabbit, ahead of it’s UK release. It was great to catch up with Carey and Sarah, albeit briefly. Then we returned to our apartment to watch more Friends.