NewYork Day 3

Found a different place for breakfast but once again just couldn't resist those American pancakes and fresh fruit. This has got to stop soon  or I'll be rolling home. Walking back along 9th Ave  the street had been closed as the stalls were out preparing for their annual food festival. It was just being set up so a while before anything would be ready.

I was told the hog roast would be the star of the show.

Whilst you would be waiting a long time for the roast to be ready, there was plenty more to sustain you

A real community affair

In a couple of hours I imagine you would have difficulty moving through the crowds.

Hoping for lots of corn sales today.

We checked out of the Travel Inn and hailed a yellow cab to take us to the Holiday Inn in the financial district which is where we were joining the tour group. We would be meeting the tour guide and others for an evening meeting.  This hotel had 50 floors and I was on the 36th with views of the Hudson river between other skyscrapers. It was much more expensive to stay here that's why we spent the first 3 nights at the travel Inn which is in a more convenient place in Midtown Manhattan.

We just dumped the luggage in the room and were off to explore this end of town. First stop was a walk through the Battery to the riverside. It was a warm day so perfect for a stroll by the river. On the way we passed the Downtown Athletic Club built in 1929 and is one of New York's most distinctive art deco skyscapers. The club used to have a swimming pool, tennis courts and miniature golf but it closed in 2002 and is now an apartment block.

Trying to get a selfie with my travelling companion J and the statue of Liberty in the background.

A group of coastguards were holding a memorial service by the side of the river.

There are still a number of ordinary sized buildings amongst the skyscrapers such as this church.

Staying in the financial district meant we were a stone's throw from Wall Street. I was surprised how many people were wandering around the area on a Saturday.

This is 40 Wall Street. Between 1929 and 1960 the Bank of Manhattan maintained banking facilities in this building. In 1995 it was taken over by the Trump Organisation. A name I couldn't escape!

Not far from Wall Street is the historic Seaport District

This area has some of the oldest architecture in downtown Manhattan with many restored early 19th cent commercial buildings.

From The seaport district I went onto the Brooklyn Bridge. My intention was to walk across and have a look around Brooklyn but time had got the better of me so I just walked half way across. I'll have to eave Brooklyn for another time.

The hotel was just 5 mins from the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere - One World Trade Centre known as the Freedom Tower. It replaces the twin towers that were destroyed in 2001. I think the building in the foreground is part of the Memorial Museum.