New York City (Day 3)

A very early start this morning! We jumped on the subway to be at Battery Park at 8am to head out to the Statue of Liberty. Security is VERY tight here, and it takes forever to get through. We had to wait outside in line for almost and hour and a half, and it was FREEZING! With the wind chill off of the water, is about 10 degrees!
The kids were so well behaved, trying to jump around to stay warm and keep busy, even when our toes were aching from the cold.

Seeing the statue in person is a very impressive sight!
I had booked tickets about 8 months ago to go up to the crown. They only allow 240 people up a day, so they are very limited. The kids were so excited to get to go up!!
The climb was a strenuous 354 steps up a narrow spiral staircase, but since we were one of the first people up, we didn't have to wait behind anyone. The timing was perfect!

We made it!
It was fun to reach through the windows and touch the outside of the statue!

We had beautiful views of the city...

After walking through the Statue Museum, we boarded the ferry again to head to Ellis Island. There is an informative exhibit there, and Joe was touched to find the name of his grandfather on the wall to commemorate his coming to America.

After the ferry, we walked to Ground Zero, although there really isn't much to see now. The entire area is under construction, to rebuild the area and huge memorial that will opening later this year.

It was humbling to see the mass devastation in person. Such a huge area was physically impacted and the fact that it is almost 10 years later is unbelievable. From there we walked, and walked some more. We went through the financial district and civic center. The city buildings, and courthouses are stunning.

We walked through Chinatown and Little Italy too. Chinatown has taken over most of the area, but there is still a small, yet strong, presence in Little Italy. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Lombardi's.

After dinner we found the funniest dessert place called Rice to Riches. It is a store that sells a dozen varieties of the best rice pudding ever, and you can even add toppings and mix-ins. It was strange, but delicious!
We finished the night by walking to SoHo and taking the subway back to the hotel. Our feet were beat!