Monuments and Moments

19 December 2017

Between the four of us we covered the following sights in New York today:

Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island

Korean War Memorial

New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza (no pictures)

Charging Bull and Fearless Girl Statues

Wall Street Stock Exchange (and the protests opposite it)

Westfield World Trade Centre (monument to consumerism)

9/11 Memorial and Museum

It is strange returning to New York and visiting some of these places for a second time in totally different circumstances. For instance, I’m with my family instead of alone and it is winter instead of summer. The others laughed at me when I said flying into New York kind of felt like I was bringing them to show them my hometown. Even though I’ve only visited once before, for a little over a week, it genuinely felt like that. I just know they will enjoy it as much as I have and I will enjoy it again and see more to enjoy.

Despite how momentous these monuments are, my favourite moments of today had only a small part to do with them. For example:

- Emma and I sat in a coffee shop for over an hour just having some quiet time together. We then met the other two for lunch at Eataly, at the top of Westfield, and it was a superb Italian meal. We skipped dinner, it was so good. And of course, it wasn’t just the meal, it was the four of us being together over the meal. 

- At the end of the day, John showed me photos of Griffin at the Statue of Liberty which show his joy and wonder. That’s been the best part of this trip, Griffin’s joy, wonder and absorption of all we have done. I’m looking forward to more of this.

For a deeper reflection on the 9/11 Memorial and Museum see my post from my previous visit: https://shartley.edublogs.org/2014/07/12/ny2-respect/