Eat At Mom's: Springtime in New York City

This last week I went with David to New York City on one of his business trips. We arrived Tuesday in time for lunch, and I had Tues, Wed, and Thurs to explore on my own, then David took off Fri so we explored together that day and Sat until 3 pm, when we left for the airport. The weather was absolutely perfect! Every day was a pleasant Spring day, and it was splendid walking weather.

We checked into our hotel on Nassau and Maiden Lane, just off Wall Street and a few minutes' walk from David's office. Between the hotel and the his office is Zuccotti Park, famous for being the site of the Occupy Wall Street movement. It has a heavy police presence.

I didn't take pictures of the dozens of police officers standing around keeping an eye on things. But this is the place they are guarding.

I ate breakfast here every morning--two eggs on a roll, which seems to be a standard option most places. Dad and I did eat at an Au Bon Pain the last day, but I had the same thing with avocado added.

The first day I went up to the New York Public Library and spent some time trying to find some family history information. Afterwards, I walked through Bryant Park, just behind the library (and in some ways, an extension of it--as in the outdoor reading room). They also have a carousel, petanque areas, table tennis, and chess. It's a delightful park, and I spent time there almost every day. Pam recommended it to me, and I'm so glad she did, or I would have missed one of my favorite places.

The Library is beautiful, and at the outside entrance there are two lions, Patience and Fortitude, which guard the front. Inside, they are recreated in Legos. I also took some pictures of the amazing hallways, ceilings, stacks, etc inside.

On Wednesday I headed out early for Ellis Island. The boat goes to the Statue of Liberty Island, too, but I didn't get off there. I've been there before, and I wanted to spend the majority of my time at Ellis Island. This is where all immigrants were processed for a number of years (OK, not all--only steerage passengers. The wealthier passengers were vetted on the ship and allowed off directly). They came into a huge hall after walked up a high flight of stairs (the first medical exam, though they didn't know it). They went through several more quick checks, including having their eyelids raised with a button-hook to check for a contagious eye disease. After passing the medical check, and a few more questions, most were approved to take a ferry over to NYC, or to get train tickets to travel elsewhere.

The original fort in Battery Park. This is where you buy tickets for the ferry.

The view headed toward Ellis Island.

Statue of Liberty. You can get the scale by looking at the little people at the bottom of the picture.

Looking back at the financial district. In the picture below, you can see the new building on the World Trade Center site (the largest one).

This is the building everyone checked into when they arrived at Ellis Island, and the only one currently restored.

The large hall upstairs where they waited.

The hospital across the ferry inlet. Doctors in training clamored to be trained here, because they could see diseases from all over the world. At one point, this offered the best medical care in America.