You can’t come to NYC without visiting a few key places, also a first day in a new city isn’t complete without a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. We’d always planned to get out amongst it day one for a number of reasons, but mostly to get on time zone and fill every moment with memories. 

I had managed about 5 hours sleep, mumma a little bit more, but no rest for the wicked. We needed to start our day with a coffee and a bite to eat. Looking outside from the hotel room seemed like it was a cold day out there.  We were not wrong as the winds gusts down the wind tunnels they call streets blew the artic breeze right through us. 
We thought we’d grab a bagel for brekky because….well, why not? We found a local place and despite being tempted by the massive family size paninis on display, we still opted for a bagel. I was regaled with full commentary of every street and shop sign by mumma who clearly felt like she needed to use all her words for the day by 9am, before finally asking ‘am I talking to much?’. When I burst out laughing, that was enough of a response to answer that question.

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Timed to absolute perfection, we met our roof off bus and thought ‘how cold could it be up there?’. Turns out…pretty fucking cold. We froze as we started our sightseeing, rugged up like we were headed to the snow and still frozen to our core.

Our plan is to head straight over to meet Lady Liberty. Everything looked so different down at Battery Park with construction and fencing everywhere, it took a couple of goes to work out where to meet the ferry. The full security check slowed down our embarkation, as we had to remove all the necessary layers that had kept us so warm and preventing us from freezing to death. But the time has come. Mumma’s first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. It’s always nice to be present to witness moments like that. 

We did not take the tour all the way to the top, deciding the statue is better to look at, than look out from (also the amount of steps to the top was a bit of a deterrent too).
Being the well organised tour guide I am, I’d spent the ferry ride back to Manhattan to plot out what was next. A swing by the Charging Bull near Wall Street, then a lunch stop. 

There are people everywhere to rub the balls of the bull for good luck, and we waited patiently to get mumma’s chance to do this too, then headed for lunch. I’d found an Irish pub called O’Haras which looked like a quiet sleepy spot, but once inside it was anything but that. We got the final two seats and was greeted warmly by the owner Mike. He had never been to Australia and given the distance, it’s unlikely he ever will either. I think Aussies are so used to have to travel long distances to holiday abroad we are just used to it. The place was decorated with patches from law enforcement around the US and abroad. Mike introduced us to a local who was married to an Aussie lady too.

Its time for quiet reflection as we make our way to the 9/11 site where they’ve made a beautiful memorial. It was heartbreaking firstly to see all the names, but then of course to see the unborn victims of this attack named as well. Mostly everyone in awe and emotional about what they are witnessing, I caught many shedding tears as they quietly made their way around the 2 massive holes in the ground where the twin towers once stood. 

To change pace we head back onto the bus and decide to make an impromptu stop at Chelsea Markets. What a cool spot that was. If we hadn’t had lunch this would have been the perfect place. A melting pot of cuisines where you’d be spoiled for choice. 

We finish the bus tour and dropped off back at Times Square, and despite our legs copping a beating, we realise heading home at this point probably isn’t a great idea as we’d just crash, so we find a spot for a quiet drink before beelining for the hotel where I catch up with Matthew and my sister back home. 
Not much more to tell about today, but can’t believe it’s only our first full day here and we’ve already seen and done so much – and our bodies are telling the same story. I think I have pushed mum’s body to the limit today, and after a quick bite to eat for dinner, we’re definitely ready for a shower and bed.