The 9/11 Memorial & Maceys Mothers Day Sale

Day 13, 12th May.
Saturday dawned another stunning spring day so we marched up to Central Park, where we picked up the Downtown tour bus for the final loop on our $50 ticket. Excellent value and it really gave us a cheap ride downtown, where we arrived just in time to join our allocated time spot in the chaotic queues at the 9/11 Memorial site. We had registered for our free entrance on line the day before but the crowds were phenomenal. Maybe it was the brilliant weather or perhaps it was because it was Mothers Day weekend but we were once again glad to have the payer and her wheels as we were whisked to the front of the very long queue. The memorial pools were very moving, large squares, exactly the size and position of the two towers, with water cascading down them into a second square hole in the centre. It was actually quite noisy with the volume of water spilling over and the edge of each pool was surrounded by a significant bronze barrier into which the names of all those who perished were inscribed. The landscaped surrounds were stunning with local trees in rows, eventually these will number 400 odd. The first major stucture, The Freedom tower is nearing completion and when finished will be the highest building on the USA. The museum  is also due for completion this year and houses large pieces of the original steel structures twisted and distorted, just as they were left after the event. There are four more buildings in construction phase so when finished it will be a significant landmark in downtown NYC.
Hunger was evident amongst the three 'p's' so we headed to Battery Park a few blocks away and sat in glorious sunshine, along with millions of others watching the Liberty Island ferries come and go while we ate hotdogs  and icecreams.
We joined our bus tour again and travelled up town to the United Nations building where we alighted and hailed a yellow cab to head west to 34th St and Maceys annual sale. It was absolute  mayhem!!!! We retreated to the Coach bar in the basement and downed a cool ale to fortify us for the next few hours. The payer and the planner departed for the female fashion levels and the pusher for the male equivilant. After an hour of being jostled and abused by ignorant 'average american citizens' and waiting 10mins to get a space in a lift just to traverse one floor to the next we decided it wasctime to vacate. Only problem was that we had lost the pusher! This was a worrying position to be in as the planner was about to mutiny and push the payer headlong into the next person wgo got in her way! Yep she was cranky. Finally after txts via Australia to the pusher we were reunited at the icecream store on level four and hot chocolate sundaes calmed all concerned.
Stewart needed some female consultation regarding which shoes to purchase so we slowly made our way down in the lifts and eventually exited the building about 6.30pm. We wandered up 6th avenue where we came upon Bryant Park, a welcome green oasis in the metropolis. Stilled humming with people in the balmy evening, we found a table and enjoyed g&t's and a stella as well as some tasty bar snacks which as most of us know constitute a full blowen  meal for the average aussie or kiwi. A leisurely stroll down 42nd st and along Lexington, to our refuge on East 50th. Totally exhausted once again.