A Visit to the Statue of Liberty – New York City Pt 6

A trip to New York isn’t complete without going to see the Statue of Liberty. If you’re a bit strapped for cash, you can actually see her for $0 by catching the free Staten Island ferry, which sails past her. Fortunately for us, a ferry to Liberty Island was included in our City Pass which we had to book in advance.

We arrived bright and early at Battery Park to catch the first ferry of the day – and it’s a good job we did. It being January, we had experienced a noticeable lack of queues for all the attractions we had been to so far, but today was different.

It’s safe to say that Lady Liberty is a popular woman throughout the year.

Like the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center, there were airport-style security checks before boarding the ferry. Once aboard, we made our way to the top deck to a seat I knew would be perfect for picturing the statue as we approached.

It was pretty chilly, but the views would be worth it.

Boat full, we left Manhattan.

In just ten minutes we were beside the statue.

Many other tourists on the ferry had noted my genius and were now cramming themselves into our corner of the boat. A couple of Chinese tourists barged their way in for many selfies, and when a lone European man asked them if they could take a picture of him, they flat out said “no” and turned around for more photos.

Feeling like a guardian of justice, and a policeman of this section of the deck, I leapt up, told them they’d taken enough photos in this prime spot beside my seat, and asked them to move for someone else. I then took the European man’s phone and took many photos of him with the statue, and apologised for the Chinese couple, who meekly returned to their seats.

The moral of this story: Don’t be a selfish prick.

When the ferry docked, Aimee and I held back to let the crowd disembark and rush to the statue. We didn’t follow them – this was Day 5 in New York City and we had a new craving to satisfy.

We’re coffee drinkers now.

With the essentials grabbed, we headed over.

Our ticket bought us access to the Island and the museum, but you do have to pay more to get onto the statue’s pedestal. If you want to get inside the statue and go up to the crown, you have to book way in advance and I imagine it’s expensive. I don’t see the allure tbh.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel – the man behind the Eiffel Tower. Though we know the statue as green, it is made of copper and was originally a coppery bronze colour – but over the years has turned green due to oxidisation.

From Liberty Island you can get some lovely photos of New York City.

For a time we just sat and chilled and enjoyed the view and our coffees. It was actually quite warm and pleasant for a January morning.

We decided to skip the museum and head to Ellis Island, America’s old gateway.

Here is the National Museum of Immigration.

Between 1892 and 1954, nearly 12 million immigrants were processed under federal law on this little island in the Hudson River.

We spent an hour wandering around but I’ll be honest, I found it pretty boring. Not being American myself, so not having any ancestors that passed through this building, I felt no connection to the place. I can see why it may be interesting to Americans, but I was just thinking about getting food.

Goodbye, Ellis Island.

On arrival back at Battery Park I made for a corndog stall. I’d put it off all holiday cos I was anxious about being mugged off, but seeing as we were coming to the end of the trip, I thought eff it.

So, it’s a sausage on a stick, coated in deep fried cornmeal batter, and it is bloody lovely but bloody expensive at $8. Aimee bought some dirty chips that featured rubbish forks.

We jumped on the metro back to Times Square and saw a very rare sight.

An empty train!

After a nap at the hotel we ventured out onto the streets for one last night in New York City. We headed to Bryant Park and bought some absolutely delicious waffles.

We ate with glee as we listened to some young street dancers rapping/singing about how good Jesus is. You find this a lot in New York. A lot of people think Jesus is a swell guy, and make it their mission to tell the world.

From Bryant Park we headed down 42^nd Street towards Grand Central and the Chrysler Building.

We walked around to Park Avenue approaching the terminal, to see where the Avengers fought in 2012.

Then we ventured inside. As train stations go, it’s very pretty.

Manchester Piccadilly, eat your heart out.

And with Grand Central completed, I felt we’d ticked off every major landmark of New York City. We headed back to the hotel.

The next day we checked out and left the Millennium Hotel Broadway Times Square for the final time. We had one last American breakfast at Juniors.

I went with what Aimee had last time – French toast with maple syrup and bacon. Absolutely divine.

We then had three hours to kill before we’d catch our bus to Newark Airport. With the weather being nice, we headed for Central Park, found a rock to sit on and waited away the hours.

You can make your way to Newark Airport via public transport, but we decided to book ourselves onto a coachusa.com bus that picked us up from Bryant Park.  It was $42.40 for us both – so more expensive than public transport but faster.

Before the bus arrived, we bought ourselves corndogs from another street vendor and I made a very silly mistake. As we were at the end of our holiday, we had little cash on us so I paid on card. Vendors will take your card from you, contactless it themselves and add on the maximum tip – I’ve come to realise. I was pissed off to discover that two corndogs cost us $24 – but not as pissed off as Aimee, whose debit card I had used.

BEWARE THE STREET VENDORS AND NEVER PAY ON CARD.

Our bus arrived and we were on our way. But New York wanted to throw one last problem our way.

On the freeway approach to Newark, we suddenly pulled onto the hard shoulder. The bus ahead of us on the schedule had broken down, and the drivers decided to squeeze every last person onto our bus. The last guy on stood right at the front beside us in our seats, and was making lunging motions whilst filming out of the windscreen ahead. New Yorkers are weird.

The bus then pulled out suddenly and dangerously back onto the freeway, and cars behind assumedly had to slam on the brakes. The driver gave no fucks. Horns blared. Lol.

We safely made it to Newark though and had a long old wait in the airport for our 19:30 flight. Thankfully, this flight wasn’t cancelled and we could leave America safely and head home…

Top Tips

So here are some top tips Aimee and I have come up with if you are ever to visit New York City…

• Withdraw cash when you get there and use it as much as you can. Always withdraw money WITHOUT conversion.
• When you use your card, use it WITHOUT conversion. You’ll be charged less.
• Beware the street vendors! Pay cash when you can, and never let them just take your card to tap the contactless themselves.
• Buy a City Pass. Skip the queues.
• Remember that prices often don’t include tip or tax.
• Jet lag can be your friend – use your early morning wake ups to experience the city when most others are asleep.
• Get used to the smell of weed – it’s legal in New York.
• If Elmo approaches you in Times Square, run. Just run.
• The best view of the Manhattan skyline can be found atop the Rockefeller Center.
• Download the Metro map – it’s easy to read and you can use it when you have no data – like when you’re on the Metro.
• Visit local bars and local eateries where local prices are more easily found.

And finally…

• Never rely on Icelandair.