Times Square and Around Town

Here I am on Broadway outside of the famous "Lion King" musical.  The lights out here are great!

My host and I had so much fun at Grand Central Station.  It is NYC's main train station, and it is beautiful!  The architecture is great, and it is filled with travelers going to their destinations in and out of the city.

Look at the vaulted ceilings- it's such a stunning station!  If only you could see the magnificent pictures of the constellations that are in gold on the ceiling!  If you look close enough, you can see them a little bit.

Here I am on the outside of Grand Central Station, with the holiday decorations!

Here I am in Rockefeller Center with the ice skaters and the large Christmas tree that they put up and light every year.  It's so magical!

Here I am with a street food cart, there are a lot of these around the city.  This one has lots of popular soda/drink brands like Sprite, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Gatorade.  I wonder if these drinks are common around the world as well?

I ended my evening at B.A.M. (The Brooklyn Academy of Music).  Brooklyn is a borough of New York, just east of Manhattan.  It is very residential, but also has some great places for culture, such as this building.  You can see plays, dance performances, live bands and even independent films in this building!

I go to the Statue of Liberty!

Here I am at the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island.  It was a gift from France, they sent us all of the materials, and the Americans built it here.  It is made of bronze, so was originally brown, but it oxidized and turned this lovely shade of green.

Here I am at the back of the Statue of Liberty.  It's only an island, where the statue is, so we had to take the Liberty Cruise Ferry to get there.  There is usually a lot of people visiting the statue, but fortunately on the day I went, it was not too crowded.

Here I am looking at the Liberty Bike.  It is a motorcycle, and some of the details are like the statue- such as the liberty crown on the wheel of the bike.  It was really neat to see!

Here I am at the Freedom Tower near Battery Park, in downtown Manhattan.  Lots of tours go there, it was crowded!  They are building this building to replace the original World Trade Center buildings, and the name is symbolic of our freedom and hope for all in the future. 

My trip to TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal Street)

 I got to see the "squiggly" building.  This is one example of some awesome architecture in New York City, designed by Frank Gehry.

 I then took trip near the Brooklyn Bridge (which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn) and got to see the great Municipal Building.  It is really neat because cars can travel under that arch in the back.  And on the top is a golden statue of a woman, it is named "Civic Fame."  She holds a crown with 5 points (each representing a borough of New York City).

 Here I am at City Hall.  Notice the neat Corinthian columns.  Many NYC court cases are held here.

Here I am near some great public art.  It is in City Hall Park and is done by the known artist, Sol Lewitt.  This piece is called "Splotch."  I really like all of the colors!