NYC November Part 7: HP (again), Lower Manhattan & Macy's

 Monday morning: once more to the Harry Potter store for a much shorter visit. This time we got in as soon as the doors opened and didn't have to fiddle around with the QR code. 

we also discovered all the tiled hats in the 23rd station!

These were all people who lived in the area when it was the very tony district of "Ladies' Mile" department stores and used the subway. 

Across the platform you can try and line up people waiting on the train with hats, but we took the easier route:=. They are created at the height of the famous wearer, so 

I am the height of vaudeville actress Fay Templeton and Steph of suffragist Maud Nathan 

From there we were headed south into the depths of real old Manhattan, the downtown at the very down end of the island, where it all stated, and where the roads were laid long before the city fathers created the grid, which means you get lost VERY easily. 

at Zucotti Park

and on to the WTC Memorial Pools

I'm looking forward to seeing this tree in April when I return with Amber

I bought Colbie a book for her NYC picture book library about the tree here.

The only building destroyed that did not bear the WTC name was the small Greek Orthodox church, which is finally being rebuilt as a national shrine and will light up in the dark.

From there, we wound around past Trinity, which was under heavy construction, so we couldn't even enter the graveyard. You can still visit Hamilton from the street, though.

down the street to NYSE

note, we are ON Pearl and Wall and suddenly, we weren't. I get so lost down here!

But we did manage to get back to Pearl so we could grab lunch at Fraunces Tavern, one of the oldest buildings surviving from the revolutionary days, where General George Washington bid his officers a fond farewell after the war.

We took the 1 back up to Penn 

Here we are heading into Macy's because Steph bought so much stuff she doesn't have the bags to get it home. The lady in the luggage department said if tourists didn't do that, she'd never make a sale!

After, we explored the Christmas decorations and the old wooden escalators

We were absolutely knackered, feet screaming after four days of walking and more than 30 miles, so we turned in early so we could work on packing and head out one last time Tuesday morning.