Monday, 2/9
We arrived home after dark last night. It's good to be home, but we've not yet had a look around outside.
Had one of our very few rainy days on Wednesday. Took the subway south to the 9/11 Memorial, which was very moving. About 25,000 people a day visit. We'd already found (eg at the Somme) that even when you know about something that happened, being at the actual site adds a powerful extra layer of emotion. It seems strange that being at the actual place has the power to intensify feelings that were already well established.
Had a look too at Wall Street and the financial district. There's a little square (actually a triangle, like so many "squares" we've seen) that was recently renamed to Queen Elizabeth II Square and contains a memorial to the 9/11 victims from all Commonwealth countries. Here's a bit of the nearby East River...
Thursday was our last full day in NY and we spent almost all day in MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art, which we really enjoyed. We're not normally all that keen on some of the most modern art, but the collection here is wonderful and there's a terrific section on design. And there's a very nice little Thai restaurant just over the road, which provided us with lunch.
We had plenty of time on Friday. We had a leisurely breakfast, packed and checked out, leaving our big bags at reception. Then strolled out for coffee and some time in Bryant Park nearby, pictured...
Saved a small fortune by taking the subway and Airtrain to JFK airport. Then the flights, about six hours to LA, a pause then about fifteen hours to Sydney. We went through customs quarantine, etc in Sydney, so were domestic passengers for the short hop to Melbourne, which made it possible for Rob's sister and elderly mother to meet us in the gate lounge; what a pleasant surprise.
So now we're home. It's hard to grasp that it's Spring after being so long in Summer. We'll have plenty to do in the garden and elsewhere. It looks like we've taken about 7500 photos between us, which is going to take a lot of sorting out. And catching up with people will take us a while too.
But we're already thinking about other trips away...
Regards from Judy and Rob.
