Thought it might be nice to take a little break from the Ukrainian invasion by Russia, even while keeping in mind that those inside of Ukraine cannot themselves take a break from it. Let us hope that conflict, and the suffering and deaths that it is causing, comes to an end soon.
For me, New York City was always kind of a special treat, in terms of visiting the place. When younger, I actually contemplated moving into the city, although I never did. By the time I actually reached full on adulthood, the idea of living in the city full time, and with breaks from the noise and the hustle of the city being few and far between, the idea lost it's romance to me. The idea now sounds almost horrifying, with everything so dramatically overpriced and congested and noisy.
Visiting the city, however, still feels like a bit of a treat. And my son and I try to pay the city a visit at least a few times per year. We did so recently, fairly close to our last major visit of Manhattan, in the downtown near the World Trade Center. In fact, we used the beautiful World Trade Center Path Train Station to both arrive and depart from the city. Each time I see this station, it feels more and more impressive. It is a beautiful addition to the city, and I find each visit enjoyable, even while it is hard not to notice that most people - everyday commuters - seem indifferent and immune to it's charms.
Usually, we like to get shish kebobs from a street vendor. They were not available to us on this particular trip. However, we did get another favorite - roasted peanuts. Well, I actually got roasted coconuts, while my son got the roasted peanuts. But it added to the quality of the admittedly brief visit.
One thing that we saw, which I cannot specifically remember having gone to before, as the New York City Hall. I must have gone here, I believe, because my then girlfriend and soon to be wife (now ex-wife) and I were witnesses to the city hall wedding of her father and stepmother. And I am pretty sure that it was in this building. But for some reason, I hardly remember much of anything about that day.
In any case, we saw it, although it was already dark. So I took one decent picture, with the idea in mind to visit it a little more thoroughly in the future. It is actually quite historical, and pretty old by North American standards. It was built in 1811, and the two architects were Joseph-François Mangin and John McComb Jr.. Indeed, it is an attractive building, and set amidst some rare open space, right inside of the park named in it's honor. It is on the list of the National Register of Historic Places. As brief and incomplete as our visit was, I for one was glad to see it, even accidentally.
Otherwise, we took in some night views of the area in and around the World Trade Center, including the Freedom Tower. If you look closely, you will see that it was decked out in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, as a show of support for that country, which has of course been invaded by Putin's Russia.
Below are the pictures that I took from our visit to the city. Enjoy!
New York Skyline Seen From the Jersey Side
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