A cold visit to Coney Island

No snow or ice this morning, but it was still cold as we walked those 5 blocks to the PATH train. As we boarded, I noticed that we were almost the only ones who weren’t wearing a black jacket; I have come to think of that look as "New York Black". But at least we know our way around now! When we got off at the World Trade Center we went outside and looked up at the new Freedom tower. At 1,775 feet, it's actually taller than the original towers, and it's a beautiful design.

That is more than I can say about the new memorial building. I think it sort of looks like a goofy dinosaur skeleton. I know it's not done yet but I've seen the design and it will still look a lot like this when it's finished.

And here's an odd thought - since 9/11 occurred in 2001, there are children who were born after that event who are now learning about it in their history books. It's history now. 

It was a windy day but we wanted to visit Coney Island while we were here, so we got on the subway. When it crossed out of Manhattan and into the Brooklyn, the scenery around the rails got pretty rough: lots of trash, graffiti and razor wire. We couldn't figure out how they got graffiti that far into the tunnels or that high up on buildings. The train's path passed by a big train station and then the landscape slowly improved as it went through distinct neighborhoods, such as Orthodox Jewish and Oriental. Eventually it reached the end of the line. The Coney Island Metro Station is rough on the inside, but on the outside it looks good.

And just across the street from the station is Nathan's Hot Dogs.

So we had to have a Nathan’s hot dog! It was fine, although the buns were a little stale. That was probably because the wind was blowing hard through the open-air restaurant. On the side of the building is a huge billboard that is counting down the time, to the second, until the next International Hot Dog Eating Contest. This has been a pretty famous contest for the past few years, ever since the number of hot dogs consumed by an individual jumped up past 50.

Right behind Nathan's is the Boardwalk. They have a creepy looking face as their boardwalk symbol - it looks like something from the Nightmare Before Christmas.

We walked onto the beach but the wind was so bitterly cold that we headed right back to the boardwalk area. They were going to open some rides at noon, but we were not interested in getting in on a ride in this cold. 

At Williams Candy we got some rather odd but great candy - a large marshmallow surrounded by caramel and cashews. But it was cold there so we headed back to Manhattan. We got off the Metro at Wall Street and found the Trinity Church. Trinity Church has a lonely old burying ground beside it and really amazing front doors. They reminded me of the "Doors of Paradise" on the Cathedral of Florence.

 At the end of the center nave is a huge, gorgeous stained glass window that just glows. A choir was practicing, and soon they started singing. I am not sure what the event was but we did noticed that every statue and portrait of the Virgin Mary was covered with a red scarf, probably until Easter.

Now I have to take back my statement about New Yorkers not keeping their beautiful buildings clean. Apparently that problem was at least partially due to the fact that I was in a touristic area. Around Wall Street there are some fabulous buildings that are clean and in great condition.

We walked through the Tribeca area, where some Dunkin Donut coffee and doughnuts warmed us up. We topped that off with a great bagel from a nearby bakery and continued to admire the architecture. On Church street, near the New York Law School, is a tall grey building without any windows. I had all sorts of mysterious ideas about what it could be, but it turns out to be an AT&T building. How ordinary!