We decided to venture down into Soho which is the well known New York shopping area. We caught the subway to Spring Street station and headed up onto the street. By the time we walked the few blocks to Broadway it was painfully chaotic with people scrambling to the day after Christmas sales. There were way too many people obviously after their sale bargains. I don't think we even walked into a single shop.
After 30 minutes we were over the crowds and as we weren't really wanting to do any shopping ourselves we walked down into Chinatown and bought a scarf and flat cap plus went to vegan dim sum again.
After Dim Sum we walked down towards the Brooklyn bridge which was only a few blocks away. We saw some city Squirrels scampering about in a few little parks. We had perviously only seen squirrels in Central Park. We arrived at the East River waterfront, overlooking the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, about an hour before sunset so the light was really beautiful and warm. There was also a great view over into Brooklyn.
We then walked south and after passing an old now abandoned fishing pier and fish market we stumbled upon Pier 17 towards the bottom of Manhattan. It seemed to be some sort of redesigned area on an old fishing pier. Shops, pubs, and cafes etc. We watched an amazing sunset from the pier and then headed across the road and found a great microbrewery bar called Heartland where Fulton Street meets the Pier 17 on the East River. We indulged in several local microbrews and some accompanying snacks.
As we were near the Ground Zero site we ventured up to see the memorial but found it all fenced off. It seemed to be closed but beyond the fence was a section roped off for lining up. It appears that this has now become a tourist 'attraction'. Very sad to see.
We caught the subway back home and off to early bed.
Today's Weather
Sunny and warm. Quite cold in the wind.
