When we were planning our Visit to New York this year, we knew we definitely wanted to pay our respects at the 9/11 memorial fountains, and to visit the viewing deck at the One World Observatory, at the very top of the One World Trade Center.
Before we visited the site, we happened upon O'Hara's, an Irish bar a stone's throw from the site of the original World Trade Center towers. This pub became a real hub for first responders in the days, weeks and months after 9/11, and the walls are festooned with badges from police, firemen, paramedics, coastguards and other first responders from around the world who had made the journey there to pay their respects to their fallen comrades. We spent a couple of hours sipping beer and chatting with the barstaff, as well as leafing through the albums they kept, charting the events and aftermath of the awful attacks on September 11th, 2001. I'm so glad we got to spend a little time in the unique gem of a spot.
After our time at O'Hara's we headed over to the north and south tower memorials. These fountains are placed where the foundations for the fallen towers had been. This was incredibly moving - even in the midst of a busy city like New York, the spot had a solemn serenity. I don't think anyone who can recall 9/11 will ever forget seeing those events unfold, and it was heartbreaking to be in a space where so many had lost their lives. I was grateful for the chance to go and pay my respects.
Once we had spent a little while at the memorial, we walked the small distance to the One World Trade Center, to take the lift up to the Observatory. The lift takes just 60 seconds to speed you up to the 100th floor, which is quite the feat of engineering.
Even though it was a fairly overcast day, we still got to enjoy some amazing views of the city and its surroundings.
Everywhere you looked there was another concrete-and-steel marvel to gape over!
The details on some of the buildings and bridges were really something to behold from this unique viewpoint.
Even hailing from a city like London, I've never visited a place as vertical and modern as New York!
Being so high up you truly got a sense of the scale and sweep of the city.
After a good hour or so of looking out at the amazing views, we took the elevator back down to street level, and I captured the shot below, which I think gives a good sense of just how tall this building is!
I loved the view of the city I got from the One World Observatory and would really recommend a visit to anyone travelling to New York.
