On the way to the port, we came across MIB Headquarters, aka Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

The boat tour took us around the south end of Manhattan, so we got a good view of the skyscrapers out in the financial district.

Eventually the boat made it to Liberty Island.

We saw the Statue of Liberty in all her glory.

The boat tour cruised slowly through all the sites to make sure that people could not only take pictures, but also could appreciate the beauty that they were seeing.

The next destination was Wall Street, the world’s centre of capitalism.

The Federal Hall is located right on Wall Street.

So is the New York Stock Exchange. I remember busting through here in Modern Warfare 3 with guns blazing trying to destroy the jammer on the roof… Across the street is the JP Morgan building, which was the Gotham Stock Exchange in The Dark Knight Rises.

The Bronze Bull in Wall Street also attracts a lot of attention.

Then we walked a few blocks and go really close to the Freedom Tower (officially known as One World Trade Center). It is built on the original site of the World Trade Center site. It’s also designed to be 1776 m tall, representative of the year that America became independent. Quite a symbolic value. At the base, there is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attack. We wanted to see it, but going in required a reservation.

That was the last destination of our NYC tour.  The next destination was Washington DC, the capital of the USA.  It would be a few hours drive, so we wouldn’t tour the city until the day after.

More photos here

The Intrepid Museum is basically an retired aircraft carrier from World War II that was converted into a museum.

On the deck of the aircraft carrier were all sorts of fighter planes, helicopters, etc.

People even get to inside the so-called “island”, where the bridge and flight control tower are located.

A lot of the instruments on board are quite antiquated since this ship was commissioned in 1943.

It’s really cramped inside too.

Beside the aircraft carrier and also part of the museum is the submarine, USS Growler. It was a submarine used as a nuclear deterrent.

When we were at the Intrepid, we weren’t able to visit the inside of the submarine since the bridge used to board the vessel had collapsed. By the time the workers set up the bridge again, we didn’t have enough time to go inside.

Below the aircraft carrier flight deck are exhibits about the history of the USS Intrepid. One of the best items on display there was the Lego version of the ship. It’s 22 feet long, 550 lbs, and uses 250000 lego bricks.

There were more aircraft displays on this deck and also showed the history of American aviation.

There was even a display of the number of planes shot down and ships sunk by the Intrepid and its aircraft during WWII.

At certain times of day, there are even demonstrations of the aircraft elevator.

That pretty much concluded my trip of the Intrepid Museum. Stay tuned for the next part: Freedom Tower, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty and more!

More photos here

The first destination for the day was Rockefeller Center. This is the place where a giant Christmas tree is placed during the holiday season. The front of it, by the fountain with the statue of Prometheus, would also be a giant ice rink. During the summer, an outdoor restaurant takes its place.

There is also an observation deck at the top known as the “Top of the Rock” that we didn’t go to. They advertise that from up there, people can see an unobstructed view of the whole city.

The inside looks quite nice too!

I guess the designers of Rockefeller Center really like mythological characters because apart from the fountain with Prometheus, there’s also a statue of Atlas.

Beside Rockefeller Center is Radio City Music Hall, an entertainment venue that, for a time, was a really popular tourist destination. It is said that the hydraulics used for their stage were so advanced for its time, that the US Navy used the same hydraulics when constructing aircraft carriers during WWII.

Also beside Rockefeller Center is St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I always thought everything in NYC was really modern, so I didn’t expect such historical architecture.

It happened to be a Sunday that day, so the inside was filled with people attending church.

Our next destination in the afternoon was the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. That place was so interesting for me that it would make this post super long, so I think I’ll save it for a separate post.

More photos here