Almost first on our visiting agenda was the Statue of Liberty – the statue that "is America" and symbolizes hope and freedom. Liberty was the dream of French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi and was partially gifted to America by the French Government as a sign of their friendship with America and a commitment to an American styled constitution. The project was not without controversy but despite the lack of American government funding the American money was found following an appeal from Joseph Pulitzer and some amazing donations from individual American citizens. It was finally assembled, on site, having being delivered in separate containers, in October 1886.

It was a superb day when we visited with clear skies and we weren’t too surprised when we met a large queue at the ferry terminal. We stood in line for our tickets and then again for access to the ferry, but our wait was not boring as there were a variety of street entertainers and a number of souvenir stalls to peruse.

The journey was exciting – this after all was our first visit to the "big country" – and as liberty loomed closer we began to realise the vastness of the figure. It must have been an awesome sight for immigrants as they, fatigued from their long ocean crossing, saw this vast symbol of hope towering before them. I guess they’d feel relief alongside nervous excitement as they prepared for their new life.

I was a little surprised at the scale of the statue and was intrigued to hear that her index finger is 8 feet long, her nose 4½ feet, and the overall height a staggering 151 feet. "Liberty enlightening the world", to give her full title, commandeers the eponymously named island and dwarfs the hundreds of tourists that poured off the ferry to frantically explore her innermost sanctuaries.

There are some superb views across the Hudson River to Manhattan and tidy gardens around the statue, but the main attraction is the statue itself. So we climb the steep staircase up the massive plinth and make our way inside. There’s a superb exhibition explaining the history of the statue with some of the original moulds and first casts in plaster. The explanations and historical notations are short making for an easy but explicit read of the progress of this impressive work of art.

The original lantern is on display in the middle of the statue. It’s impressively large when you’re standing up close and personal with it. It was given a rest after being at the top of the statue for just over a century. Some routes around the statues innards become quite congested with visitors and you’ll need to be patient as you weave your way around the narrow staircases that give you access to different levels of Liberty.

But nothing beats the experience of approaching by ferry and seeing one of the world’s most famous statues for the first time.

Continued from Part One….

Annoyingly, we saw quite a few people with larger bags than those we had. It seems to be down to the guard on duty as to what is let in and what isn’t!

A tour guide is available to walk you through the museum, or you can go it alone, as we did. It has replicas of the face and feet of the statue and also the original lamp, which was replaced. There are also hundreds of postcards featuring the statue, going back to before it was completed -- very interesting. You can see exactly how the statue was built and see photos of it growing bit-by-bit.

After the museum, you get to the viewing platforms. We had brought tickets for the observation deck, but when we tried to enter, we were told our tickets were for the lower platform and not for the glass ceiling area. This was when we realised that we had been given the wrong tickets; hence, the three promenade tour tickets and not two observation tickets. Although I was disappointed and a little angry at having paid a premium for lesser tickets and could prove it by the e-mail confirmation, we were not allowed in the observation area. The thing I was most concerned with was the people who had our tickets, as presumably, there were three of them, with only two tickets.

We were the only ones on the platform whilst we were there – everyone else was on the level above!! You get good views of Manhattan, but not any better that those you get from ground level, and of course, the views of the statue itself are restricted, as you are looking straight up at it past the higher platform – the one we should have been on – do I sound bitter?

Once you have walked round the platform, you leave the actual statue and queue up again to retrieve your belongings from the lockers. Once you get to the machine, it asks you which locker number you had, then your fingerprint is scanned, and if all checks out, your locker is released. Exit via the gift shop!

We ate at the restaurant, which is a fast-food-type place with liberty burgers, liberty hot dogs, etc. We sat outside and were surrounded by seagulls, some of which were huge. We also saw the strangest leaf insect on a neighbouring chair, sunning itself.

Once you have finished on the island, it is back on the boat to either Staten Island, the first stop, or back to Battery Park.

All in all, I would say that unless you really want to visit the museum, then there really is no need to pay for tickets to Liberty. In hindsight, I would just get the ferry to the island and wander, as you get much better views of the statue itself from ground level, and the views of Manhattan, etc., are just as good too.

This review will span two entries, sorry.

I booked my tickets for the Statue of Liberty on the web, the day after they allowed booking. I was very excited and booked tickets to go to the second level of the statue, where you can see through a glass ceiling to see the inside of the building and can also get a higher viewing platform – or so I thought.

The e-mail confirmation suggested getting to the departure point – Battery Park -- two hours before our 12:45pm tour. When we arrived, there were several ticket queues, but I spotted a small sign for pre-booked tours and went to the allotted table for the ticket. I was asked my name and given an envelope with ferry tickets, tour tickets, and an info sheet inside. We noticed that, for some reason, we had three tour tickets, not two, but two ferry tickets. We didn’t think too much of this until later.

When you board the ferry -- they run every half hour -- you have to go through a security check, much like the airport, but you have to remove all jewellery, watches, belts, etc. and put them, along with your bags, into a tray to go through x-ray. You then go through one yourself and then have to re-dress! Once on the boat, everyone rushes to the top to get the best views, which as you get closer to Liberty Island are quite stunning, especially with clear blue skies as we had. After about 15 minutes, you dock at the island and can then just wander until it’s time for your tour. There are drinks and ice cream vendors, as well as a restaurant.

Do not leave too late to embark on your tour, as the process of actually getting to it can take a while. On the website, it says you can take small handbags, camera bags, etc., but no backpacks and the like. However, my small handbag and my husband’s small camera bag were refused. You are then told to store your belongings in the lockers provided, but be warned, we had to queue half an hour to get one, and it wasn’t very busy. When you get to the machine which allocates them, it tells you to pay $1 by credit card, note, or coins; however, the machines actually only took dollar bills, so lots of people were getting there only to find that it would not work or that they needed to get reasonably new dollar bills. When you have paid your $1 and had your fingerprint scanned, a light flashes on a locker, and you leave your belongings. Remember the locker number, since you won’t get your stuff back without it.

You then have to go through more x-rays and again remove all your watches, belts, etc. After all this, you are let to a large holding area ready for your tour, which starts in the museum. Continued….

On my previous trip to New York, I had "seen" Lady Liberty from the top of the Empire State building, but it was so foggy that I’m not sure I really saw it. So this trip, the goal was to get up close and personal with the statue.

Before going, I watched a Travel Channel show on the Statue to learn some background. I highly recommend catching that show if you can -- arm your TiVo! I learned that she’s green because she’s made of copper and it’s a natural reaction to the air. I also found out that she wasn’t intended to be hollow – original plans filled the center with concrete. Eiffel – of the Paris tower fame – created the structure with which to hold up the statue. The Statue of Liberty was in America for eight years before it went up, because we couldn’t fund the pedestal building, and that had to go up first. Lastly, (well, there’s much more, but lastly for now) the original flame was glass, and it leaked, causing damage to the internal structure of the statue.

I have to say that I got a little choked up as the ferry approached closer and closer to the statue. (Hint, find a spot to stand on the right side of the ferry – that side is the one to see the statue as it approaches -- or get on the top deck if there's room.) Her 24-karat-gold-plated flame shone in the morning sunlight, and reminded me how lucky I am to live in the U.S., and how many people wanted to come here – and did – through Ellis Island. Plus, with the flag flying in the background -- it just made me feel very Patriotic, thinking this is what immigrants saw as they came to the country. Beckoning them to a hope of a better life.

You also don’t realize how big the statue is from a distance. It’s really hard to get a person in the photo with the whole statue behind you. It’s massive.

At the time we went (spring 2004) we still couldn’t go up into the statue due to restrictions put in place after 9/11 (it’s due to reopen summer 2004, no date specified). I don’t think we missed anything, however. Just to go to Liberty Island to see the statue up close and personal -– it was an awe-inspiring experience.

As part of our "New York City Trip" (which the resort sponsored the third or fourth day of our vacation), we traveled from the boat from Ellis Island to Battery Park, and within striking distance, was the national monument, the Statue of Liberty. This was a phenomenal moment. Seeing this gift which the French had given this nation so many years ago (in 1885).

We were told that a visit to the Crown of the Statue could often mean a 2-3 hour wait in line, and required a 22 story climb, our wait wasn't that long at all, probably along the lines of about an hour. There is a museum in the pedestal which includes exhibits on immigration which recall through words, objects, and photographs, the arrival of millions of new Americans, and this was an exciting moment. While we didn't get to the very top of the crown because of some work which was being done, the actual looking out from beneath the crown was a little anti-climactic. The climb up was the most interesting, and it was kind of a strange feeling, walking along this stairway which snaked around to the top, and if you had claustrophobia, there were plenty of encouragements not to take the trip. A great time, though. At the end of the trip, you can donate any dollar and cents amount you want, as there is no admission fee, and the donations are gratefully accepted.