Long Weekend in New York

My father, my grandmother, and I had never really been to New York City before, so when we found out we had to stay at least one night there on our way to Egypt, we decided to make it a four-day stop. We visited the three major landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building. We also checked out the Metropolitian Museum of Art and saw the Today Show at Rockefeller Plaza.

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Our hotel was in walking distance of Times Square and 5th Avenue shopping. It was also right next to the Grand Central Station subway stop. We used the subway to get most places. We got day passes for the days that we used the subway. I think it was for the day pass and for one round-trip ticket.

I have been to many Hyatts, but this one was truly impressive. Upon arriving at the Hyatt, I was amazed at the sight of the large lobby. The entrance overlooked the lobby, with its beautiful black fountain. Strewn throughout the lobby were clusters of chairs, tables, and couches that even at midnight were occupied by many guests, relaxing.

I found that even the elevators impressive. There was one set of elevators that went from the lobby to the lower floors and another set that went to the upper floors. Because of this and the fact that each set had five elevators, we rarely waited more than a few seconds for an elevator. The coolest thing, in my opinion, was that each elevator had a screen that not only told the floor you were currently on but also told the outside temperature.

Our room was a tad small, with two full-size beds, a desk, and a television stand, but the bathroom was almost the same size as the room. Despite the bathroom being rather large, the toilet was right up against the tub, making it rather uncomfortable. The view from our room was not the best, as half of the view was the other side of the hotel, but since the hotel was like a giant mirror, we could actually see the buildings behind us. I also found it fun to watch the sun set behind us reflecting in the building.

Our room was on the Regency Floor, so we had complimentary breakfast, coffee, and tea all day, soda in the afternoon, cookies at tea time, hors d'ouevres and desserts in the evening. The only meal we had to get somewhere else was lunch.

This hotel was a great place to stay, especially considering it was free for us, as we used my mother's free nights she had earned traveling for work to get the room.

We wandered into the Grand Central Station underground dining concourse for lunch one day, as it was next door to our hotel.

At this Italian restaurant, you chose what you wanted by looking at the foods in the display case. There were paninis and salads among the choices. I had a panini with tomatoes, mozzarella, and olives. It was a great panini for an olive lover, as it had a thick layer of olives. Unfortunately for me, I do not like olives that much.

The decoration of the dining concourse was very unique. Where we sat, it was styled to look sort of like you were in a train dining car. The walls had window shapes that had scenes painted like you were seeing them as the train went by.

If you are planning to visit the Statue of Liberty, prepare to wait in lines and go through security at least once. We arrived at Castle Clinton to get our tickets and board the ferry about 15 minutes before the ticket area opened at 8am. The line was rather short, but by the time it opened, it was much longer. After getting tickets, we got into another line to go through security. Once through security, we waited in an area packed with people creating a scene, resembling cows being corralled into a barn.

Once on the ferry, we sat on the top deck to get a good view of the skyline and the approaching Statue of Liberty. Not that we actually saw anything once the boat loaded up. To actually see the view, you must stand by the edge or be tall enough to see over everyone else, or you could just wait until the ride back, when the boat is likely to be a little less crowded.

The first thing we did when we got to Liberty Island was go into the Statue of Liberty’s Pedestal using our time passes, which we purchased online and picked up at Castle Clinton. Here was yet another line and a another security checkpoint. The security here includes an air puffer machine that checks your body for hazardous chemicals as well as a metal detector. The time passes are free, but are on a first come basis. Inside the Pedestal we got a Park Ranger guided tour through the museum that gives the story of the statue from the construction of the statue to the pedestal to the 1980s renovation.

At the end of the tour, you take an elevator up to the top of the pedestal, where you can look up into the Statue and see her framework. Up here you can also walk around the outside and see the statue above and get a great view of the New York skyline.

After we came back done via the steps, we walked around the base of the statue before getting in the long line for the ferry to go to Ellis Island.

The main reason we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art was to see the Egyptian Art exhibit, as we were headed to Egypt the next day. At the time, the exhibit seemed spectacular, with so many items, but after seeing the Cairo Museum a few days later, it seems like such a small collection. I am glad that I saw this exhibit before seeing the one in Cairo, as I would not have appreciated it as much. One thing that is on display here that I felt was better than the similar art in Egypt was the wall paintings from the tomb of Perneb. Seeing wonderful tomb paintings in an air-conditioned room could not be topped by the stifling hot tombs of the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

I also enjoyed the Temple of Dendur. It was saved from being submerged underwater when the Aswan High Dam was built. This temple is not as great as the enormous temples that remain in Egypt, but it is quite amazing to be able to see such an old building just as it stood in Egypt. I am still amazed that our technology can move buildings that are thousands of years old halfway around the world without entirely destroying it.

I found the Egyptian exhibit a great introduction to what we were to see in Egypt, and I feel that I was able to better appreciate the items in Egypt because I had seen less spectacular things here. Although the items here are still spectacular, I am sure most can agree that seeing the items in a museum far from their origins is not as worthwhile as visiting the items in the same place as where they are originally from.

While at the museum, we also checked out the American Wing. For me, it was a wonderful moment to see the original "Washington Crossing the Delaware" painting. Even though, as a historian, I should not love the painting as much as I do, as it has many inaccuracies, but I still enjoy it from the perspective of an artist's representation of a important moment in our country’s history.

We arrived at Ellis Island aboard the ferry in somewhat the same way the immigrants once landed here. When immigrant ships arrived in New York City, the first-class passengers disembarked on the mainland. The steerage passengers, which were the majority of the passengers by far, were the ones to disembark on Ellis Island for processing and careful examination.

We started our visit with the only refurbished building on the island, the only building the majority of immigrants saw the inside of, by watching the movie "Island of Hope, Island of Tears." I found the movie to be quite spectacular, as it truly showed how the Ellis Island experience was for the immigrants. It mostly consisted of original photos and movies from the time that Ellis Island was open for immigration.

After the movie, we explored the museum, imagining how this building looked when the immigrants were filing through. We started by walking up the steps that were once used as a medical examination. Doctors once stood at the top ready to pull aside those who had trouble making it up the stairs for further examination. Those found to have contagious diseases were the main ones not allowed in to America right away. They had to stay on the island until they were cleared as disease-free. Only 2% of the immigrants who came through Ellis Island were actually denied entrance.

Upstairs, there were exhibits containing some of the items that immigrants would have come over with and rooms with some of the items that were found in the deserted buildings of the island. There was also a whole room with its walls lined with immigrants’ passports. Boy, do they look different from the ones we have nowadays. They were just one piece of paper. The room that interested me the most was the one that had a postcard picture of every ship that bought immigrants who were processed through Ellis Island. There must have been at least 200 different ships that brought the 12 million immigrants who came through here.