An Armageddon of Valentine's

Chapter one.

Our first complete day in New York began in the early morning with a plumbing incident including a water intrusion of the extra class. I'll spare you the details... just so much: I managed to accidentally damage the toilet tank in such a way that it spilled throughout the entire bathroom... and as if that wasn't enough, the subtenants of our Airbnb now also have a proper wet cell. ;-)

Since our time in the Big Apple is limited, we couldn't let such incidents unsettle us. It was only a matter of stopping the flood, drying out the wet room, informing the landlord, and off we went. 

So I was up very early on wet legs, took a walk through Brooklyn, and came back to the quarters with coffee, donuts, and a rose for my dear wife. A short time later, around 8:45am, the entire travel group was ready to explore the city.

We started with the subway to Central Park and then all the way down 5th Ave... passing the Trump Tower, the Empire State Building, plenty of stores of all the luxury brands in the world until we reached the Flatiron Building. After that, a short lunch break with a fabulous pastrami sandwich. 

Next stop: One World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial, which was particularly impressive due to the many tragic fates...

Think Big seems to be the motto in NYC, at least that's what comes to mind when we see these buildings in Manhattan. Thinking big only works with the necessary amount of dollars in hand... and where can you get them?! Right... on Wall Street - our next stop. 

Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange are the beating heart of the global financial world. But when greed eats the brain, even a well-perfused financial heart can sometimes falter. We keep our fingers crossed that lessons have been learned from 2008. ;-)

Please get on board, the wild ride continues... The penultimate destination today was the Staten Island Ferry, which brought us closer to the Statue of Liberty, the city's landmark. We sailed past the old lady twice and can now check off this sight as well.

As a conclusion and after almost 30,000 exhausting steps within the last 24 hours, we quickly went to have dinner in China Town. YUMMY!! 

By the way, about 100,000 people live in New York City's China Town, making it the largest in the Western Hemisphere. In addition, there are over 900,000 Chinese people living in the greater New York area, more than anywhere else outside of Asia.

The rest is quickly told...

Subway - back to the apartment - put your feet up! 

P.S. We have a new toilet with a functioning flush! :-D

In this sense: Have a good one and see you tomorrow.