"New York, New York, it's a wonderful town. The Bronx is up but the Battery's down."
These lyrics from the musical play, "On the Town," convey only a small part of the excitement that is New York City. Recently, we had the opportunity to visit New York and with our son took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The tour begins in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan. Battery Park refers to the gun batteries that had once been located there to protect the island. Tickets for the ferry to the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island are sold at a kiosk in the park. Although the two attractions are run by the National Parks Service, the National Parks Senior Pass, unfortunately, is not honored for the tour. When asked, the ticket seller said it was because the ferries are operated by a concessionaire. In any event, a small discount ($3) is offered to seniors from the full price adult ticket price of $17.
There was a rather long line to get on the ferry but because it was a weekday, it went by rather quickly. The ferry was appropriately named "Miss Liberty" and had two decks, one inside and one outside. We opted for the upper deck which was just perfect for the beautiful, sunny day we were on board.
The price of a ticket offers you the opportunity to visit the Statue of Liberty, then Ellis Island and finally a return trip to Battery Park .Unfortunately, the Statue of Liberty is currently closed for removations. Nonetheless, the ferry ride is well worth the visit as shown by these photos.
What most people (including some New Yorkers) do not know is that there are fabulous views of Manhattan from New York harbor. These are just a few of those views.
In our next post, we will review two fabulous New York restaurants, Gramercy Tavern and Del Posto.
