A Glimpse of Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan, NYC

We just came back from NYC...yes, another visit to the Island of Manhattan. We had a FABULOUS time. There is nothing better than knowing that you can find your way from way downtown, almost the very lower tip of Manhattan, to the front of Bloomingdales, see 2 very special friends, eat lunch, get across town and way back down to the lower part of Manhattan, still have enough energy to go out to dinner and then take a long walk by the Battery Park City Promenade! The photos are all from Battery Park City. This whole area is landfill, much of it from the 'dirt' that was displaced when building the World Trade Center. It is an amazing part of New York., bustling with children, growing families, fierce basketball games, tennis, 'green' buildings going up in every un-used square foot, waterfalls, ducks and fish, rock walls, Whole Foods, restaurants galore, and magnificent view of NY Harbor. Today, we are all exhausted, glad to be back home to our cozy house and the QUIET!!! A great time had by all, with continued love and gratitude to my Mom, for being such a great sport, for letting us camp out in her living room and for her great Spirit. She can't see very well, but she gets around Manhattan like a teenager!!!

I must add, that the top photo, is of the Winter Garden. My husband and I had the privilege of living in Battery Park City for 2 years. This was where we lived when Edward was an infant. His first escalator ride was in the World Trade Center when he was 16 months old...I'll never forget the expression of WONDER on his face! The Winter Garden was connected to the World Trade Center with an enclosed bridge which allowed people to cross over the very busy West Side Highway. When the dust had barely settled after 9/11, and I saw photos of a very broken Winter Garden, that's when I fell apart. We had spent so much time there, going to concerts, giving Edward some great space to roam during the winter months, window shopping, noshing along the way. It was like a big, broken jewelry box. But, somehow, with the great resolve that all New Yorkers have, it was 'put back together'. A jewel itself, with millions of facets, it sparkles once again!