We were awake around 7:30 again. We got ready and then went downstairs for breakfast. Graham had some scrambled eggs and toast. I had made myself some vanilla waffles and had Portuguese sausage and hash brown bites. We both had juice and coffee.
Breakfast turned into a bit of a working meal for me. After I finished my food, I pulled up the visitor page for the UN headquarters in New York. I had done some research on this before the trip. I have loved the art of Marc Chagall ever since my early teens and I particularly love his stained-glass windows. I knew that there is one of his stained-glass windows at the UN headquarters in New York. I had also heard that they offer guided tours. I was not particularly bothered about a tour but was happy to do one if this was what it took. However, I read some blogs about visiting the UN and found out that the stained-glass window is in an area that can be accessed without being on a tour. This sounded good to me. However, this is where my research was flawed, and I was very glad that I revisited this that morning. Although you can visit the part of UN headquarters where the stained-glass window is independently, they do ask you to register ahead of the visit. This means you have to fill out a short form and upload a copy of your ID as well as a passport photo. I have all these details available electronically on my phone and registrations for this day were still open. I submitted everything and a couple of minutes later I had my authority to visit. I am not sure what would have happened if I had not realised that there is a preregistration is required. I think it probably would have been OK, but I don’t think the process would have been a particularly quick one.
Once we had finished our coffees, we went back to the room to pick up what we needed for the day. We then headed outside. We did not fancy the scenic bus journey and treated ourselves to an Uber. This still took a while because we hit morning rush hour. However, we managed to get an earlier ferry than the day before even though we had left the hotel around the same time. We also had a little time before the ferry arrived. There is a mini museum in the terminal about reestablishing oyster beds in the Hudson river. This was actually really interesting.
Once the ferry arrived, they did not hang around. They started loading straightaway and what felt like a couple of minutes after we got on, we were on our way. We very much enjoyed our ferry ride again. When we arrived at the other end, we headed towards the bus station rather than the subway station. Someone tried to sell us a tour. In the time it took us to politely decline the offer, we had missed our bus. Thankfully, they run very frequently. The next bus was not far behind. There was a direct bus between the ferry terminal and the UN headquarters. The bus route was pretty interesting, too.
Even with fairly heavy traffic, it did not take long to get there. I needed to check in at the visitor reception, which is opposite of the main complex. I have to say the first view of the UN headquarters is quite something. This was definitely one of life’s “pinch me” moments. I crossed the road to the visitor reception. There were some people outside the door, and I figured that there was a line. I had expected this as they say to allow at least one hour before a tour. However, it turned out that they were not actually waiting. I was ushered in and was able to go straight up to a desk. The person there checked my registration email and then she issued my visitor pass. I had expected a sticker or some kind of paper pass, but I got a proper plastic visitor pass. This is a really nice souvenir. I was then sent to the main entrance across the road. I quickly caught up with Graham and he told me where he was going. Then I headed inside.
At the main entrance, they quickly checked my passport and visitor pass. Then I was waived through. Next up was airport style scanners and x-ray machines. After this, I was able to roam freely within reason. I exited onto a courtyard area with some interesting sculptures and some nice views. I took some photos and then I headed inside.
The visitor lobby is a pretty impressive building. Pretty much as soon as I entered, something very blue caught my eye. I headed in this direction. It was indeed what I had come for, the Peace Window by Marc Chagall. The peace window is a tribute to the former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and the 15 UN staff members and UN peacekeepers who died with him in a plane crash. Chagall designed the window in collaboration with master glass makers Brigitte Simon and Charles Marq. It very much reminds me for the stained-glass windows at St. Stefan’s church in Mainz, which are also a collaboration between Marc Chagall and Charles Marq. The Peace Window contains several symbols of peace and love, such as the young child in the centre being kissed by an angelic face which emerges from a mass of flowers. On the left, below and above, motherhood and the people who are struggling for peace are depicted. Musical symbols in the panel evoke thoughts of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which was a favourite of Mr. Hammarskjöld’s. I had a bit of a disappointment in that 6 panels appeared to be either missing or covered. There were quite a few people around and I decided to check out what else there was and then come back to take some photos when it was a bit quieter.
Very close to the Peace Window was a framed flag that looked somewhat tattered. A plaque underneath the frame stated that this flag was recovered after the bombing of the UN headquarters in Bagdad.
I completed a loop of the visitor lobby and then came back to the Peace Window for another look. This time round I was by myself in the area and could have a really good look at it. I spent about 15 minutes taking in all the details. I also took some photos. When we got back home, I downloaded a photo from the UN Headquarters website showing how it looks in all its glory.
I took another loop around the visitor lobby where I was able to take a photo of the assembly chamber through a viewing window. I also took a photo of a piece of artwork that really spoke to me. I stopped by the visitor information desk to find out what was happening to the Peace Window. I was told that this was currently being cleaned and restored. Apparently, I was lucky that I came when I did as the previous week two thirds of it had been missing.
There was one last thing I wanted to do. There is a gift shop in the basement. In front of the gift show was a huge poster of the Peace Window. This was a close as I got to seeing this in its entirety. I had a good look around the shop. I got a fridge magnet for some of my colleagues. I also got a fridge magnet for myself as well as a keychain and a pin. Then I headed out. I was taking a photo of the outside of the UN headquarters when Graham came the other way. He had explored “embassy row” and headed down to river.
We were making plans on where to go next. Further up 1st Avenue was a cable car that goes across to Roosevelt Island. This sounded good to me. Graham pointed out statue of St. George slaying the dragon in the grounds of UN headquarters. I managed to get a decent photo through the fence. Roughly opposite UN headquarters is a building called Trump World Tower. I found that somewhat ironic as it is my understanding that President Trump is not necessarily a fan of the UN. However, the building is not owned by him or the Trump organization but is own collectively by the owners of the condos, which is mainly foreign governments. The name is used under license.
I was surprised just how steep 1st Avenue is. About halfway between UN headquarters and the cable car, we spotted a Starbucks. I wanted to check out their Christmas coffees anyway and we took the opportunity to stop for some rest and refreshment. Graham tried the white chocolate peppermint mocha and really enjoyed this. We did not have this in the UK, but a quick look on their website told me that essentially is a standard white chocolate mocha, which we do have in the UK and four pumps of peppermint syrup. He also had a cranberry scone. I was not hungry, but I had a chestnut praline latte. I first had this in Hawaii in 2014 and had it on a few more visits to the USA since. I most recently had it the previous November and loved it as much as ever. I am not sure if they changed the recipe since then or if it just was not made right, but it just did not taste the same. This was a once and done for this trip.
Once we had finished our coffees, we pushed on towards the cable car. This is considered to be public transport and costs the same as the buses and the subway. The cable car has mainly standing room. The views from the cable car were pretty amazing, but the windows could have done with a good clean. I was not able to take any photos from the cable car.
Our destination was Roosevelt Island which is located in the East River between Manhattan Island and Queens. It is about 2 miles long and covers an area of 147 acres. It consists of two residential communities on opposite ends to the island. Over the years it had multiple names and for much of the 19th and 20th century it was used by hospitals and prisons. The development as a residential community started in the mid-1970s. It turned out that there is not a great deal there that would hold our interest. There is however a ferry that links Roosevelt Island with Wall Street. This is not fee, but at $4.50 per person, it does not break the bank. The next ferry was due a few minutes later. This was quite an interesting journey with some great views. We even got some views of the UN headquarters from the river.
By the time we arrived at the Wall Street pier, we were ready for another drink. There was a Starbucks nearby and we both had an orange cranberry refresher, which was delicious. Then we walked up Wall Street past the New York Stock Exchange, which is a gorgeous building. Graham pointed out Trinity Church ahead of us. We have seen the movie National Treasure any number of times and apparently this is where the scenes were filmed where the character of Benjamin Franklin Gates and his friends finds the Freemasons treasure, the Templar Treasure. In the movie, on the declaration, they show a triquetra (trinity knot) below “here at the wall.” When they get to Wall St / Broadway, they cut to a clip of the Trinity church flag, which also has a trinity knot. That’s how that clue points directly to Trinity church (rather than just the cross streets).
Graham had been to Trinity Church before and said that this is a spectacular church. Unfortunately, this was not to be. In front of the church was a sign that the church was closed due to organ tuning. This seemed to be a strange reason to close the church. I have been in churches before when they tuned the organ. A chapel at the back of the church was open and access to this was through the cemetery that is the final resting place of Alexander Hamilton. We decided to check this out. However, they were doing a full-blown bag check, and I decided that I did not want to see the chapel enough to stand in line for this. If the church had been open, that would have been another matter.
There was one thing left on my to do list, which was St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue. We had tried to visit this in 2016, but there was a wedding in progress. We only had a quick look from the entrance area and then we left. I always wanted to have a proper look. It was only about 15:00 when we headed back to the subway, but we seemed to get tangled up with evening rush hour. The first train we needed was very busy, but we managed to get on the first train that came. When we got to the interchange station, the trains were all packed. After a while, the peak services started arriving and then we managed to get on a train.
The walk from the closest subway station to 5th Avenue was actually pretty interesting. We came out right by St. Patrick’s Cathedral. However, first of all we needed the bathroom. We went across to the Rockefeller Center. This is a bit of a maze, but eventually we found some bathrooms. We went passed the ice rink on the way out. Where the Christmas tree was going to be, there was still scaffolding. We had been there exactly 8 years earlier and at that time, the Christmas tree was already up.
We headed across the street to St. Patricks Cathedral. Unfortunately by then, the sun had gone down. That was a bit of a shame as what makes this church so stunning is the sun streaming in through the blue stained glass windows. Still, even without this, the church is beautiful. This time round, we did not crash a wedding. Graham stayed near the entrance, but I headed to front and sat down for a bit. Once I had enjoyed the surroundings for a bit, I headed back to where Graham was and we moved on.
By then we were both ready for some dinner. We had a look around, but there was nothing that caught our eye. Ultimately we ended up at Bill’s Bar & Burger at the Rockefeller Center. Graham had a local IPA. He had the Ultimate Cheeseburger, which was 9oz triple decker beef burger with Vermont white cheddar, provolone, American cheese, special sauce, lettuce, tomato and pickles. He also had a side of onion rings. I had an orange soda and the Keto My Heart bun less burger, which consisted of beef patties, shaved ham, brisket, bacon, Vermont white cheddar, avocado, caramelized onions, red onions, chipotle aioli, fried egg, lettuce, tomato and pickles. The burgers were amazing.
After dinner, we were done. We worked out where the closes subway station for the line that goes to the ferry terminal. It was a nice walk and when we got there, the next train was just about due. We had a smooth ride to the ferry terminal and only a short wait for the ferry. This time round, we went on the other side of the ferry and I got some photos of the Statue of the Liberty all lit up.
When we got back to Staten Island, we got an Uber again. This time round we knew where to go. We had another smooth trip back to the hotel. We stopped by the front desk to pick up our new key. I took a few photos of the beautiful carousel horses in the breakfast area. Then we went up to the room. We got ready for bed. I spent a little while catching up online and reading and then I went to sleep.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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