Sightseeing Continued! (Wide Angle Wednesday)

Day two of our adventures with the Canadian! As I had stated in the previous post, He was here for a Volvo Technicians Competition. He had another friend that was staying elsewhere, so our first stop was the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Central Park was the first stop of the day, so we entered the park through 59th Street Columbus Circle. 
 

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/500s, 320ISO, 11mm

It was a cool spring day in the city, the type where you are still wearing a jacket but happy to be outside soaking up the sun. Though the trees were still pretty barren in the park, there was no snow or ice, so us New Yorkers and the Canadians were happy to soak up some rays.

We had a full day of sightseeing, so after a little bit of time in Central Park, we headed downtown to the South Ferry Station to take the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island, then back to Manhattan. The trip from Manhattan to Staten Island takes about 30mins. This is something I have taken most of my visitors from out of state to do, there are great views of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, and best of all, it is free!

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/250s, 100ISO, 11mm

I always enjoy watching Manhattan shrink away from the back the ferry as we head towards Staten Island. When you are walking around downtown, the buildings reach for the sky and you feel so small. But once you start pulling away from Manhattan, you realize how small Manhattan really is, how all of these tall buildings are crammed onto a small little island. 

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/640s, 100ISO, 11mm
Dancing for Liberty

 After our nautical adventures were over once we were back at the South Ferry station, we started making our way to Wall Street, and the World Trade Center. First stop was South Street Seaport, though it was still closed, we spent some time at a park on top of Pier 15. Some more great views of the city from the water's edge.

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/250s, 100ISO, 11mm
South Street Seaport to Brooklyn

From there, it was on to Wall Street. It is amazing how empty the financial district is on a Sunday, a vast difference from the weekdays, or even midtown. I enjoyed pointing out some of the historical buildings on our walk, point out the damage from 1920 Wall Street bombing on 23 Wall Street, amongst many other things. 

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125s, 125ISO, 16mm

The Freedom Tower is an impressive sight to see. I moved to New York City in July of 2001, so I have watched the non-progress at the site for years, and now, finally, there is a towering beacon from the site. Visible from the Belt Parkway in the outer reaches of Brooklyn, to northern Queens parks, Westchester and New Jersey, it has been very cool to see the progress as the glass tower slowly made its way upward.

The final stop for the day was dinner, in Grand Central Terminal. Two days in a row I was there in the evening. It is a gorgeous venue that everyone should visit if they find themselves in New York City.

All photos in this post were taken with the wide angle Tokina lens. Every shot was processed in Lightroom with lens correction on to help minimize the distortion.