Meeting Ms. Liberty

It is often said that one’s New York visit is not complete till they don’t pay a visit to its most precious lady - Statue of Liberty.

A view of Manhattan

Past few days had been really depressing, weather wise in NYC. But thankfully the day I decided meet Ms. Liberty turned out to be a bright sunny one. I set out for Battery Park via Subway from Brooklyn around 10.00 am. After changing two trains and investing 30 minutes, I reached my destination.

In order to visit the most famous monument of United States, I had to catch a Circle Line-Statue of Liberty Ferry from Battery Park. The ticket for the water ride can be bought from the ticket office which is located inside the Castle Clinton National Monument or could be bought on-line from Circle Line’s website. It costs around $15.00 for a normal ticket which includes ferry ride (to & fro) Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and entrance charge at both these places. Audio guides are also available, with an extra-charge. The first ferry rides starts at 8.30 am and the last one leaves at 4.30 pm, with a frequency of 15 minutes.

Since I had a busy schedule (had to complete my shopping list) for the day, I skipped Castle Clinton National Monument, which to me didn’t appear all the interesting and headed straight for the ferry boarding deck. Now the security procedure before boarding the ferry is a bit piss-off kind, so you need to keep aside good 15 minutes (depending on the rush) for this alone. The security check here is exactly the airport style; bags are screened, shoes are screened, belts and watches are screened and obviously your body also goes thru the metal detector. I was lucky enough to not miss my ferry or else another 15 minutes would have gone down the NY drainage system.

One heck of a Lady

The ferry wasn’t too packed, so it was to move around and check out the NYC Skyline from the water, which appears so darn hazy and smoked up. But the best fun is when a good view of the Liberty Statue is visible from the ferry, the touristy shutter-bugs start clicking, all at one time as if they had been set on a timer. The ride takes about 10 minutes or so to reach the Liberty Island, where you can get down or sit on further if you want to visit Ellis Island.

I spent roughly around two hours at the Liberty Island. I started with exploring the upper deck inside the Liberty Statue. Now before entering the insides of the monument, we are again required to go thru security checks. No drinks or food are allowed and the queue is un-imaginably long. But hey! Isn’t there an old saying, “No pain, no gain”. Another important thing one must note is that ‘Time Pass Ticket’ which is required to enter the monument can only be bought online, that too 48 hours before the intended visit. I am grateful to the security guard posted out there, who was nice enough to let me in which the required ticket but with a stern warning.

The first couple of floors inside basically detail the history and construction details of the Liberty Statue and a little background view of the people involved with the project. Since September 11th’s tragedy, the entry to most of the higher decks have been closed for public visits. So only the pedestal observatory is open for us tourists, which is not bad but it’s also not something you could brag about at home.

After clicking a few snaps of the NYC skyline and the laid back water, I headed back to the bottom floor. The only restaurant at the Liberty Island is (not surprisingly) very expensive though the coffee was really good. I found that the souvenir shop was packed with variety but was overly priced. A liberty mug was priced at $12.00 when the same mug could be bought off on Manhattan streets or China Town, for maximum $5.00.

My coffee date

Although there is nothing much to do here once you have been to the pedestal observatory, I saw many tourists (or locals) simply lazing around in garden and taking in the beauty of the place along with the calming sound of the Harbor water. And surprisingly I was pulled into it too.

I would say visiting the world-famous monument was surely worth it and this I say without exaggerating. The minute you set your eyes on her, you can’t help but feel the hair on the back of your neck stand-up. She does emit some kind of a magic, some kind of power from which I guess no one is exempted.

But isn’t it ironic, the lady who is a supposedly a living symbol of freedom to millions around the world, today herself requires 24 hours protection from those who would go to any lengths to see her turn to ashes.

Some more photographs….