“Liberty Enlightening the World” is the Statue of Liberty’s full name. It was given to America by France in 1886, designed by Frederic Bartholdi, and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). According to our tour guide, Bartholdi wanted to originally give it to Egypt, but Egypt refused the gift.
This is about ALL I recall from the tour. Why? Because I don’t believe I have ever been this cold. I had shooting pains in my toes and all I could think about was whether or not I would be able to ever walk again. Was it possible my toes could break off? As many times as I’ve told this story, it never occurred to me to add my very old joke, “Oh, well! I would just call a toe truck!” Thank you, Anita, for reminding me.
Annette, Louise, and I started the day by walking to the ferry. Let me begin by explaining just why I like traveling with Louise: the walker. There was no waiting in line for us! Ever.
The ferry first took us to Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty rests, and our tour guide, a major history buff, walked us around the statue, stopping every so often to feed us all the detailed information about this colossal sculpture. After four rounds around the base, I was certain my toes were going to fall off. We finally stumbled into a small museum that provided enough warmth for me to actually feel my blood circulating again.
For the record, Louise and Annette said they felt the cold but apparently nothing like I did and certainly they did not complain.
Next stop, Ellis Island. After a small bite and a little relaxation, we walked around Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, a huge museum by the way, and looked up our individual fathers’ names in the database available on-site.
Some other notes of interest: The building pictured below on the left Is on Ellis Island; it was the hospital where all immigrants would be inspected for disease. The photo on the right is a statue depicting the inspections of all immigrants. Over the course of many years, this building lived several lives. It was the Coast Guard training center during WWII and then became the FBI headquarters until it was decided the location was less than convenient.
And, of course, the view was spectacular on this cold winter day!
