On my last day in NYC, I went to the World Trade Center Memorial. We went to the area in 2006 when we were last in the city, and back then it was only an empty place.
I can't imagine a more beautiful, moving, and respectful monument to the lives that were lost that day. Being there feels so spiritual and profound - I was absolutely moved to tears the moment I came around the corner and saw the memorial.
I bawled for a while, then moved on. I spent a lot of time there, I felt it was important to spend time looking at all the names, and I love how they clustered the names of the lost together by where they were: each flight, tower, etc.
I also absolutely love the symbolism of the water cascading down into the earth - how it renews in such a beautiful cycle, plus the sound is so calming.
Here's the amazing Survivor Tree (talked about here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_September_11_Memorial_%26_Museum ) that is just so incredible - again, I love the symbolism. At the memorial museum, I bought one of the leaves that has been bronzed - I love this tree so much. Again with the boo-hoo'in!!!
And here's the Freedom Tower - I can't believe how much progress they've made! It looks like it's almost done. So breathtaking. Apparently when it's done it'll be 1776 feet tall and will be the tallest building in the United States.
At one point, I walked by the Flight 93 area and I saw 2 United flight attendants (they were wearing their badges) crying and touching their friend's name. I stepped back to give them privacy in their grief but I just absolutely bawled watching them talk about her, remembering her fondly, etc. I feel so honored to have witnessed that moment - this is their friend Sandy (I came back way later to take this pic so as to not intrude on their space).
It's so amazing, but of all the names around both "towers", only one is already rubbed bronze from so many people having had touched it, and that is of Todd Beamer's of Flight 93's. Of course that made me boo-hoo all over again. I'm sure you know the story of this amazing man, but if not, here it is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Beamer
Here's the rest of my photos in a slideshow if you're interested:
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