Unlike our time at the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island was never really a place I was fascinated by.
Yeah, I understood its importance and its history (my lack of fascination with the place takes nothing away from that) but I just didn’t have the same yearning to visit the place.
In retrospect, I guess it’s probably because it’s not one of the more ‘shiny’ New York landmarks so I have overlooked it in the past.
Seeing as our NYC Go passes also had this along with the Statue of Liberty, I thought, “Hey, why not?”
First off, Ellis Island is much more fascinating than I gave it credit for.
I’ve always loved how diverse New York City is and how, like London, it’s a truly global city. I think this is actually a big part of why it’s a fantastic city and the roots of this greatness started here.
This is where people from all kinds of backgrounds started their immigration into the US and roaming the halls here.
Seeing their photos, reading their stories and standing where the stood, I have to admit, I finally got the lure of Ellis Island.
These halls hold so much history and have so many stories to tell that’s hard not to find your mind wandering to the many tales of the people who heralded the start of their new lives in these very halls…
Okay, enough soppiness from me! 🙂
We walked from room to room, a lot more fascinated than I thought possible here.
…by the time we emerged back in the main hall, I definitely ‘got the hype’.
Finally, we hopped back onto our boat, head back for Manhattan (and hopefully some food) and thoroughly pleased with being able to do something I’ve always wanted to (i.e. heading over to Liberty Island) and discovering someplace new & fascination (i.e. Ellis Island).
No matter how little, New York definitely always seems to find pleasant ways to surprise me.
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