Back in August and the beginning of September, Derek and I became obsessed with watching every 9/11 memorial special on TV. We recorded dozens of them and learned everything we could about that day and the events leading up to it. We were particularly interested in the ones that focused on the building of the Freedom Tower and the memorial that surrounds it.
The 9/11 memorial museum doesn’t open until later this year, but the memorial grounds opened to the public this past September. When I discovered you could reserve tickets online for the memorial grounds in advance, I reserved two for Derek and I for this morning to pay our respects.
The memorial was gorgeous and very moving. There’s construction and people all around, but the memorial itself is blocked off in such a way that it feels so peaceful and quiet standing by the two infinity pools that represent the two towers.
The names were really what jumped out at me. I traced my hand along a few of them trying to imagine their story and their journey through life. So many lives were cut too short that day, it’s hard not to tear up over it.
After we explored the memorial site, Derek and I hopped in a cab to Motorino – a pizza place that came highly recommended by a few NYC friends.
$12 pizza and salad lunch special? Don’t mind if we do.
The ‘personal sized’ pizzas were actually a pretty decent size, so Derek and I opted to split the special. We shared the mix green salad.
And the brussels sprouts and pancetta pizza.
The pizza was amazing. It had an olive oil base with fresh brussels sprout scattered on top and crispy pancetta. The 1/2 pizza each was the perfect shared amount.
Probably our cheapest lunch in NYC. Ever.
After we had our fill of pizza, we did little exploring.
And found our friend Jacquie at a local coffee shop (I had tea).
We picked up a Cookie Dough Crumbs Cupcake to split.
Happy Early Birthday to me. 
I loved the chocolate filler, but this would have been even more awesome if there was actual cookie dough in the middle. 
T-minus 30 minutes until we’re on our way to the mountains!
Here’s a look back at last year’s ski-cation shenanigans.
Vermont – February 2011 – Ski-Cation
Good times. Good times.
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