The first part of the tour involved Ryan giving us background and explanations before we went to the reflecting pools. We went into the Occulus - stunning-and visited the very close by Fire Station and their memorial. We then went to the pools. The hush here, in the midst of the city noise, had an immediate effect. The attention to detail and the care taken with the memorials is incredibly impressive. I am choking up again just thinking about it and what it means. St Pauls Chapel is a real miracle, to think there was not even a broken window beggars belief.
At this point Ryan said his farewells to leave us to visit the new tower and museum on our own. Ryan was very knowledgable, very patient and very open to questions. He really enhanced our visit and, when we recommend this tour, as we will, we will tell friends to request him.
Entrance to the tower is timed and there is a short presentation at the top and then the stunning reveal - I won't spoil this for anyone. We then went to the viewing area where the all round views of Manhatten and its islands are unbelievable.
The museum is very interesting, factual and shows the results of what is probably the most documented disaster ever but it is also very, very emotional. I would not take young children in here and would be very careful even with young teenagers so please think carefully about this if you have younger people in your group.
However we would not have missed this and are very glad that Ryan was our guide.