NEW YORK CITY

 Loneliness grows around me when New York city sleeps. So does the snow. Even the wind gets off

from the ship and started walking on the shore of  New York . This is the translation of the beautiful

Tamil song from the film Sillunu oru kadhal  sung by the maestro A R Rahman. New York is a city

with beautiful day and night life. Here is a quick glance through  the major attractions in New York

city.

 Opened to traffic in 1907,Holland tunnel connects New jersey and New York,

the  two important states in America  across the Hudson River .

Holland Tunnel is  one among the two first  automobile tunnel built under a river.

 The Holland tunnel has a pioneering ventilation system to evacuate the carbon monoxide

 emissions from the vehicles. National Civil Engineering Landmark status was given to the tunnel

 by the American society of civil engineers in 1984. 

  One of the most photographed arts work in the world is the Charging bull located  near wall streets.
 New York's financial strength is symbolized by this 3-ton  bronze sculpture  of Wall street bull
or Bowling green bull, constructed after the 1987 stock market crash.

New York city is the most photographed city in the world, often described as the cultural

and financial capital of the world. New York city is mainly built by the  three islands of Manhattan,

Long Island and Staten Island. One can see traditional and modern architectural buildings

   juxtaposed in New York city.

The  American icon of freedom, The Statue of Liberty is located in Liberty Island,

  a small uninhabited island in the New York harbor. 

 New York harbor is one of the largest natural harbors in the world .

Statue of Liberty National Monument comprised of Statue of Liberty situated in Liberty Island

 and Immigration station at Ellis Island. Made with copper, this world famous statue of liberty was

 presented by France in 1880 to United States in celebration of friendship between the two countries.

Completed in 1883 ,Brooklyn bridge is an engineering marvel that connects  the boroughs 

 of Brooklyn with Manhattan. This historical land mark of New York city is the first steel

wire suspension bridge spanning a distance of 1595.5 ft.

Constructed in art deco style with 103  stories the Empire State Building was completed

in 1930  and stood as the tallest building in the world for around 40 years. ( Photo: Arasu)

 Empire State Building carries the nick name of New York, attracts around four million people annually. 

 From the observatories  on 82nd and 102th floor of the  Empire State Building,

 one can get a panoramic view of New York city.

Times Square is one of the busiest pedestrian intersections and  major commercial intersection

 in New York city. Time square acquired its name when the office of

 New York Times was shifted to the new sky scraper what was then known as Longacre Square.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

.

 Located in Washington DC, the capital of United States, National Cathedral rest on the top

of Mount Saint Alban overlooking Potomac river.

National Cathedral is the sixth largest cathedral in the  world and the second largest in

the United States

 The design of the cathedral is mainly  adapted from the neo gothic style.Gothic architectural
style include details like  flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings and stained-glass windows.

It took almost 83 years to complete the construction of this cathedral.
The church witnessed two world wars, recession and the ebb and flow of funds
 from the laying of  corner stone in 1907 till the completion in1990.

The church consist of about 200 stained glass windows  which includes a space window

 that contains a fragment of lunar rock to honor man's landing on the moon.

The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul

Beginning with Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985, presidential inaugural

prayer services have been held at the Cathedral except Bill Clinton .

   Numerous whimsical gargoyles and grotesque decorates the cathedral.

In architecture gargoyles are stone figures which contains a water spout
 through the mouth preventing rain water running down the walls .

  The cathedral was affected by the 5.8 scale Virginia Earthquake in 2011.

There is a circled pathway outside the cathedral .

The Five acre Olmsted Woods also lies in close proximity to the cathedral.

 The National cathedral is one of the most important land marks in DC from which
one can get a panoramic view of the city.

 

Location:3101 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest,

Washington, DC 20016

(202) 537-6200

LADY BUGS

Lady Bugs are cute little beetles also known as lady birds, lady cow or lady beetles. Their special shape

 and color with stylized spots made them  one of the favorite insects of children. 

Lady bugs are  not true bugs but beetles that eat the aphids which destroy crops and garden plants.

  Both male and female beetles are commonly referred to as lady bugs .     

Legend says that lady bugs saved the farmers  of middle ages in Europe by eating the pests that
 hassled their crops.From that day onwards farmers started calling  these beetles' Lady bugs'  as a
 gratitude to Virgin Mary  who send the bugs. The term lady is used  to denote Virgin Mary .

 These adorable little beetles comes in different colors, with and without spots. The lady bugs saved
the lemon and orange industry in California in 1800  from the insects ruining the whole grove.

Most of the lady bug species are considered as useful insects. The most common recorded species is the

seven spotted. They eat the pest that eat crops and is a real friend of farmers and gardeners.

 Many cultures considered these bugs lucky..

Location: Jefferson City, MO