From Las Vegas we travelled to New York where we visited our friend Nanuxa and Ernesto.
Nanuxa and I are friends since we were babies. Our mothers were school mates and grew up together in Silva Porto, Angola. In Nova Lisboa we lived close to each other and lived a big part of our youth together.
After the troubles in Angola we part company and now we found each other again. Nanuxa, now married with Ernesto and living in Bridgeport, Connecticut near New York and I on the other side of the wold in Australia.
We met twice in the USA and after a long time apart we always start as if we have never been away. Nanuxa graduated as a Chemical Engineer is now a Master Quilt Maker running quilting classes. Her creations won her some prizes and we included them in our photos.
As usual we spend most of the time catching up with our lives, met her two little boys that are now grown up men, visited the surrounded areas and had a day trip to New York.
We visited Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan in New York. The previous World Trade Centre complex stood on the site until it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda hijacked two planes on the way to Los Angeles, and intentionally crashed them into the two towers of the World Trade Centre. The towers collapsed within two hours of the collisions. 2,606 people, including 2,192 civilians, 71 law enforcement officers, and 343 firefighters, who were in the towers and in the surrounding area died in the attacks, as well as 147 civilians and the 10 hijackers aboard the two airliners. After the collapse of the World Trade Centre, hospital workers and law enforcement officers began referring to the place Ground Zero .
The original World Trade Centre was thought of as a North American cultural icon. At the time of their completion the "Twin Towers", the original 1 World Trade Centre (the North Tower), at 417 metres and 2 World Trade Centre (the South Tower), were the tallest buildings in the world. The other buildings in the complex included the Marriott World Trade Centre (3 WTC), 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC, and 7 WTC.
Now it has been replaced by seven towers, the September 11 Memorial and Museum, a transportation hub and other smaller structures.
From there Filomena and I parted company. She went to Portugal to spend time with her mother and family and I headed to Brasil to visit my parents, brother and family.
