La Liberté éclairant le monde has seen better days, bless her. She’s had her torch replaced after the original failed to impress spectators. She’s had extensive repairs because she was starting to fall to bits. And now, after Hurricane Sandy, she’s had yet more renovation work. But damnit, she’s not going down without a fight!

I bring you all the best weather!

The Ellis Island museum is closed until further notice, but the Statue has re-opened – although it hadn’t yet during my visit. How’s that for timing? On the bright side, I got a sub-zero ferry ride with 40MPH winds. This is where I got my cold. I think my head froze.

Battery Park City from the ferry.

But you know what? It was worth it. This statue is a pretty epic piece of design (slightly less epic on the engineering side, but you can’t have everything). And you get harangued by seagulls the whole way.

Food. Food? Food!

Yeah. If you live in the UK, seagulls aren’t a novelty, they’re a public nuisance.

Pier.

It’s not the longest trip, and if you don’t catch an early enough ferry you don’t get to disembark at Liberty Island (now that it’s reopened), but it’s a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so. And on the way back to Battery Park, you get to see this:

Liberty Enlightening the World.

Maybe the January visit was worth it after all.

Visiting the Statue of Liberty:

The nearest Subway Stations are Bowling Green, Whitehall Street or South Ferry. If arriving to South Ferry Station be sure to be in one of the first five subway cars. Follow signs to Castle Clinton in Battery Park for the Statue of Liberty Harbour Cruise tickets.

Boarding the ferry requires passing through full airport-level security: X-Ray scanners, wands, everything. Be sure to arrive at the ferry terminal at least 15 minutes ahead of departure time to allow for these security measures.

Admission: $24. Included in New York CityPass and the New York Pass.