How to See NYC in two days

So last weekend DWH (Dave Was Here). For just a couple of days, but it was awesome.

Its the first time I got to show my community and my New York - I mean I have lived here for 5 years, have my own favorite spots and secrets around the city - to one of my best friends. As a bonus, Dave had not been to NY much, this was just his second time, and I got to play tour guide ... which I never get to do in NYC because everyone has been here so many times.

Overall it was a fabulous weekend, one forgets how nice it is to spend time with someone who has known you for a long, long time. I have really wonderful friends in New York, not to mention my amazing wife, but the kind of deep, broad, long-term friendship that has passed many ups and downs and feels comfortable like an old shoe, that is really something ...

Dave got in early on Friday morning, I picked him up at JFK and then dropped him off with Aviva and went to work. When I got home, we went to lunch at Tsuru, our favorite local sushi place - this being Hartsdale, there are a lot of local sushi places - and then we shopped at Fairway and walked along the Bronx River Parkway, past scarsdale falls and down to Harney road. After the walk, really just an introduction to winter weather, as it was a seasonably cold 31 degrees out, we came home, cooked and hung out with some of the neighbors until Dave crashed around 9 - impressively, as he flew out on a red-eye.

The next day we got up pretty early, and Aviva dropped us off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on her way down to Brooklyn. We took in a whirlwind tour of the Met - I spent some time examining Herakles the Archer - then headed down to Lombardis for "New Yorks Best Pizza" - I have to say, it was good but most certainly not the best, that honor remains with Di Faras - but the pizza, though thin, was very, very good. Aviva met us there for lunch, and then afterwards we wandered around Soho a bit and then we took the


subway over to Brooklyn, then walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, stopping in City Hall park, Trinity church and Wall street (gotta see the Bull) before sitting down at Fraunces Tavern for an afternoon cocktail.

After the drink, Aviva headed back to Brooklyn to spend the night with her girlfriends and Dave and I headed to the WTC memorial (intense security - like an airline) ... it is really beautiful and quite well done, although there really is not much to do there other than stand and stare at the water. Still quite powerful. and wandered up the shore of the Hudson river to Petite Abeille for dinner. Moules Frites in bacon and beer, awesome. And finally, after our after dinner stroll, we ended the evening having drinks with Erez and Koffman at the Brandy Library - still my favorite place in New York City.



Honestly, a completely perfect day. Nothing rushed, a lot of good food, good history and good whiskey ... plus time with my favorite people.

Fantastic.

Sunday was a little milder, and a lot colder - but we still spent a lot of time outside, exploring Grand Central before walking up and down Park and 5th, stopping in at the Waldorf-Astoria and then heading down to meet Aviva at Chelsea market for lunch and a walk along the High Line ... if the Brandy Library weren't my favorite place in the city than this surely would be. The High line was fantastic, as it is every time I go, but it was super windy and quite cold, so by the time we finished walking it we were freezing, so we headed home, driving up the Riverside Drive and the West side highway past Grants tomb and the Cloisters. Once home, we hung out for a bit, then headed up to Gaetanos for another pizza - got caught in a freak 10 minute snowstorm that created black ice and an hour long traffic jam - again excellent pizza, but not work a 2 hour round trip.

After dinner we crashed pretty early and I dropped Dave off at the airport around 8 am the next day ... an altogether perfect weekend.