New York Visit

Jeff and I got into NYC very late on Friday night, so our visit didn't really start until the next morning. We were a bit late getting up, but Tom's sister and her husband, who were also staying with Katie and Tom that weekend, were up early and went out to get bagels. They brought some back from 'Pick a Bagel' - which apparently has an amazing selection of very fresh bagels.

I intended to do work during the day, but instead, Jeff and I decided to join Katie, Tom, Maureen, and Joe on a walk in Central Park.

Everything was really beautiful, and the trees looked really cool with no leaves.

There was an area of the park where they were making snow - it's not clear why they were doing that - Katie guessed it was for a movie - but it looked pretty cool.

We walked about 20 blocks in the park, before we all started to feel numb (it was only about 15 degrees outside) and headed to the Apple Store for shelter.

We then walked through Times Square and got coffee, and Joe and Maureen got tickets to see 'The Phantom of the Opera.'

We had late lunch/early dinner around 3pm (the bagels were really filling...) at a Burger Place in the Park Meridian hotel. For Christmas, I got Katie a book with tips on free and cheap things in New York City, and this was one of the recommended restaurants. It was kind of hidden - you go in this fancy hotel, and then see a neon burger and arrow near the check in desk, follow the arrow around the corner, and you're in this little burger shop with fun music and writing all over the walls. The burgers and fries were great (and only cost $7!).

That evening, Maureen and Joe headed out to the theater, and Katie, Tom, Jeff, and I went out to Inase Sushi - a place near Katie's house. The sushi was all pretty good - as was the ginger and red bean ice cream we had afterwards.

From there, we stopped in for a cocktail at Hi Life - a bar about a block from Katie's place.

Then it was back to Katie's house, where we relaxed with a glass of wine and watched "Wall-E" on netflix on demand. Such a cute movie!

On Sunday, Jeff, Katie, and I met up for lunch with my friend Pooja, Pooja's mom and sister, and our friend Tammy and her boyfriend, David. We had Peruvian food at Pio Pio in midtown, and just ordered a bunch of things to share. The ceviche, tamales, and chicken were all really good. Katie had never tried Peruvian before, and decided she really liked it.

It was a pretty long lunch (so much to chat about!), so from there Jeff and I headed almost straight to the bus back to DC. It was a quick, but very fun, trip!