The Big Apple - (aka Ashley's home away from home)

 We had a great time visiting Ashley in New York City last weekend.  She has a lovely apartment in Manhattan which is beautifully decorated and cozy.  She had our weekend scheduled with tons of adventures.

We started off on Friday with breakfast at Sara Beth's, an upscale restaurant in Manhattan.  I highly recommend the lemon truffle pancakes.

Ashley had to work that day so dad and I were on our own figuring out the metro system and navigating  the crowds.   We started off at the icon of NYC - the Empire State Building.  

We then headed to the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art.)   This is a state-of-the-arts museum that would take the more cultured socialites a day or two to completely browse.  We were done in about an hour.  (So much to see, so little time.)

 Dad really liked this statue.  Sometimes I think he's still in Jr. High.

 Many things in NYC reminded me of Mexico.  This display in the middle of a glorietta  (Columbus Circle) was one of them.  Also, the people were amazingly friendly.  We had technical difficulties with our I-phones and cameras, which constantly needed refueling, and had plenty of people offer their services.

 Friday evening we took the subway over to Met Stadium with Ashley to enjoy a game.  Actually, the game turned out pretty boring, but the chicken strips and cracker jack were stellar!

Just like Mexico, the best food in the city is on the street.   Saturday we started our day with my personal favorite -  waffles-  from a food truck.    They were by far the best I've ever had.  I tried mine with fresh raspberries and ice cream.  Ashley went for the nutella.  AMAZING!

 
And who can visit NYC without seeing the Statue of Liberty.  Thanks to the 911 bomber jerks, no one is allowed inside her majesty, and for now, Ellis Island is still closed.  But we took a nice tour boat and got pretty darn close.  She is a beautiful sight!



Washington Square is another icon, very close to NYU, in the heart of  New York City.

 Another place that reminded me of Mexico City.

Probably the most moving site in the city is the 911 Memorial.  Situated on the previous site of the Twin Towers, it houses memorials of the two buildings, with names of each of the victims engraved on the side of the memorial.

 Freedom Tower

 If you like crazy, and I do,  this is the place to be - Time Square!  Can you believe, the only building I actually entered was the M&M store.

 We also visited the Tennement Museum, which was very interesting, but they didn't allow photos.

And for our anniversary, dad and I attended the ballet Romeo and Juliet at the Metropolitan Opera Theater at the Lincoln Center. Yeah, lucky him.  In case anyone is wondering where the Lincoln center is, it is across the street from Julliard School of Music.  Yep.  We're pretty cultured.

And the Theater is pretty much across the street from the LDS Temple, which doubles as a Stake Center.  Ashley let me sit in on her Primary class, since I was too shy to go to Relief Society.  It was tons of fun!