Dave in New York!

As you well know, Dave came back to the East Coast for a week to go to Irene's wedding and spend some quality time with me. It unintentionally coincided with my boss's (boss' ?? What's the right spelling??) vacation which meant half days for me! Whoo-hoo!

(Notice the extra large smile on my face)
Besides that, the timing wasn't the greatest. Dave had spent a week of 90+ weather in California before coming and bringing that weather with him. His vacation was a week of unbearable heat and constant sweat... but we managed to have a wonderful time spending time together and going to some of our favorite spots in New York...

Okay, to be honest, that meant watching a lot of movies. But who can beat spending $6 to watch the IMAX 3D version of Superman in a nice air-conditioned building?!

One of our all time favorite spots is TRU! Yeah, we're both old, but still kids at heart. AND I noticed that I never took all the touristy shots of the Times Square Toys R Us, so here we go:



But we really spend most of our time strolling/running/rollerblading in Central Park. That's just what we do, walking to and fro through the Park.... Over to the West Side... Down to Columbus Circle... Back to the UES through the Park...Through Sheeps Meadow... Through the Great Lawn... It's what we do... Too bad we didn't have enough time to go to the Zoo, to walk past the sail boats and the hawk-watching site, and past the row boat area... In all honestly, it was just toooooo HOT! (In the future, we're going to plan all our New York trips in the Spring or Fall. Summer is too sweltering uncomfortable, and I can gladly say good-bye to Northeast winters.)


But Dave still managed to go for a run on a 90 degree day at 3 in the afternoon. Crazy man.


Some pictures while roaming one night in Midtown:
A view of Times Square from a distance and an almost full moon!


Some cool shots near the new Apple Store (near FAO Schwartz) that I didn't know existed:



And Dave got a chance to finally meet some of my work friends (Heather, Andy and wifey Patti)!
An evening at Cafe con Leche, one of our favorite eats...
Squinting and enjoying good drinks (mmmmm....mojito.....)


Uh, Dave trying to suck my brains out with his superpowers?


How come every time I go to this place with a big group, it's Mexican Night???
(this also happened with my birthday dinner last year)
Free tequila shots!!! Sweet!


The Duke alums + people that say "you guyses"


Dave's ex-coworker from Scripps, Christian and his sister-in-law. Poor guy. He was originally from Westchester, but found his niche in Southern California. I mean, check out that tan. He's totally the surfer/rock-climbing/outdoorsy type. But now, he had to leave San Diego for New York for 3 years. Man, I feel for him. Note to all friends: Once you move to the West Coast, DON'T come back!!!!


Heather being Heather... One of my favorite moments of the evening was Dave getting a Heather "Shut up!". He's truly an honorary member of the Diaz Lab.


And I probably should have taken pictures of all the FOOD we consumed during that time. For the sake of memories, I'm going to list all the places and some of the food we covered in 5 days:
Sammy's Pastrami Sandwich (not as good as it used to be)
Cubana Torta from El Paso
My favorite Chicken Salad Sandwich from the local Deli
Flushing! Taiwanese place (bamboo and pork, beef and jalapenos, fish, spinach and liver soup) and mung bean slushy (or watermelon slushy for Dave) from the Flushing mall. Yum!
Spaghetti and meatballs (so easy to find and so good in NYC)
Cafe con Leche
Dakshin lunch buffet
Whole Foods for lunch
Veniero's for pastries
Pio Pio matador combo! (peruvian chicken, maduros, avocado salad, rice and beans, and salchipaps (sausages and fries - most yummy-licious))

and that's not including the 9 course banquet we had at Irene's rehearsal dinner, her wedding lunch, my mom's surf and turf (lobster and steak), and Sorrento's pizza in CT.

oh, my stomach is so spoiled....

although i'm looking forward to some fried oysters in San Diego!!!