It was insane.
NYC
Of course, we caught up with Lou and his girl Suzie. There was a comfortable spot near Lou's place where we played pool and threw back some drinks both nights we were there.
We also hung out with Lou's friends Bro and Brian.
Needless to say, we had to take Lou home and put him to bed that night.
We went on a food tour of Greenwich Village, which was really cool. This is Melissa in front of Murray's Cheese Shop. Greenwich Village has a real old neighborhood feel to it. There's no grocery store that has everything, instead you have to visit the baker and the butcher and the cheese monger to get your groceries.
Here I am inside Chumley's Speakeasy. This is still a functioning bar right out of prohibition times. Chumley's still operates without a sign out front or any advertising. You just have to know where it is. Some of the prohibition features still there are the secret back door hidden by a bookcase, and the zig-zagging front entrance only wide enough for one at a time (so that the cops couldn't rush the place).
For Melissa, we had to visit Chelsea Market, home of the Food Network.
And since it was Melissa's first trip to NYC we had to visit Times Square.
We also saw the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and Ground Zero.
This is a place on the Lower East Side called Donut Plant. We found out about it on Food Network. They have some awesome donuts. I highly recommend the "Blackout" chocolate donut.
On the way back from the Donut Plant, we took an accidental trip to Brooklyn.
We caught the Museum of Modern Art before heading out of town.
It was really amazing.
Philly
This is the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philidelphia.
It's a huge open market.
We bought some cinnamon rolls from the Pennsylvania Dutch working at the market.
We visited the Mutter Museum. It's a museum dedicated to medical history and anomalies. There's all kinds of stuff there, from conjoined twins to crazy surgical instruments to 60 pound colons. Unfortunately, you can't take photos inside.
Here's Melissa and Jackie (her friend whom we stayed with) at Capo Giro Gelateria. They make the most amazing flavors of Gelato. Their dark chocolate gelato was to die for.
We went back both days.
And finally, we passed by Liberty Hall and the Liberty Bell before leaving town.
