{"id":639,"date":"2017-08-07T01:14:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T01:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/?p=639"},"modified":"2017-08-07T01:14:58","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T01:14:58","slug":"reuniting-with-a-dear-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/?p=639","title":{"rendered":"Reuniting With A Dear Friend"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>Twenty two years ago, I embarked on a whirlwind three-week Contiki tour around Europe. The trip introduced me to two wonderful people who became cherished friends\u2013Australians Sue and Dave. This week, I had the great pleasure of being reunited with Dave, for the first time since my last visit Down Under <\/a>in 2009.\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>

Way back when: Dave, me and Sue in Europe, May 1994.<\/p><\/div>\n

As soon as I saw Dave, it felt like no time at all had passed. We picked up right where we left off\u2013enjoying some beloved NYC haunts along the way.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>

Dave and me at the Gansevoort Hotel\u2019s rooftop bar Plunge<\/p><\/div>\n

We brunched outside at neighborhood eateries Beach Cafe and Five Napkin Burger, both of which I love even more now because they\u2019re dog-friendly. My sweet Benji joined me and Dave, quietly taking in the scenery while we ate.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>

Dave took this photo of me and Benji at Beach Caf\u00e9<\/p><\/div>\n

Taking advantage of picture perfect weather, Dave and I also strolled around Central Park and the High Line, and did rooftop drinks at Meatpacking District hipster hotspot the Gansevoort Hotel. For dinner, we lingered at The Plaza\u2019s Food Hall by Todd English (epic truffled lobster mac and cheese), savored the Greek delights of Gramercy bistro Barbounia and indulged in Italian fare at favorite UES Bottega restaurant (Tiramisu to die for).<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>

Truffled lobster mac and cheese at The Plaza Hotel\u2019s Food Hall. Yum!!!<\/p><\/div>\n

Throughout the delicious meals and engaging local sights, Dave and I shared wonderful, soul-soothing conversations about life, love, loss, careers and travel. I was in awe when Dave told me about his post-tsunami volunteer work in Sri Lanka. And he listened with compassion as I confided what I have been through over the last year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big believer in the saying that friends are the family we choose for ourselves. God has truly blessed me in my extended family\u2013and I am so thankful Dave is a part of it.<\/p>\n

Til next time, my dear friend.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty two years ago, I embarked on a whirlwind three-week Contiki tour around Europe. The trip introduced me to two wonderful people who became cherished friends\u2013Australians Sue and Dave. This week, I had the great pleasure of being… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"New Blog Post: Reuniting With A Dear Friend #friendship #NYClife","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[181,3,116,31,11,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adopting-a-pet","category-around-the-neighborhood","category-being-a-tourist-in-your-hometown","category-catching-up-with-old-friends","category-dining-out","category-friendship"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4J0fq-aj","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=639"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":648,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639\/revisions\/648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}