Snow, garden, and city

On April 1st, I woke up to snow on the ground. For real. It made me smile, what a nice surprise. By afternoon it had melted. I think that's the last of it.
On Saturday, my third weekend after arriving in NY, the couple I work for, their daughter, and myself drove down to Bronx, NY and toured the New York Botanical Garden. It was spectacular! I enjoyed taking in the numerous displays of beautiful plants as well as the intricate and grand architecture of the conservatories and other buildings. I thought back to the days when it was founded (1891) and what an event it must have been to get all dressed up, go to town and see the conservatory, walking around the grounds with all the other formally dressed people. It made me want to wear a dress.
My fourth Saturday here I drove to a nearby station, rode the metro north(commuter train) down to Grand Central Station, and met up with my best friend and her boyfriend in Manhattan! After arriving at Grand Central I moseyed my way along the hallways of the station, observing my surroundings, taking it all in. A bewildered looking couple came up to me and asked in an accent I didn't recognize if I knew where the "Oyster Bar" was located. I had no idea, but found out from a starbucks employee in the shop nearby, then pointed them in the right direction. Now I know where it is. Soon after that I made it out of the station, walked through the old doors onto the streets of NYC and was greeted by a rush of adrenaline. Sara and Jeff drove by, I hopped into their van, and our expedition together began. Our day together happened to be Sara's birthday! It was such a pleasure to be with someone who knows me so well, on such a special day, sharing a fantastic first time experience. Our first challenge was finding a parking spot that was safe, somewhat conveniently located around where we would be exploring, and not ridiculously expensive. Jeff found one! We bundled up, gathered our necessary supplies for the day, and headed out into the city.
Our stops, from what I remember were: random food markets, a few gift shops, a group of street performers, Times Square, John's pizza(est. 1929), Central Park, the subway, Ground Zero, The World Financial Center(there were shops and restaurants inside), a bay where we were able to see the Statue of Liberty(pretty far away, but close enough to tell what it was), Tiffany's Jewelry Store, The Trump Tower, Crumb Bakery, then back to Grand Central Station for me to catch the train back home. I hope to make it down to the city a few more time in the next few months. If any of you are in the area, let me know and we can explore it together!