A visit from Verne

Verne had business meetings in Harrisburg & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the week of March 3-7. Because it is very close to DC (about a 2 hours drive), he flew into DC to enjoy 1 day of sightseeing before driving up to PA. His coworker Nadia was also here for the meetings, so I took both of them around to the various historical sites in the city, including Arlington Cemetery, the National Archives, Supreme Court, Capitol building, Lincoln Memorial, & the Smithsonian Air & Space museum (which Verne was very excited about).

A week later on Friday evening, I took the Chinatown bus up to Philadelphia and spent the night there so that Verne and Nadia could check out the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution was signed. On Saturday afternoon, Verne and I left Nadia and drove to New York City to stay a few days in our hotel in Times Square (yes, miraculously, I was able to get a discounted rate at the Marriott Marquis). On Sunday morning, we went to church in the building where the Manhattan Temple is located and then spent the day taking in the Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera House, Central Park (where we watched a skating competition on the park rink), 5th Avenue's elite shops (ie., Tiffany's), Rockefeller Center, St. Patricks Cathedral, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Wall Street, Trinity Church, the World Trade Center site, Chinatown, and Little Italy. On Monday morning before Verne flew to Utah (to spend a few days before returning to Italy), we went to the top of the Empire State Building to check out the view of the whole city. We lucked out with the weather. Though the wind was freezing cold, the skies were sunny and blue. Thanks Verne for coming out to visit. It was fun spending time with you.