Scenes from the weekend.

JR's Inside Out New York City- Oh how I wish I would have had my picture taken for this! 

Times Square. 

Grand Central and the Chrysler Building. 

My favorite peanut butter fudge pretzel Italian ice from Ralph's. 

Breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel. 

Sockerbit candy stop. 

7th Annual Dance Parade

One of my favorite rooms in the MET- Degas. 

The Mall in Central Park. 

When I first moved to New York City back in 2003, my family took turns visiting me in my new home. We explored the city together, discovering new restaurants, shops, and streets with every visit. My little brother Lucas visited for the first time in August before my sophomore year of college. Unfortunately for him, most of his time was spent helping me settle into my first off-campus apartment downtown and making countless trips to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Poor guy. So, during his second visit to the city this past weekend, I treated it like his first.

On Friday night we caught up over dinner in Butcher Bar's back garden. The weather was absolutely perfect that night, and I am so glad we took advantage of being outside as much as possible before the rain arrived Saturday afternoon. After dinner, we walked through midtown and then made our way down Lexington Ave. to Ralph's for a late night treat. On Saturday we had breakfast at Brooklyn Bagel, walked The Highline, and wandered around the West Village. That night we saw live music on the Lower East Side at The Living Room, which was really fun. After two sets, we concluded the evening at Katz's deli with the most delicious pastrami sandwich on rye. On Sunday morning we battled the rain while most New Yorkers opted to stay in their pajamas all day. We walked across the bridge, indulged in a brisket sandwich at the Brooklyn Smorgasburg, toured several galleries at the MET, and walked the southern end of Central Park from 84th Street down to 59th Street. By Sunday night we were both exhausted, so we decided to order in Indian food instead of making the trip to Jackson Heights. It was a wonderful weekend, and I am excited to spend one more day with Lucas before he flies back to Chicago tomorrow night!