Tony makes an offer I can't refuse.

Of course, an offer to come hang out with me (and with Jeff, and Kyle, two of his high school friends) is pretty hard to refuse, particularly when there are decadent dinner plans and promises of good bottles of wine in the mix. After a Saturday night at a French restaurant in the East Village, I met up with the three boys on Sunday morning for a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

We walked from Jeff's apartment, which took ages (no one seemed to know where we were going, despite that fact that our party contained two geologists, who I'd always assumed knew how to find their way around, as well as two iPhones). It was worth it though. The picture above is taken with Manhattan behind us and Brooklyn in front.

This is the Manhattan Bridge. Although we had trouble finding the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, we seemed to come across the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge every few blocks. This should give you an idea of the straightness of our trajectory.

This is looking back at Manhattan after we'd crossed the halfway point. The bridge takes about 20 minutes to get across. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous - high 60's and clear. Unfortunately, New Yorkers are no dummies, and it was pretty crowded walking across as everyone scrambled to take advantage of the unseasonal weather.

Well, it was mostly clear. If you peer into the hazy area to the left of the buildings, you can just make out an unimpressive darkish protrusion that is actually the Statue of Liberty. This picture is a testament to the beauty of New York, and also my inability to adequately control exposure on my camera.

Anthony was delighted to take this picture with me. He did not once threaten to throw my camera off the bridge if I took one more picture, or suggest that an action shot of him strangling me would be a nice way to remember our afternoon. The Sears Tower and the Chrystler Building are behind us. (You may have to take my word for this.)

The intrepid explorers arrived in Brooklyn at last, famished, and staggered into a breakfast joint Jeff was fond of to land ourselves at the bottom of a 45-minute wait list. Nothing a few bloody Marys didn't fix, however, and there was a pool table and an outstanding live band (yes, at breakfast-time on a Sunday) as well as plenty of people who are way hipper than I'll ever be to gawk at. All of this served nicely to pass the time until we were seated and could inhale our meals. Above, admire Jeff's form as he flags down a cab for our much quicker and much more expensive trip back to Manhattan.

A great visit from Anthony, and a great time in NYC.