We came back to our hotel to change for a special celebration--our 19th Wedding Anniversary.....

And we headed out to my favorite part of the city--Greenwich Village................

To a very special restaurant in a part of the village that retains many structures from colonial days................

Our restaurant--One if by Land, Two if by Sea has been named New York's most romantic restaurant for many years in a row. It is situated in an ancient building that was Aaron Burr's carriage house in the 18th century...............

We arrived very early for our reservations, so Dwight is studying the menu to figure out the possible damage to his wallet...............

Next door is another old carriage house that is now a trendy pub...............

Dwight has loved the West Village ever since we stayed here years ago at the Washington Square Hotel....................

We have about an hour to kill so we decided to explore this section of the village......including this curious marker on the sidewalk..............

Charm abounds in the west Village...............

This place looked so quaint that we hope to eat here on another trip.................

This particular street is lined with restaurants and clubs.............

Dwight strikes a cool pose before a cute pub.....................

A nice fountain on a traffic triangle.............

Up close..............

A few New Yorkers take a break and time "to smell the roses"...............

But Diana has spotted a church across the street that she hopes to explore............

It is a BEAUTIFUL Catholic Parish Church..............

With lovely relics...........

stained glass...............

A painted ceiling.....................

And some imagery that reminds me of Northern New Mexico.............

I lost some color lightening this painting............

The patron of the church--St. Caeten.........

The streets are narrow in the village................

This doorway could be where Isabella Robles--the heroine of the novel I wrote in my head--might live in her New York Days in the late 60s..................

You can dress a girl up, but you can't get her out of her Z-Coil shoes...............

Dwight's starting to get hungry and the smells from this restaurant are tempting.............

Another village street winds out of sight..................

A quiet summer afternoon in the west village...................

In Sheridan Square, these statues commemorate the role that this area played in the Gay Liberation Movement.......................

The site of the Stonewall Inn is across the street and this weekend this will be the site of a huge Gay Pride parade...........................

But we're returning to Barrow street and "One If By Land, Two If By Sea"..................

Another stop for another day..............................

Bleeker Street is another area worth exploring..............................

Lovely flowers greet us at our restaurant.............................................

A stylish bar.....................................

The furnishings are in keeping with the colonial roots of the building.......................

The web site for the restaurant says that it averages several marriage proposals a week............

Out the windows a lovely interior garden beckons................................

We are delighted with the entire experience. We asked for Gabe Archuleta--one of my former students and a good friend of Giano's who has completed culinary school and is working here, but it was his night off. In honor of Gabe, the management sent us many extra culinary delights and the Chef came out to meet us..............fun!!.........................

Everything is delicious at "One if By Land".....................

The view out our window...........................

Fresh white roses on our table!........................

And the Chef sent us special surprise.........................................

Two special Anniversary desserts........................

Each more delicious than the other........................

"I do!" "I do!" for at least another 19 years....................

And so ends a very special and sentimental day!