Saturday, I closed my eyes and tapped my heels together three times and thought to myself, ‘There’s no place like home’.
270 minutes after making my wish, I was home.
Hello, New York City.
Off the plane, transported through heavy traffic, I walked into my NYC home, dropped my carry on and hit a radiant Central Park, blooming in shades of green, pink, purple, yellow and orange.
![Tulipa in Central Park](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4711.jpg)
![Bow Bridge Central Park](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4715.jpg)
The Park was overflowing with tourists and the green beach at Sheep Meadow was overrun with locals who were reveling in summerlike temperatures.
We walked as fast and as far as we could to rid the legs of air travel fatigue.
Home again, we quickly unpacked and headed to Amber for sushi. The moon was full, the air clear and humidity free. I felt alive again.
Nothing like a dose of NYC to invigorate the soul.
Sunday dawned clear and a picture perfect morning for a walk through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
![Barn Psycho on Rooftop of the MET](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4733.jpg)
On the top of the list was seeing the Transitional Object (PsychoBarn) on the rooftop of the MET.
With one foot in reality and one in fiction, PsychoBarn by British artist Cornelia Parker merges two American architectural symbols: a Dutch red barn with reclaimed wood from American farms and the sinister house on the hill from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film, Psycho.
![Barn Psycho on Rooftop of the MET](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4724.jpg)
![Elephant Mask in Vishnu Exhibit](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4744.jpg)
We sauntered through the Vishnu exhibit and other areas of the museum that we rarely peruse.
The exhibition highlights rare wood sculptural masks which were worn in dramas staged in temple settings.
![Escargots at Orsay](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4753.jpg)
We headed to the upper east side to brunch outside on escargot at Orsay.
![Jesse Tyler Ferguson](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4761.jpg)
We then backtracked to Times Square to catch Jesse Tyler Ferguson in the hilarious play, Fully Committed.
Ferguson plays a reservationist at one of New York’s trendiest restaurants. He assumes the role of no less than 40 parts and focuses in on the cast of desperate callers who badger, bribe and threaten him for reservations.
Fully Committed is 90 minutes of non-stop laughs and relatable dialogue at the Lyceum Theatre on 149 West 45th Street. It runs through July 24th, 2016.
![Brooklyn Bridge](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4775.jpg)
We then hiked downtown towards SoHo…the goal being to walk to our absolute favorite restaurant, Sociale, in Brooklyn Heights.
![Bryant Park](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4763-2.jpg)
![Madison Square Park](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4768.jpg)
We navigated Fifth Avenue through Bryant Park to Madison Square Park.
![Washington Square Park](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4770.jpg)
Then onto to the Flatiron district to Washington Square Park, through SoHo, down Broadway to Court Street and the government buildings.
![Freedom Tower](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4772.jpg)
It afforded us a luscious view of the Freedon Tower, across the Brooklyn Bridge with a 360 degree view of midtown, the Empire State Building, to the left the Statute of Liberty and back down to the Manhattan Bridge.
What a glorious day to take in all of the island of Manhattan.
![Brooklyn Bridge](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4776.jpg)
13 1/2 miles and 32,000 steps later we arrived at the amazing Sociale Restaurant on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights.
Francesco warmly welcomed us despite his obligations to a packed house and the imminent arrival of 40 Italian tourists all craving his delicious hamburger and tirimisu.
Francesco turned us on to an unbelievable 2010 Brunello Di Montalcino, one of the best wines I have ever had the pleasure of drinking.
![Pasta Pomodoro](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4779.jpg)
Dinner included scallops, roasted vegetables, pasta pomodoro and fried mozzarella.
![Fried Mozzarella](https://ifthedevilhadmenopause.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4780.jpg)
Satiated, we hopped the 2 train and were back at our place on the upper west side in less than 30 minutes.
I cannot figure out why the Metro system is always in dire financial straits as ever car is filled to the brim day and night.
A mere 24 hours in NYC.
So much too do so little time. In Los Angeles, the past day would amount to a month worth of activities.
I know it is redundant, but I LOVE NY!!
Thank God they were so tired…actually they walked 1/10th of the distance you did and they were dying… while you were fresh, refreshing and wonderful as always.
(newyorkers are built of a different kind of material).