I always love spending time in NYC and with such a limited amount of it, I hit the ground running once I got settled into my hotel. This is a view from the 36th floor, by the way. I stood on the couch (barefoot, of course) and got some pretty cool shots with my phone.

It wasn’t exactly the warmest of weather, 20s with some brutal wind to be precise, so I bundled up like the former Minnesotan that I am and headed out in search of a slice of New York pizza. I purposely skipped breakfast so I’d be starving, and it didn’t take long before I zeroed in on the perfect piece of white pizza, hot, crispy and adorned with just a few ribbons of basil, olive oil and yes, a healthy amount of cheesy goodness.

In total carb and cheese heaven, what I really wanted to do was take a nap, but when you’re in a fabulous place, you owe it to yourself to explore. The people watching alone is worth the three-hour flight. In addition to overhearing some fascinating conversations about everything from varying theories on global warming to why superheroes would make better elected officials than who’s currently running the world to why Instagram is way, way better than Facebook, I couldn’t help but smile. People are endlessly fascinating.

After a few hours of running around, my friend Emma joined me for tapas at a place she’d been dying to try for months, Boqueria. As it turns out, it was a total find. Lemme just say that I’m a big fan of little plates like these. Not only were we able to try everything from octopus to creamy croquettes to baby squid served with tomato confit and crispy shallots, but the portions were so perfect that we didn’t even feel bad about ordering two desserts to share. Note: If you’re ever in the neighborhood, try the churros that you dip in thick, rich hot chocolate—trust me, you’ll be in love.

Beyond stuffed, Emma and I headed back to the hotel to watch Scandal when we bumped into (not literally, thankfully) one of the show’s stars. As I was making a joke about how heavy the door was, Scott Foley (a.k.a. Noel from another of my favorite shows, Felicity) was heading out and commented on how much of a monster that door was, too. And no, I didn’t ask for a picture. Or autograph. Or if he’s still bummed that Felicity chose Ben instead of him.

Totally random but fun. I wonder if he was heading somewhere to watch himself on TV.

The next morning was the “work” part of the trip, which consisted of watching the upcoming Russell Crowe movie, Noah. When I sat down in my seat, I had no idea what to expect but thoroughly enjoyed it. Darren Aronofsky, the same guy who made Black Swan, The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream directed it, so as you can imagine, the visuals are otherworldly. I’m not at liberty to say much more than that (don’t want to be a spoiler), but it’s totally worth checking out on the big screen when it opens on Friday, March 28. Stay tuned for my feature on Crosswalk, too.

Not surprisingly, the trip was a total whirlwind to say the least. I was back in the considerably warmer DFW by 9:00 p.m. on Friday night. But one of the many things I love about NYC is that you can visit again and again and have a totally different trip every time. To wit, I didn’t even venture beyond Soho, and it was so much fun.