It’s hard to write a travel blog when you’re not traveling. So I spent the week looking at New York as a traveler (and celebrating my birthday over and over and over again). A few things I learned …

No one actually wants to take your photo when you ask them on the street:

Friday night, on my actual birthday, I went to Cipriani with a couple friends. Good food, great atmosphere, superb people watching. As we were leaving, we asked a group of very fabulous French girls who were standing outside smoking if one of them would take our photo. “Sure,” one finally said. She took a puff, took a shot, looked at the back of the camera and began gushing about how cute the photo was. “Oh, you look so good,” she said, hoping we wouldn’t ask for another. She handed the camera back, we got in a cab and were on our way. Then, we looked at the photo.

New York is beautiful when it snows, which it did Friday morning. Since I moved to NY almost nine years ago, it has snowed almost every year on February 22.

For those of us who believe in magic, and especially for those of us who believe in magic and are super nerds, this place is as close to the Hogwarts library as you’re gonna get … the Conjuring Arts Research Center on 30th Street and Fifth Avenue. Check it out. Check out a book. Check to make sure you still have your wallet on the way out the door.

And, finally … A week in the city ain’t so bad. Especially when you’re leaving for Puerto Rico at the end of it.