A day trip to New York, New York

 Let me tell you something - I am one lucky lady.  Never has it been more apparent than coming home to America last week.  

After arriving in NY tired and with a heavy heart after leaving my sweet love - Annette, a friend I met in Mali, not only welcomed me into her home but also treated me to a delicious Indian dinner.  What a sweetheart!

Before

After

The next morning I woke up after a few hours of sleep to catch the train down to SoHo for my free haircut with Eli, a stylist in training at the Sam Brocato salon on Wooster Street.  What a treat!

Lunch with the beautiful and talented Claire

Then I met up with Claire, an RPCV from Cameroon, for lunch at Hampton Chutney which I found from perusing this blog.  So lovely to catch up on our lives over naan and pumpkin chutney!

Dinner with treasures of friends I met at Monica's wedding in Lebanon

 I worked up an appetite walking around SoHo looking for warmer clothes before meeting the four smiling faces seen above.  Aren't they cute??  Michelle, Yamil, Brian and Aneesa all came to Monica and Samer's wedding in Lebanon this past summer and we hit it off instantly.  I was so thrilled when they could meet for dinner at Le Zie (thanks for scouting the location Michelle)!

Drinks at Yamil's restaurant in SoHo

 After dinner Michelle, Yamil and I headed over to Kittichai for some drinks and Bambara (many of the staff and bartenders are Malian!).  It was fun to speak Bambara and have a few drinks in a fancy SoHo bar and pretend to be a grown-up!

Rabayah, another RPCV from Mali, welcomed me into her apartment after drinks.  I loved getting the chance to catch up even if I was barely functioning at that point since I was so exhausted.  You always have one more battery bar left in you when it comes to sweet friends, don't you??

Annette helped me pack up and kept me company until my metro left at 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning when I headed out for Richmond.  So many sweet friends I am so thankful to have - thank you to you all!