Home

Am home. Flight was fine and had the one spare seat of the whole flight next to me. Forgot laptop in restaurant at airport but rememberd when I was about to strap myself in, so ran off plane and back and luckily got it back.

Tired and hungry today. Was supposed to go straight on diet after two weeks of eating too much but guess it will have to wait. Its good to be home though.

Lazy days

Westchester mall was very nice. Large. EL will like it. B would love it. I found it a bit intimidating but made my way around most of it before heading back to the hotel to catch the late sunshine by the pool. Had sushi for lunch and dinner.

I have read quite a few books in the days I have been here, I really should have got a Barnes & Noble card the first day as I am a steady customer. Will need to visit before I head back on Wednesday so I have something to read on the plane...

I went to dinner with a collegue who flew in today from the UK, we have some big meetings next week. Its sooo nice to have company! I took him to this restaurant I had seen in Norwalk and we had some lovely food - scallops, prawns, clams and chip and corn on the cob. Finishing with a slice of cheesecake. Yum. Great restaurant that I look forward to coming back to, spending some hours sitting in the dockside bar drinking beer I think. Maybe not bring the car...

Dinner in NY

The plan was to work from the NY office yesterday, leave early and maybe go to a museum or so before meeting Amina and Katarina for dinner. But that plan was scuppered by meetings and more meetings, so I worked in Stamford til 4.30 then ran to the train and made it to the restaurant just in time for dinner.

It was lovely seeing some friends, everyone is very nice here but its not quite the same as being with friends. So we had a great dinner and then went to a pub across the street from their hotel. It served Magners so I felt quite at home.

On the train home I met a little old lady who had left her note book in her club and was fretting about this. Luckily a nice (and very handsome) man lent her his mobile so she could call and ask them to keep it for her. Highly amusing.

Today I am lazying in the hotelroom, planning to get some pampering done this morning and then do some driving around to improve my local knowledge. I am determined to try and find the beach so that is goal nr 1. And then possibly the Westchester mall.

Local food

I had Long Island Oysters as a starter this evening. Very nice.

Sightseeing

I still havent found the beach. Tried this morning but as my gps doesnt have a category for beach I had to rely on my map reading and that didnt work, unsurprisingly. I was close, I kept seeing glimpses of water in between the beautiful houses I drove past. But no actual beech.

So I went to Norwalk where I by chance spotted that there was a boat trip to a near by island at a couple of times a day (Sheffield Island). We barely made a large enough group but that was probably for the best as it made it a very peaceful trip. The island has an old light house on it, very quaint. It was incredibly restful to lie in the shade under a tree looking out over the water. I chatted a little to the others on the trip, two hungarians (I said my one word in hungarian: bor) and a british family with one nice child and one suuuper whingy crying child that luckily fell asleep after an hour or so.

On the way to and from the island we got to see some fantastic sea front villas that made me green with house envy. Apart from the cleaning and gardening and them being very large and dark at night.

Flowers

I left the garden completely full of roses, the climber is more apricot than green at the moment and the other roses have gone mental this year. Lovely. Wonder if they will all be done when I get back in two weeks... Am hoping the lavender out the front will have started flowring, taking over from the purple alliums that are so pretty now.

Living spaces

Two days in I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of admin required for a move. And I have plenty of help so dont even want to think of what it could be like. I spend a good hour by the scanner yesterday and now have a US and UK bank account set up - linked so I can pass money from one to the other for free. God bless HSBC.

I went on a house hunting trip this morning with a very nice Realtor and have found a great place! Its a bit pricey but I am thinking with all the work that needs to be done I will probably only have time for work and sleep so living well will be important. Its about 10-15 min walk from the office and 5-1o min walk to train station. And 5 min drive to the golf course...

Two bed, two bathrooms, washer /dryer in unit and a little balcony. Am now haggling on the start date and trying to get all the paper work done while I am here. I am looking forward to seeing our stuff in there though... The two bedrooms are lovely so have decided both double beds are coming along! The living / dining room is less spacious than we have today so need to have a think about what we bring. Something to discuss with JD when I get back.

Its sunny today so I am thinking its time I tried to find the beach. Shouldnt be a long drive and if I get lost I have gps. As I started the day with a swim in the part indoor part outdoor pool and then breakfast in room while I worked a little I am thinking an ice cream on the beach would make a great lunch.