A local day today, to take some time out and get some housekeeping stuff done. I did a test pack of all my belongings in the morning, wrapped all the breakable things in bubble wrap (that would be the beautiful antique plates I have bought here, as well as some exquisite modern champagne glasses). The good news is, I don't need to buy another bag, but those bags are now FULL and I have a rather cumbersome bag of breakables for my hand luggage. The shopping comes to 3 pairs of shoes (and two throw outs), a handbag, cosmetics (and those fabulous gift with purchase), and some clothes.

Once this is done, I make my way to bronxville - I find a book I've read good reviews about and look forward to an afternoon of reading. I mooch around the village until its time for lunch. There's a coffee shop that sells beans and looks pretty serious, but I cannot finish my cappuccino :( missing good coffee but not long to go now. I have better luck with my lunch restaurant, owned by afghanis, I have some mushrooms stuffed with spiced mince and yogurt, and chicken and orzo soup - so good!

I then go and make use of Starbucks free wifi and get caught up on emails. I am having lots of problems trying to confirm if my train to conneticut will be affected or not, I will go and see Amtrak in person during the week to make sure there are no issues! (There was a derailment and collision on the line that has affected northbound trains) I do a bit of online research about visiting the hamptons and the north forks wineries, but it's not looking easy to do as a day trip, or with the wineries, without a car, which kinda defeats the point of going. More research will be required.

There's a local cinema in bronxville so I grab a ticket for The Great Gatsby. I never read the book at school, but I knew it is from the Art Deco era and it is a visually stunning film (the costumes! The cars! The hair!). I thought it was the best film Baz had done in ages!