Baggage

You'll be pleased to know the baggage in today's post isn't emotional baggage, it is new baggage in preparation for my trip to New York with Sam at Easter!

See how red it is! They had a nice grey one too but it had hideous yellow wheels. It was also discounted so it only cost £15. You can see my unmade bed in the background. Very soon I shall put the blue fleecy blanket away because it will be warm again and I won't need it any more.

So I went shopping after school today to get the bag I just told you all about. I left school promptly and was at Braintree Freeport Outlet Shopping Centre by 1640 or there abouts. Having swiftly decided on the luggage I wished to purchase I also had time to have a hot chocolate in Thornton's Cafe, a browse of the bra section in M&S (nothing doing; I'll have to look in a proper M&S at the weekend), a trip to the Cadbury shop to buy a bag of misshapes, and a trip to Julian Graves who had an "Everything Half Price" day going on. So I bought some sundried tomatoes.

I then treated myself to dinner. I think it might be the first time I've had a proper restaurant meal on my own. I had Mexican Paella, and it was yummy. While I was waiting for my food, and indeed while I was shovelling forkfuls in (I have no table manners, particularly if I'm eating alone and thus not trying to impress anyone) I read a large chunk of my Lonely Planet New York City guide. I'm starting to get a much better feel for what New York will be like and what I want to see and do while I'm there. Good job really, as we're going in just over a fortnight.