The Last Post...

... well, didn't quite make it the next day, and I am also of course typing this whilst back in London. Millions of excuses, none of them interesting.
Leaving NY was all very flurried and I still think I must have left things in the apartment that I will only realise are missing two years from now. My last night in NY (Wednesday night 29th November) turned into a blur. I had to leave work early to do one last run through Sephora to load up on Dr Brandt stuff and Philosophy for my various friend's orders, and then get home to finish packing. One suitcase I had not even unpacked from when I came back from Australia, but then looking at my one remaining empty suitcase, and the pile of things that needed to go into it, I realised that the suitcase would need to assume Tardis proportions to do what it needed to do. So first idea was to start throwing things away. But when I had a pile of hardly worn shoes, and other rather necessary things, when I was conscious that in the already packed suitcases I had mismatched socks and trousers that no longer fit, I decided I had to buy another bigger suitcase.
This is where convenience in NY comes into its own. The time was 5:45pm. I was due to meet my good drinking buddies at about 6pm, and I needed a suitcase. So I bolted out the door and down the road 8 blocks to Filenes Basement. Bought the suitcase, wheeled it back up to the apartment, opened it ready to be packed (at some point between the 6:05pm that it now was, and the 5:15am when the car would pick me up to go to the airport). Then I turned straight around and hobbled down the road to meet up with the lovely friends. I decided since it was my last night that we should celebrate. Between the three of us we had 3 bottles of Veuve Clicquot, and then rolled over to Il Bastardo on 7th avenue for some food. Very nice dinner and a bottle of red later we were ready for a cocktail for the road... So to make a long messy story shorter, I got back to the apartment at about 1am and then packed the suitcase. it seemed like everything fitted in...
Now, I have no weighing scales at home, and was now the proud possessor of 4 suitcases of varying sizes. This was all fine into the car downstairs, and then got a (squeaky of course) trolley at the airport to get to checkin. Although I was flying premium economy, I get to checkin at the first class desks because of FF status. Now, the baggage limits for BA transatlantic flights are 2 bags, each weighing up to 32 kilos. I had 4 heavy bags. I was so nervous that the largest one would be over 32 kilos, as how could I repack it into the other bags, which were smaller but equally heavy? Luckily enough the suitcases were, respectively, 27kg, 24kg, 23kg and 21kg... Not bad!! The excess baggage charge was USD100 per bag, which i thought was quite reasonable actually - imagine what it would cost to airmail a 27kg suitcase from NY to London - more that USD100 I can assure you!
So the next worry was customs at London. For some reason by baggage actually came through fairly promptly, and for the first time EVER in London, I had to get a baggage trolley. Loading the bags I should say is quite a feat. I laid the largest one across the trolley, with the two medium suitcases next to each other on the next level, and the smaller suitcase on top, holding down the middle two. My cabin bag was then hung from the back of the trolley. And of course the trolley squeaked ... I could barely see over the top of the uppermost suitcase. I saw 4 customs guys in the Nothing to Declare channel as I walked through, and none of them even batted an eyelid at me! Amazing really. Not that I am complaining.
So it seems as though NY was all a dream now. Driving to the airport in the early morning was quite nostalgic, and at least when I visit now I know where to go, and have my favourite haunts, but I am happy to be back in London. For those of you interested in my rantings and ravings on being back in London, and the potential trials of dealing with a builder, please go to http://sindyinlondon.blogspot.com
Nice knowing y'all!