Monday 2 January - Boston

At Macy's and the Gap today, with Libe in full shop mode (not for the first or last time!). Macy's give all foreigners a 11% discount at each store, on top of the 15% nice face discount which you may also get (and Libe received today). Like Myer, Macy's appears to have become just one giant discount store, as everything apparently is 'on sale'.

The other Vitale secondee, Becky Wheeler (from Birmingham, England), arrived today. I think I'll have give her a nickname. Either "Free" (as in 'free wheeler'), or "Reece" (as in Reece Wheeler, the jockey who famously rode champion stayer Bold Bard to an outstanding but unlucky 16th in the 2003 Melbourne Cup). She'll be giving Libe a relief from all my bad jokes for the next 3 months.