This is just one outfit

One of the downsides of being (married to) a teacher is that if you want to go somewhere for longer than two weeks, you will always have to go in December/January. So we're pretty much going to see half the world in winter. Really winter. I just checked the weather forecast for New York and we are looking at a pleasant-sounding 37 degrees fahrenheit as the maximum for our first day there... which is actually a rather frightening 2.7 degrees celsius. Snow is forecast for our second day.

How will we cope? We'll see. I've had lots of advice from Australian friends: 'don't wear flat-soled shoes, the cold goes straight up through your feet' (oh yes, I'm definitely going to wear high heels while travelling with a toddler); 'make sure you have one of those big puffy coats' (have coat, don't have puff); and 'layers, layers, layers' (yes, yes, yes). Meanwhile, a few American acquaintances have enjoyed to pooh-pooh the whole concept of being cold in New York's mild December climes, which is lovely and comforting, but I don't quite believe them. Who do I believe, the ones that know? Or the ones that know what it's like to be a total wuss in the cold? We'll find out soon enough.