This morning (super early) I'm flying to Pisa, for a week long holiday chilling with my family. From Pisa we will hire a car, drive to a tiny village in the mountains and hole ourselves away in our villa with books, food and copious amounts of prosecco. Priorities, guys, priorities.
I am more than a little excited to be heading to Italy, by far my favourite country in the world. Way back in 2010 my best friend and I spent five weeks travelling Italy so being back there and revisiting Florence, Siena and Pisa is going to bring back some truly amazing memories. I'm hoping I still have enough memory of the language to get by, too (I took some classes before travelling to alleviate the anxiety - worked a treat!).
But before we actually step foot on Italian soil, there is the flight. Flying and I have a turbulent relationship (pun most certainly intended). I loved it as a kid, until I was around 18 and I went to Paris in a tiny prop-plane and hit serious serious turbulence. Even my Dad was worried. And if my Dad, as a pilot, is worried, then I'm freaking out. Since then I've been pretty terrified of flying. It's getting better and I had a long-haul flight to New York that went some way to curing me, but I still do get those tummy flips when they call passengers for boarding.
I deal with that anxiety by being prepared. I like to know exactly what I'm doing, where I've got to be and at what time. I spend ages planning my hand luggage, and prep my little clear plastic bag for my liquids in advance. Then comes in-flight entertainment - the most important part. As well as a host of magazines (Women's Running and the Literary Review), I pack my ipod which is full of music, audiobooks and the odd podcast. This year I have also downloaded a ton of TED Talks to enjoy mid-flight (I'm addicted to TED Talks). Finally, I'm taking along Lady Audley's Secret (I suspect I'll reach the denouement and be much enthused and thoroughly in love with sensation fiction all over again), and my kindle packed full of books. I think that'll do me for a two hour long flight. There's no such thing as being over-prepared (or so I tell myself).
How do you cope with flying, if you're a Nervous Nelly like me?
