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?
Have fun in Italy! I've always wanted to go but haven't yet, one day I will get there...
ReplyDeleteHope the flight was better than you were anticipating it would be :)
I'm not too bad with flights, but I am ALWAYS the one that spills my drink down myself when there's an inevitable little flurry of turbulence juuuuuuust as the nice lady's poured me a cup of something hot from the trolley. My biggest flight panic isn't the flight itself, it's the possibility of other people around me (especially kids) being horrifically travel sick during take off or landing when they can't go lock themselves in the toilet like normal people. Nope, nope, nope.
ReplyDeleteI definitely find the airport more stressful, especially security, and I obsessively pack my hand luggage and check security restrictions by airport and read forums about any item I'm not 100% sure about. I don't have ANY liquids in my hand luggage because I'm too paranoid about it, I just buy a bottle of water in departures, and I make sure I know exactly what to do if I have my fold-up cane with me, and I even take my hair down and put my hair elastics in my bag for the security screening because the little metal thing in the middle always sets the detector off.
You're not the only one, is what I'm saying. Better to be prepared and feel okay about it than be panicking all the way round, as far as I'm concerned. And YES BOOKS AND IPOD SHIZZLE. I tried to listen to some podcasts on the way to Croatia but the engines were too loud - we were right on the wing - fortunately I had my book (and a spare, and a puzzle book, OBVIOUSLY), so all was good. :)
Oh, and ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY, BELLA! I should probably have started with that, tbh. Books and prosecco in a villa sounds wonderful. :D
DeleteHave a safe flight, and have a wonderful trip!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a nervous flyer, but I have a lot of your issues so fine she usually painful for me. Later this month I'm flying to Australia and New Zealand and there will be tons of little flights, so I'm definitely not looking forward to that. Have an incredible time in Italy! I love that country
ReplyDeleteFlying in the big jets reminds me of Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree, where when you climbed the tree you'd find a different land. To me, flying is like The Faraway Tree except, instead of climbing the tree you sit in a comfortable chair, read, eat, tipple and watch a movie. And at the end of the journey the doors open and "a new land" is waiting for you to explore. magical!
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