One week from tomorrow I get on another plane and fly to America. It seems only yesterday that I came back from the States. Indeed in the past 8 weeks I have been to Florida, Connecticut, New York, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam (twice) and now in the space of seven days I will be in Ohio, Connecticut, New York and back to London. Anyone would think I enjoyed spending time at airports and on planes.
I am going to Ohio to attend my nephew's wedding. This promises to be a real family affair. My kids are coming from California, my cousins from New York and all of my brother's family, too. Just a small gathering of 250+ people in Cincinnatti for the weekend.
Meanwhile I am trying to catch up on my life. It seems to be running away from me much too quickly. Funny how things change. Last week I was wishing my life away and wallowing in a bath of self-pity and this week I want more life, more time, more everything. This roller coaster needs to even out for a while and smoothly land here at home. I am still doing laundry from last week's trip to Holland, how can I get my head round the idea of traveling again?
Over the past 40 years have learned some small tips to help make traveling easier.
1. Take half the clothing you think you need - lay everything out, look at it all critically, will you actually wear that wonderful ruffled skirt that needs special shoes to go with it? Speaking of shoes - take only two pair, no matter what the temptation is to take more. You always buy shoes, wherever you go.
2. Take only three colours - ok, maybe four. I mostly take black, grey and some accent colour, but it all coordinates and can be worn together. So what if I spend every holiday looking like a Greek widow, at least I match.
3. If going to a developed country, or a city, don't bother with more than the first day's shampoo and conditioner. You can always buy more when you arrive and also, leave it when you return so your case is lighter.
4. Take the minimum amount of make-up, especially when going to the States. You know you will buy more when you're there. All those huge drug stores and those vibrating mascaras are too tempting to resist.
5. Carry on as little as possible - a book, an iPod, passport, tickets, camera and valuables are more than enough. If you're delayed at the airport there is nothing more annoying than having to wheel along some heavy carry-on luggage in airport restaurants.
6. Check in your luggage. I hate carrying suitcases around the airport and I have far more time to wait at the airport before take-off than it takes at the other end of the flight to wait for my bag. This is my personal preference. My time is valuable, but the state of my back is even more valuable and to shop unencumbered is nice.
7. Register for the IRIS scanning thingy - it means that when there are crowds at Immigration you get to sail through simply by batting your eyes at a machine.
8.Take public transport to the airport. It's usually very reliable and you can check the journey timings in advance. It makes me pretty nuts to sit in traffic on a crowded road wondering if I'll be at the airport on time.
9.Take a reliable suitcase. I learned last week from bitter experience what a pain it is to try and travel with a broken suitcase.
This last point means I will be spending one day of my precious weekend shopping for a suitcase. Now I have more decisions to make - four wheels or two. Four wheels seem to move easier, but tend to run away when you turn your back. Expensive or cheap - cheap wears out quickly but if it's damaged in transit, who cares. So much to think about and so little time.
Really, nothing makes travel bearable. Arriving is great, but until I can afford first or business class travel, it's all pretty stressful. So think of me next week, scrunched into my economy seat, with one of those cheap inflatable cushions wedged in around my neck, staring at a 6" movie screen set into the back of a seat, while some long-legged passenger shoves their knees into my back and my wide hips and very large bottom are wedged into a narrow seat for 8 hours. Think of me climbing over people to use a chemical toilet after having eaten cardboard tasting food from a cardboard tray with plastic cutlery and then trying to close my eyes and sleep covered with the thinnest, scratchiest excuse for a blanket I have ever seen.
I can't wait.
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