the washing machine's busy turning, the carparking is booked, the email confirming my flight has been read about 20 times (and printed twice) and my passport is safely in my camera bag. i'm off to switzerland again!. i thought after my second or third journey i would be a bit more blase about it but i go through this routine every time! (this being my fifth flight there in just over a year). I've decided to live a little bit wildly this time and not ordered my currency, prefering to get it at the airport (although i do have 120 francs saved from last time just in case!).
i even have my little routine right through my journey: load up my car, say bye to my dog, recheck luggage in car, double check that passport and wallet is in camera bag, drive to dundee, stop just outside of dundee to fill up car. buy some breakfast, drive towards edinburgh whilst eating breakfast, sing wildly till i get to dunfermline when singing turns to loud cursing as I see the almighty tailbacks heading towards forth bridge, start to sweat as i start worrying about missing flight, get to airport and wonder why i was worried about missing flight when check in hasn't even opened yet, check in, go to loo situated between check in and departures, go to departures, look in dixons shop in departures and think about buying mp3 player or personal cd player (if i'm feeling retro), wait and wait and wait for plane, get on plane, hope and pray that old people eating apples aren't going to sit next to me and curse myself for not buying cd player before, convince myself that 11.30am isn't too early for a whisky and coke, eat FAR too much chocolate, fall asleep, wake myself up by doing something embarrassing (trying to catch flies or speaking in my sleep are favourites) look out the window to see the approaching mountains and feeling the butterflys in my tummy awaken. start getting annoyed that flight is taking so long. pass through geneva airport in a blur. get shouted at my a man in french, sit on the train worrying about what is at the end of my journey. visit train loo countless times on journey to check that my hair and what remains of my make up is ok, feel my tummy tightening to a knot as a see the toblerone mountain and the lake, see the blurs on the platform take human form as the train slows to a stop, get of train and feel the butterflys disappear as i meet the embrace at my journeys end.
