Its the small things

I do believe when travelling that is is the small details which matter. And I am not talking only of the tiny details of planning. Although those do matter, to me at least, which is why at 12.40 am last night I emailed my travel agent to say that on a flight in mid-January I had been allocated middle and aisle seats when I had requested aisle and aisle. But that is another story about OCD which is for a different post.

What I am talking about is the small accumulation of experiences which make up travel. The infrastructure of a trip can be set out in advance but it is the small collections of accidental experiences which really make a trip.

For example, a while ago we drove from New York to Boston via the Berkshires. We stumbled on a little place called Kent, Connecticut where we stopped for tea. It was a perfect clapboard image of the East Coast and the first thing we both recall when remembering that fortnight's trip. I don't know - and do not want to know- all the small things I am going to encounter in the next three months. (Although I am fairly sure than some of them are going to be fat quarter sized small). But I do know that tomorrow I am going to appreciate the fact that one of the films on the flight is Julie and Julia which I wanted to see, but missed. After all the rush of work and getting ready I am very much looking forward to sitting still and reading and watching films en route to San Fransisco.

How do I know that? Well, I am packed, checked in for the flights tomorrow, have confirmed our seat allocation on all flights for three months ahead and now have nothing better to do than enjoy sweating the small details! Now, to check out the spa treatments at Heathrow....