I’ve got less than a day to go, and I’ve barely begun packing.
Passport? Check.
Air ticket? With mum.
Currency? I need to find a currency exchange booth soon. Unless I’m Richard Gere, who can use a credit card in an Indian market and get away with it.
What’s the next most important thing? My iPod playlist, of course. Introducing my new playlists:
Paris Please
Music by artistes like Les Nubians, Air, Clementine and mixes from Hotel Costes and St Germain. Classic song that captures the laissez-faire essence of Paris: Sympathique by Pink Martini (I love it!).
Madrid Moods
More scarce here. Music by artistes like Marc Antoine, Gipsy Kings (yes, I’m that hard up), and even a Sade song, Fear. Classic song: Madrid by Marc Antoine.
London Living
Looking at the weather forecast, I immediately picked London in the Rain by Variety Lab (Hotel Costes 4). I felt that this playlist should sound more ‘chill-out’ rather than Spice Girls or S Club, so I threw in some Thievery Corporation even though they’re Yanks, because they have an Outernational Sound quite befitting the cosmopolitan nature of London. Also added a few tracks by The Quiet Boys.
I have another playlist, Brit Rock, which covers almost everything – Blur, Coldplay, Oasis, Radiohead, The Cure, Suede, my favourite Tears For Fears. Finally I have a really old playlist called Bristol Memories which basically has all the music I listened to when I was in Bristol, like Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, Stereo MCs and acid jazz artistes like Omar. That should be enough.
Next, I need to pack geek stuff. My O2 mini charger and USB cable, my Ixus camera charger.
Travel books on Paris and Madrid.
Umbrella. Sunglasses. Jacket.