travel philosophy

Before I travel, I usually check out all the travel books and online recommendations available. It makes for a pretty good plan, and while some spontaneity is vital,  it's nice to know there won't be some giant thing I miss, only to realize it when I've come back home already. But at the same time, I think it's kind of dangerous to plan too much because you form an idea of a place before you experience it, and to my experience, very few places match what you imagine them to be. When you let a place just be, rather than try to make it match your expectations, it's suddenly much more beautiful than you could have dreamt. 

This quote encapsulates my feelings about the pros and cons of travel planning:

I was glad I hadn’t known about this beforehand. If I’d stuck to my usual method of over-preparation, I would have read all the details about [Montmartre and its] view. I would have seen professional photos. I would have heard the dissenting voices bemoaning the crowds and those pesky kids with their soccer ball. I would have been, I am sure, disappointed. 

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, especially in travel, where surprise and wonder and discovering the new are pretty much the entire reason for the endeavor.
   –Doug Mack, from Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day

from a perfect day in croatia, when I had absolutely zero expectations

What do you think? How do you strike the balance of just enough knowledge?