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Published: March 11th 2008
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I have a love/hate relationship with aiports. At times, airports can be among my most favourite places in the world...I love the arrivals bay where you experience (either first-hand or by osmosis) all the happy meet and greet cheer. Then of course there's the thrill of the departures bay where excitement looms about the adventure ahead. Conversely, bidding farewell to loved ones can be absolutely heart-wrenching as we experienced when we said goodbye to our own loved ones coming to this side, and arriving in a foreign land can feel incredibly lonely. However, my most recent airport experience was absolute 'class' (as one of my three year old clients would say) as Adam and I were reunited with our dear friends Leah and Tony in the baggage reclaim hall at Barcelona airport. It was one of those rare occasions where our mutual arrival on flights from differing countries was perfectly timed. A sure sign of good things to come!
Our time together in Barcelona did indeed live up to expectation. The sun shining, the sangria flowing and delicous spanish tapas combined with lots of laughter and frivolity made for good times. We spent long, lazy days wandering through
the meandering streets of Barcelona's cathedral district, which though noisy and crowded, were still inviting to our intrepid aussie crew. The architectural genius of Gaudi, evident throughout the city, tugged at the strings of our imagination as we visited Park Gruell and the magnificent Sagrada Familia...a masterpiece in the making for well over a hundred years and still to be in the making for several decades yet! I can't describe in words how bizarre yet beautiful this temple is. Think vaulted ceilings, towers, geometric glass and mosaics capitalising on the interplay of light and colour and essentially vastness..and you're still not even close to grasping the wonder of this creation. Its breathtaking.
We flew on then to the city of lights, the ever beautiful Paris, which was even more stunning bathed in an Autumn glow. I imagine Paris to be magnificant at any time of the year- being the truly majestic city that it is-but I find it hard to imagine more splendour than that which greeted us. Being firm believers in the need to explore new territory on foot (to truly get a sense of a place) was a fortunate attribute to possess during our time
here as 24hour industrial action on the metro system left little other option. And so, like so many times before, we strolled away our days 'simply breathing it in'. We sat in parks near the Lourve, watching the the changing autumn leaves fall from tree to ground, where they lay left to bask in golden sunlight now peeping through the empty branches. The array of colour was spectacular, the air was crisp and smelt like apple, and the crunch of leaves underfoot reminded me of childhood, encouraging a sense of playfulness. Outdoor installations throughout major parks only further enhanced this-At one stage I came face to face with a huge elephant installation balancing on his trunk (and I had to succumb my overwhelming urge to attempt to climb this delightful creation!) We visited the fantastic Musee D'Orsay, a true salute to artists of the impressionist period which is fast becoming my most favourite art period, and climbed the Arc De Triomphe for a view of the craziest roundabout imaginable. After our previous bad luck of inclemant weather on our last climb of the Eiffel Tower, we were determined to see the sites at their best and braved the crowds to
head up in time for sunset over the city. It was simply magic. There was a brief instant where the light from the sun dssapated, leaving dusky city streets in all directions, and one by one we saw the first lights come on until the city was at last lit up!
Our final stop with our lovely friends was old London town. The energy of this city never ceases to impress and was made even more engaging as we were blessed with wonderful sunny days! The highlight of this leg was definitely our venture to the west end where we saw the show 'Avenue Q', the most politically incorrect yet hilariously side splitting spectacle I've ever seen. I have never laughed so hard and looking over at Adam and our friends during the performance, it certainly seemed a huge hit with all. Saying goodbye to Leah and Tony was incredibly sad when the time came..Being the huge wuss that I am (and bearing in mind my aforementioned dislike of airport farewells) we vetoed the trip to Heathrow and simply let the good old tube carry us away to our differing destinations. When the tears had subsided though,
I was left with a huge smile thinking of our days of sunshine and sangria enroute to Avenue Q...
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