Leigh in Azerbaijan

I arrived on a Lufthansa flight last night and Tanya arrived on Dodgy Brothers from Riga, Lativa at 5.30 this morning.  There were many things that could’ve gone wrong but she was delivered close to where I live. Despite the Azeri immigration site saying that passport photos could be obtained from the airport for US$6 it turned out to be 15 euros.  It would not be unusual if the difference went into someone’s pocket.

Tanya arrived at the airport in Lisbon two hours after I arrived so I waited for her.  The Collaboration in the PYP workshop in Lisbon was great, not least for the networking conversations.  We all eagerly went into the city at night, if we could, to see something of this old empire’s centre.  One of the things I loved about Lisbon was the numerous parks throughout.  Cathedrals and palaces were highly ornate with manueline art (named for the period of King Manuel) which is over-the-top 3D expression in angels, vines, trees.

In days following the workshop we went to three different towns near to Lisbon which showed some more former glory of Lisbon, Roman settlements and megaliths from thousands of years ago.

We travelled to Salzburg, where Suzanne and Franz (friends from Wartburg days) met us with a brief tour of the old part of town, including the convent where Maria from the Sound of Music lived.  No, it wasn’t surrounded by green idyllic scenery!  Why ruin a good story?