There must be something about the wee hours of the morning that attract me so. Yet again I find myself awake after 5am. This time however through no fault of my own. I have just arrived at my hotel in Tenerife - Hotel Taburiente - which from what I have seen so far seems very nice. A pleasant surprise it has to be said in this life as a traveling flautist. But tonight all I am after is a comfortable bed to get some sleep.
I never quite knew that it could take 20 hours of travelling to get from Belfast to Tenerife. There is a rumour that Aer Lingus do a direct flight that only takes 4 hours. But I am sure it is no more than Irish folklore. Because instead my travel day consisted of 3 flights - Belfast to London Heathrow to Madrid and then finally Tenerife. To be honest the day actually got off to a great start as I slept through the first two flights to Madrid. People often ask if there is some sort of trick to sleeping on planes.....my own personal favourite - don't sleep the night before! I did not quite pull the all night packing routine last night - close - but not quite. However it was enough to recreate that all too familiar scene of passing out on the plane before it takes off only to be rudely awakened as the drinks trolley bangs you in the back of the head because you are hanging obliviously half way in the aisle. (Drooling is optional!)
But as I sit in my hotel room waiting for the sun to rise I begin to think back over the past 4 days at home. A whirlwind Christmas visit that even left me feeling it was far too short. Gone before I even have a chance to say Hello. So quick that in some ways it feels it may have all been but a dream. If it was a dream it was a great one. Because no matter how short the trip was all I know is that Boxing Day at my sisters house encapsulated everything that is wonderful about Christmas. Dinner for 15. 8 kids and 7 adults with an age range spanning six decades. Bedlam for sure but yet fantastic fun and a day full of so many magical Christmas moments that it's hard to choose one. From the screams of my 5 year old niece at 4am on Christmas Day as she discovered that Santa had brought her everything on her list and then some, to the announcement that the Christmas traditions will be here for a long time to come yet as I found out that I will be adding another name to my Christmas shopping list for 2010 with the arrival of another niece or nephew, the days whizzed by with barely enough time to take them all in.
And so it was with a saddened heart that I set off this morning to the airport once more. Back to my life at sea. Don't get me wrong. I have a phenomenal life and job travelling the world with the flute under my arm, but some days you just wish you could take a little bit longer to say Hello.
