I love traveling, not the fact of  going somewhere else, but the action  of traveling from one place to  another. My fascination is of being  anonymous, and of course the time  spent “people watching”. This is often  done alone, which I think is  more entertaining as you are not  distracted from the serious business  of observing.
Two journeys this year, one to the UK and one day trip to Barcelona.
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The  UK bound trip started with the normal commotion I always achieve at    airports. This is caused by the habit of wearing as much as I can to    avoid carrying it or more to the point paying the dreaded extortionate    fees “excess baggage” what an awful term...nothing I carry is excess to    my needs! So off go the alarms, I could offer my services to test  their   equipment because no matter what I remove I always set the  systems   blaring. After the “pat down” with nothing found to attribute  to the   noise I always hear myself apologise! With the current state of  the   world I am not complaining about these security measures I just  would   like to get through, just once, without this hullabaloo!
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Then  homeward bound, the UK airport tempted me with Marks and Spencer  food  outlet just before you go through customs control. Great idea, buy   lunch, and a few presents to bring back, a thought of what you are   allowed to have in hand luggage I avoided drinks but settle on a   sandwich, fruit, biscuits etc plus cheeses and chutneys for friends. So I   discover this is a ploy by airport staff to get free lunches, they   confiscated the lot. Nowhere could I see on the list of banned items   M&S lunch! I wanted to say “stop let me back over the barrier and I   will eat it first” but the fear of not being let through to travel was   greater than hunger.
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The  day trip to Barcelona was just as eventful for different reasons. An   unscheduled change of trains half way meant a different set of   traveling companions. Sitting ourselves by the door, with an empty seat   in front and two to the side, the carriage was almost full. Then, three   young, smartly dressed men boarded, taking up the only empty seats.  The  first oddness I noticed they all wore the same jackets and had name   badges so without further thought I assumed they were security or   police. Then I saw the bibles they all started to read as we started out   of the station. With an hours non stop journey to Barcelona in a full   carriage, we start to realize that our traveling companions had a   mission or should I say, they were missionaries. Within minutes they   struck up conversation with us.
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Caught  off guard, but fascinated to understand why these three young  American  men were in Spain. To counter their obvious objective to  discuss The  Lord, we asked them many questions on their background, my  friend and I  taking it in turn to question them. The first thought that  ran through  my head was the “good cop bad cop” ploy we naturally  adopted. The  friend was gentle in the questioning I was not so! Why was I  allowing  myself to be drawn into this exchange? Not wanting my  religious  believes to be questioned or was I feeling confronted?
With   the journey over, ahead of us the serious task of shopping. We  starting  walking from the station in the crowds of city folks going  about their  business. I could not believe what I saw next, as nobody  else seemed to  notice, I began to wonder if my eyes deceived me. “Did  you see that”?  “Was he wearing anything”? Not a pretty sight, just a  man with clothes  painted on his naked body. To add to the amusing  spectacle...not a head  was turned. Just like the earlier time in the  train carriage I felt the  day was going to be different, and it  certainly was!
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Maybe that is the reason I love traveling, you cannot control what you may encounter only how you react to it.