And so it was with an air of anticipation and great gusto that the 140-odd delegates of this year's jaunt abroad threw themselves into the delights of Barcelona, enthralled by the art of Picasso and the genius of Gaudi, Mies van der Rohe, Calatrava . . . and David Beckham.

Next year, members were all informed, it's Kilkenny, economists and property prospects with, no doubt, the odd round of golf thrown in. Which probably explains why IAVI members old and young, male and female, rugby, GAA and golf fans all went absolutely bananas when they heard that Real Madrid were staying in the same hotel before their 11 draw in the Camp Nou bearpit against Barcelona.

Members waited in corridors looking for autographs (for their sons, of course) and joined the throngs gathering inside and outside the hotel waiting to catch a glimpse of the 'galacticos'.

Beckham looked surprised but pleased at the crescendo of ole oles which greeted his arrival. Ronaldo looked grim when he left. Apart from Zidane, if truth be told, they were about the only footballers anybody could recognise when wearing a charcoal suit.

A few agents sourced tickets for the match but Munster and Leinster's Heineken Cup encounters were further up the agenda and a special coach was even laid on to take supporters to the ubiquitous Irish Bar With Big Screen . . . this one off Barcelona's main thoroughfare, Las Ramblas.

There was, however, plenty of time for art and architecture and particularly Barcelona's two most famous sons, Picasso and Antoni Gaudi.

Picasso lived in Barcelona during his teens and the museum in Barcelona concentrates on these formative years with the world's largest collection of his early work . . . proving beyond doubt that the modernist artist could 'really draw'.

The collection includes many unexpectedly 'realistic' portraits of his parents and landscapes of the countryside around Barcelona, moving to more recognisable examples of his Blue Period and transition to Cubism.

But the highlight of Barcelona is its architecture . . .

Gaudi's Park Guell is the first attempt at a gated development, complete with its own Gaudi-designed model house or showhouse.

It was an abject failure, largely because the psychedelic nature of the architect's buildings was more than a little off-putting to the buyers of the early 20th century and only one house sold, it was transformed into a public park.

The extraordinary structures are not just astonishing because of their shapes and gravity-defying ability to remain standing. They are also thoroughly modern and 'green'.

The materials for all the houses and the market was taken from the mountainside into which the development was to have been built so that it would melt into the landscape.

The market built specially for the residents has a porous, sand-covered roof designed to collect rainwater for recyling and use in the gardens of the homes that were never built.

Recycled materials are everywhere, from the tiles on the roofs, to the broken tiles used to create colourful mosaics . . . even teacups around chimneys to funnel water in the correct direction.

Who could emulate such genius? They're trying it in Barcelona where the flamboyant and confident regeneration of the port area makes Dublin's docklands look like a lego model.

Not one, but two conference centres have been built, along with three massive hotels, tramways, thousands of apartments, a shopping centre that makes Dundrum Town Centre look well, medium-sized anyway, a gherkin-shaped office block, new beaches, waste recycling, solar panels the size of the pitch at Croke Park . . . you name it and yes, there is an incinerator . . . Barcelona is reinventing itself every year.

The catalyst was the Olympics in 1992 when the city was re-energised f maybe Gay Mitchell's plan to bring the Games to Dublin wasn't so daft after all?

After three years, visiting first Nice, then Lisbon, and now Barcelona, IAVI members wanted a conference on home ground next year. President elect for 2006-2007, John Dawson, promises a few surprises in Kilkenny when members gather there next year.

Kilkenny's pride in its heritage matches that of Barcelona's . . .

but will the weather?