riding sideways, taken in by the scenery

Well, after years of it being on my list, I finally made it out to California. And just before my time to do so ran out... turns out, AW's husband is going to be changing jobs and they'll be moving from sunny Orange County. I came one month shy of missing the trip!

The trip was so much fun. I'm still dragging from the timechange, lack of sleep, and the like, so this will be a brief one. So what did we do? We tried California cuisine. Checked out a local wine bar, where the worker accomplished her goal of getting me to think I might not hate all merlots. Visited the Santa Monica pier, including a ride on the ferris wheel with its fantastic aerial view of Santa Monica. Shopped up and down the Third Street Promenade, enjoying a nice Italian lunch at Trastevere. We headed to Hollywood, stopping to walk up and down the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard and feeling sufficiently touristy. We went into the Kodak Theatre and to the shops in the Hollywood and Highland Center. We had a dinner of fantastic appetizers at the Grill on the Alley, after getting past a snooty hostess who seemingly scoffed us for not having reservations, who proceeded to walk us in through a sea of empty tables. Interesting.

We woke up super early (3AM) to venture Southwards to Temecula, which would be the personal highlight of my trip (so well worth going into the red on sleep). Our flight was with Grape Escape. So much fun, it was easy to forget we were floating around in what amounts to a larger, heavier version of a wicker basket up to a maximum altitude of 3,000 feet. Nice! After our champagne toast at Wilson Creek Winery (I highly recommend the almond champagne for a mean mimosa - and I don't particularly care for champagne, FYI). From there, it was brunch, wine tasting, and a little pool-side napping at South Coast Winery. It was then back to Wilson Creek (now that it wasn't 6:30AM-8AM and they were open...), where we ran into the most classless bachelorette party. They sadly did not come with volume control. We wrapped up our Temecula run with a stop at Ponte, a really nice winery with a beautiful al fresco restaurant overlooking their vineyard. Absolutely exhausted, we capped off our evening with a fabulous California Mex dinner at Miguel's, followed by catching the early evening showing of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which was funny enough to even keep our heavy eyelids open!

We went to Laguna Beach. Enjoyed lunch overlooking the water at Las Brisas. Took in the artsy atmosphere of Laguna, from cute shops to fabulous galleries. Trip back to DC included a layover in Las Vegas. While my first visit to Sin City did not include venturing into the city, I did manage to squander $3 on slot machines (Wheel of Fortune - in light of my mother's stint on the show back in its first year, I thought it was appropriate) only to watch a man win $10,000 around the corner. For two hours, I slept on the cold hard floor in Las Vegas to make the most of my delayed flight. And it was good sleep at that. After 2:30AM, I boarded the plane and was en route to the East Coast again.

11AM I walked in my doorway, luggage in hand (muuuuuch heavier than it left out) and eyes heavy from the overnight flight. Thankfully I didn't originally decide to opt to head into work post 7AM flight, so no issues when my now 10:20+AM arrival left me in no shape to head into the office. I tried, unsuccessfully to head to bed, so instead I headed to run errands. What was the top of the list? Purchase two DVDs... Pretty Woman and Sideways. Go figure.

"I want the fairy tale." - Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman

they call me the wanderer...

Tomorrow after a long time of claiming I was gonna do it, I'm finally off on a trip to California. I can't wait. I'm ready to be settled into my seat (aisle only will do), iPod on, book in hand ... nothing but blue skies ahead.

I cannot even remember the last time I saw the now Mrs. AW. We interned together in South Florida back in 2001. I think we met up at some point in the interim. Somewhere along the way, it all became a big blur. She's planned out all kinds of things for my visit and I'm pretty much all packed up and set to jet.

I do feel like the recurring theme as of late (as it tends to be) has been traveling. I love to travel. I was telling the Aussie that I think in his recent road trip across the US, he managed to likely see more of the US than I have in my 27 (almost 28) years of residing here.

It made me think... the Cajun gave me a book as a present once. You may have seen it. It's called "On and Off the Beaten Track: 1,000 Places to See Before You Die". Wow. I was intrigued. One other night when I should have been doing something else, I found myself scanning the listing and checking off the places I've been...

(The below is how they had everything grouped or broken down... including sites I actually visited within cities they listed just in their entirety)

1) Windsor Castle - Windsor, Berkshire, England
2) Canterbury Cathedral - Canterbury, Kent, England
3) The Lake District - Lancashire and Cumbria, England
4) London, England (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral)5) Oxford University - Oxfordshire, England
6) Bath - Somerset, England
9) Stratford-Upon-Avon - Warwickshire, England
10) Salisbury Cathedral - Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
11) Stonhenge - Wiltshire, England
12) Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh, Scotland
13) Vienna - Austria
14) Paris - Ile-de-France, France (Arc de Triumphe, Basilique du Sacre-CoeurCentre Georges Pompidou, Eiffel Tower, Hotel des Invalides, Louvre, Musee d' Orsay)
15) Catedrale Notre Dame de Chartres - Ile-de-France, France
16) Chateau de Versailles - Versailles, Ile-de-France, France
17) The Walls of Carcassonne - Languedoc-Roussillon, France
18) Heidelberg's Schloss - Heidelberg, Rhineland, Germany
19) Rome - Lazio, Italy (Coliseum, Pantheon, Roman and Imperial Forums, Spanish Steps, Vatican City)
20) Sistine Chapel - Rome, Lazio, Italy
21) Il Duomo - Milan, Lombardy, Italy
22) Florence - Tuscany, Italy (Church of Santa Croce, Il Duomo, Piazz della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio)
23) Basilica of St. Francis - Assisi, Umbria, Italy
24) Venice - Veneto, Italy (Palazo Duale, The Grand Canal, Basilica di San Marco, Piazza San Marco
25) Verona - Veneto, Italy
26) Anne Frank House - Amsterdam, Netherlands
27) Oude Kerk - Amsterdam, Netherlands
28) Red-Light District - Amsterdame, Netherlands (just baaaarely)
29) Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
30) Van Gogh Museum - Amsterdam, Netherlands
31) La Mezquita - Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain
32) The Alhambra and Parador de San Francisco - Granada, Andalusia, Spain
33) Seville - Andalusia, Spain
34) Avila - Castile and Leon, Spain
35) Salamanca's Plaza Mayor - Castile and Leon, Spain
36) La Catedral de Toledo - Toledo, Castile La Mancha, Spain
37) La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
38) Madrid - Spain (Bullfights - ick, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, El Rastro, Palacio Real, Prado, El Retiro, Tapas, Plaza Mayor)
39) Lugano - Ticino, Switzerland
40) Castle District - Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic
41) Old Town Square - Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic
42) Rocky Mountain National Park - Estes Park, Colorado, USA
43) Everglades National Park - Florida, USA
44) Key West - Florida, USA
45) The Delano - Miami Beach, Florida, USA
46) South Beach - Miami Beach, Florida, USA
47) Walt Disney World Resort - Orlando, Florida, USA
48) The Breakers - Palm Beach, Florida, USA
49) Art Institute of Chicago - Illinois, USA
50) The French Quarter - New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
51) The New Orleans Restaurant Scene - New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
52) Mardi Gras - New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
53) The Freedom Trail - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
54) The Natchez Trace - Natchez, Mississippi, USA
55) New York City - New York, USA (American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, Empire State Building, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Times Sq/42nd Street, Bronx Zoo, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central)56) Historic Downtown New York - New York, USA
57) Museum Mile - New York, New York, USA (Met, Guggenheim Museum)
58) Biltmore Estate - Asheville, North Carolina, USA
59) Great Smoky Mountains National Park - North Carolina, USA
60) Heart of Charleston - South Carolina, USA
61) Low Country Cuisine - Charleston, South Carolina, USA
62) Graceland and the Elvis Trail - Memphis, Tennessee, USA
63) Memphis Rib Joints - Memphis, Tennessee, USA
64) Nashville's Music Scene - Nashville, Tennessee, USA
65) Monticello - Virginia, USA
66) Colonial Williamsburg - Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
67) The National Mall and Its Monuments - Washington, DC, USA
68) The Smithsonian and Beyond - Washington, DC, USA
67) Old San Juan - Puerto Rico, Greater Antilles (U.S. Commonwealth)

I'm a numbers person, so let's see. That puts me at 6.7% of the book. Ouch. I have some work cut out for me ... clearly more to see. As I suspected, of those sites deemed "must see" only 40.3% are in the US.

Clearly, more to see here in the grand ol' US of A. This weekend, I'll be knocking off another one (Hollywood). Oh and yes, I know it will be grimy and not pretty (I get it) but I also know I darn better see someone famous or I'll be mighty disappointed.

benefit goes gotham

(... or why Duane Reade is still my boyfriend)

So, after a quick run back to Dr D's, we were back to Manhattan for our evening on the town. She'd got us tickets to see the closing evening of Jane Eyre. Having never seen an off-Broadway production, it was interesting to see the differences in the presentation styles. The set was much more simplistic, but was still effective. Really glad that Dr D invited me to join in.

From there we headed on over to the benefit. Red Sky was a pretty cool venue. We had the third floor roof top area reserved, which was nice and open but proved chilly as the temps began to drop. Guess my cap-sleeved new dress didn't help, but it sure looked nice!

Cold and wanting to make a beeline for the dance floor, we ended up crashing the birthday party downstairs. The DJ got us out there with the typical 80s/90s selections that somehow seem to work everytime.

I was making faces at Dr D as I noticed the guy behind me who had been dancing closer, seemingly thinking that was going to get me to talk to him. Do guys really think that's going to get them somewhere? Ok, especially considering obviously dancing is not their forte? Anyhow, another great event for such a great cause.

Being Dr D's last weekend, I wanted to make sure we had a great night. As it started to get really packed, I suggested a change in venue. Once she learned I am into karaoke, we were quick to choose the next stop.

Karaoke 1 at Union Square was a blast. I wish there was somewhere comparable on DC's metro line. Although, perhaps that would be a dangerous thing. There were a few different groups there and can't say I've ever seen NYC so communal. Love it.

I chose to sing "Extraordinary" (Liz Phair), which I learned goes a lot lower than I notice when screaming errr I mean singing over Liz. Dr D picked "Baby One More Time". Ahhh Britney. She proved a crowd pleaser. We ended up there as it became a smaller group, and they'd try to get us to join in on their more soulful selections, such as Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing". A bit of selection contrast!

It was rather late as we got off the subway in Flushing. Thankfully, Duane Reade was nearby, since I realized I had $0.50 to my name. Bless you Duane. My cold self and sore blistered feet never loved you so much.

It was way too early when I had to head back into the city for brunch. I met the Master and Suave and crew at Blue Water Grill in Union Square. Fabulous brunch.

The rest of the day was long... from Manhattan to Long Island and back around the city to DC. I was loving my bed as I crawled in last night close to 11. Such a fun weekend. And now off to love on my bed some more. Batteries still aren't quite fully recharged and ready for the week ahead.

the wheels on the bus...

Today I'm off to NYC, the first in my series of upcoming travels. First it's NYC, then it's off to Destin, and then my first trip to California. Promises to be a fun and eventful spring/summer.

I'm headed up to see my friend DP who is about to move to St. Louis to start her residency. She leaves NYC on Wednesday, so I'm just barely catching her before she heads out. We've got a pretty laid back weekend planned out, which I'm looking forward to. She asked what I wanted to do for the weekend and my priorities were (1) NYC pizza, (2) cupcakes at Magnolia, and (3) shopping in SoHo. I think those three things are becoming my NYC essentials. Anyhow, so that's our plan! Along with seeing a show Saturday night and then heading over for the benefit event that is actually how I ended up choosing this weekend in the first place.

I schlepped all of my luggage on the metro this morning. Always fun. Even managed to carry it all as I was concealing a Dunkin' Donuts iced latte I'd smuggled on. After last night going later than planned, it was a necessity - not a luxury. It helps to make a Friday less painful when there's caffeine flowing through your system along with knowing it's only a half-day for you, cause I'm outta here post-lunch.

fresh in from de hell

Finally, back in DC, baby. The return trip from overseas always seems to take an eternity. Must say though that when one barely makes it out with SNOW as an issue, sixty-something degree weather is just about as good of a welcome back greeting as a girl could hope for (other decent options would be instantaneous access to my bed or flowers - those never hurt, hah).

Our day almost began horribly... thankfully I set my phone's alarm since the front desk never elected too call for our wake-up call. After being so informative on the time chang, not too efficient to help guests "not miss breakfast, or even worse - flights" as promised by not following through there. Thumbs down.

We then had a MAD high speed drive to the Prague airport. The airport was waaaay out of time and we easily made it in some 15 minutes. How? Cause our crazed driver drove like a maniac winding around the roads, slinging my mom from side to side (even, yes, with seatbelts securely fastened). We especially liked the large skeleton/skull figure he had afixed to his dash. One point, we almost smashed into a truck. It was a great way to settle ones stomach at 7AM.

We had our usual marathon through De Gaulle (or as we renamed it, "De Hell"). We had to take a series of four different buses and go through two additional security checkpoints. Efficient? Not so much.

I especially loved the part where one worker laughed at us for trying to make our flight (ooooh I *so* bit my tongue) or when one of the security ladies rumaging through my stuff took waaaaay too long to ooh and ahhh over my Milka plush bag. Yes, it's cute. Yes, I can be a big kid sometimes. Now will you let me out of your country? Thanks.

Regardless somehow we made it through the secret maze of De Hell almost on time. Even caught some good movies on the flight... Dream Girls (good) and The Illusionist (LOVED it... so much, I watched it twice to see if I could get more out of the final 10-15 minutes the second time around).

I'm so crashing shortly... it's what, 11:05 PM in Prague? Man, it feels like it. I was hoping to start some laundry, but that fabulous non-concrete (like the hotel beds have been...) bed is so calling my name. Not sure which will win.


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a classic cseka finale

Between Mozart in Vienna and Dvorak in Prague, I'm feeling a classical kick coming on. It's funny... last night's concert took me back to my high school days, where life was filled with rehearsals, auditions, and competitions. Pulling out that black ensemble and heading in for warm-up.

Sometimes I really miss that. There was a time when that could have been my life. Although, the though of life as one giant audition was not the upside of the lifestyle. That was for sure. I guess though we do encounter our own form of audition in every aspect, just maquerading slightly under different packaging.

I've always had a competitive spirit. Guess it thrived in that environment. Principal flutist... that was the only acceptable place to be, be it in the symphonic band, youth symphony, or all-state band/orchestra.

I remember the thrill of winning the concerto competition to play with the Huntsville Symphony and then the Shoals Symphony as a guest soloist. Hungarian Pastorale Fantasie by Franz Doppler. Absolutely amazing piece. Or attending William Bennett's session at Wild Acres in the mountains in North Carolina and being selected to study with his wife, Michie.

There was a possible double major with music at the University of South Carolina, Rhodes, or FSU. How different things would be.

I don't regret the decision... that's for sure. But I also know I think this was the catalyst I needed to dust off that Haynes flute with the engraved Jack Moore headjoint I've always been so proud of, after a hiatus of some five years. What a shame. An instrument that beautiful is clearly meant to be played, and play I shall.

And as our plane is about to push back at the gate, farewell Praha. Next time, I'll definitely start with you to give you your due.


Bohemia Bagel
Masna 2, Praha 1
Bottomless soda (don't mind if I do!), if you can only find the place amidst the winding streets... beware of uber-spicy mustard! But fabulous bagels. Yum!

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day o' dvorak

Once upon a time in a little hotel in Praha over a fine breakfast...

Mom: "I still haven't had my Orangina. But it's just been too cold to care."
LJ: "Well, that hasn't stopped you from Coke."
Mom: "Well, Coke is like the nectar of life..."

Having had our plans to check out the Jewish Quarter squelched, we set off to the Dvorak Museum in the New Quarter area. We were able to see manuscripts, his desk, his viola, even his piano. A Bosendorfer. Who knew he had that in common with Tori Amos?

Dvorak has always been one of my favorites. Vienna boasted of Mozart at every turn. Mozart's nice... but give me Dvorak any day. Somehow I've yet to load my classical music onto my iPod. Will have to do that when I get back to DC.

We bought tickets to see the Prague Festival Philharmonic Orchestra at Smetana Hall at the Municipal House. The program includes Dvorak's New World Symphony and Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, Op. 33. That's the nice thing about a classical music concert... the universal language.

On the way up to the room, we noticed that the time change arrives overnight to Praha. Props to our hotel for posting that in the elevator. We wouldn't have been too happy if we'd missed our flight for it. Yikes.


Camper
Oh yeah... finally got my Camper's I've been in pursuit of for 2+ years

ProMod

Municipal House Cafe
Namesti Republiky 5 - Praha

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every day is a winding road...

After some horribly incorrect directions from the hotel reception, we finally found our way to head up to the castle. It was a long series of winding steps up at last to the castle area. I'd heard from BG and the Titan that that was a great spot to catch an aerial view of Prague, and that it was.

The highlight there was St. Vitus's Cathedral. The Cathedral was very open, having much more light coming in through the window than most churches. The stained glass caught my attention especially due to its vivid colors as opposed to the more subdued hues more typical. Perhaps it is because it is from the 20th century.

I decided somewhat reluctantly to climb the some 287 steps to the top of the observation tower. The staircase was narrow and basically completely enclosed with no railing whatsoever, but just couldn't pass up the photo op.

En route to the top, I encountered two waves of groups... those offering encouraging comments, followed by those taunting the steps remaining to the top. There was a group who decided I was Italian (? clearly, see that...), cheering, "you can do it, bella!". They were followed by a group of punks (school group, I think) who barked "you're nowhere close to the top". Ergh. Thanks, punk.

The view from the top as absolutely amazing, though. I saw what my sister meant even more about Prague looking like you were walking around in a postcard. It really did not look real.

We'd planned on working our way over to the Jewish Quarter, where we'd noted quite a few sights on our daily hit list. Our parade was rained on (literally) when we finally found our way there at 4:30 to be tokd they'd just closed and (we *think*) would not open again until Sunday (when we leave out in the morning... argh). We're going to see... doesn't look too likely though. Big bummer.

I do wish Prague had been earlier in our agenda. I'm very glad I decided to add in an extra day of vacation the Monday after we get in. My body's maxing out and thinking the Euro-detox was a mighty fine plan. Mighty fine, indeed.

Sitting here, rain pounding down on the roof of our hotel room (deemed best in the hotel - hah), it's peaceful. Tomorrow's our final day. Much to be seen and done before crossing back to the other side of the water.

Restaurant U Kolowrata
Mala Strata, 118 - Praha (Little Quarter)
3 course lunch - good price, good food
Don't go if in a hurry though, cause they sure aren't!!!


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gypsies + praha + comfort food

Long, long day coming into Prague. Mom and I were feeling as gypsy-esque as the gypsey we encountered on the train as we were bumped from area to area on the train.

Figure this... the seats in the firsr car which were close together were deemed first class (AKA we can't sit there) but the third car we were banished to where you had a closed compartment and 6 seats to yourself was acceptable? Random. I guess in peak season that might be a downgrade, but was fine to us. Random.

There were some mighty unappealing cuisine options in our tour guide... and the information from BG and Coop didn't give us a clue on dishes to try. Is it lame to opt for pizza? Oh well. Sometimes the different food and time difference of traveling takes its toll. And the pizza was mighty tasty if I do say so myself. According to mom the hot chocolate at Fuzion was hands down the best she's ever had. Three cheers for comfort food.


Pizzerie Green Tomato
Jindrisska 18, Praha

Fuzion

Hotel Carlton
Taboritska 18

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oh the places you'll go

I figured the Hofburg Palace would be impressive, but I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed it overall. The Silberkammer (silver collection) was fascinating. I cannot imagine having that many types of dishes! I don't know that it would have been as interesting were it not for the great audio guide they provided with the entrance fee. We decided the tour set up at Versailles needed to get a clue from the set-up here.

Over lunch, we pondered where to go. There's a lot which would be great to do, like the Prater or some of the gardens, which don't quite work in colder weather. One thing I really wanted to see was the Hundertwasserhaus. It was a bit further out of the city center, but was not too far on the subway for us to keep from going.

I love architecture. I love the fascinating and peculiar buildings produced by Gaudi. If I don't watch myself, my pictures following a trip like this one are filled wth architecture, accented strategically by flowers, people, or the like as a secondary feature.

The Hyndertwasserhaus was absolutely fantastic. Its bright colors were visible from afar and made me think somehow of Dr. Seuss. I think I shot some 30+ photos of the complex, which is some 50 apartments housing 200 or so residents. Time well-spent doing something other than museums, churches, etc.

We've packed up for our third and final stop, Praha...


Humanic
(a shoe lover's dream if it wasn't for that whole euro v. dollar thing. ergh.)

Hundertwasserhaus
Kegelgasse/Lowengasse, Wien

Aera - Gonzagagasse, Wien
Simple neighborhood pub w/ great food


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silver white winters that melt into spring

The small villages out from the big cities are often the highlights you overlook in visiting somewhere new. As we drove to Salzburg, our guide was explaining to us the small villages in Austria and their culture. The country has spent mllions of dollars to put up blockades along the freeway to keep the noise and pollution out and to preserve the peaceful nature of their community. Most are closed to buses, meaning obviously they were not an option.

However, one by the name of Mondsee ("moon lake"), is an exception. With the snow in full force, we made a brief stop to walk into the village. There we were able to visit the church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp are married in the Sound of Music.

The altar area and the aisle directly preceding it were closed for renovation. Even so, the church was striking. It was smaller. Certainly not pretentious. The coral pinkish ceiling was not edged in gold or any other material to attract attention. Perhaps it was the simplicity that really caught my eye.

That and I will say that as a child, I loved the Sound of Music. Probably the two movies I loved the most were the Sound of Music and Annie. I wanted nothing more than to dress in the Austrian dress the children wore, sing with the Alps as my backdrop, or to dance in Liesel's place with her handsome admirer. I still remember singing the final song the children sing with my sister, playing all the roles. To see the sites, the area in Salzburg where they sang "Do-Rei-Me", I'll admit, was pretty cool. It made me feel eight all over again.

These are a few of my favorite things...

--

Lunch: Zipfer Bierhaus
Salzburg (Old Town Area)


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snow kissed austria

It's not but 7:30... we're pulling out of the city, as gentle but steady flakes fall on the city of Vienna. Our driver had promised as we went to meet the larger bus that the snow should intensify as we make our way up into Salzburg.

As we wind our way up the road (trying not to think of any possibility of sliding our way off of the road), the flakes become larger and the light dusting accumulates to a thick blanket, somehow balancing itself across each tree, branch-by-branch.

I've seen snow, but it was just stunning. Like nothing I've seen before. They had not had snow all winter. The men who clear the road our guide, perhaps halfway joking and halfway serious, noted were not likely available to clear the streets.

The snow began to fall more quickly as we continued our journey. Our guide turned on Mozart overhead and I just relaxed, letting the music and the white blanket overhead envelope me.

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vienna: best & wurst

Oh yes, Euro-puns. That's right.

So we might have escaped DC's snow, but the damp cold has set in as we made our way into Vienna. There's even snow forecasted for Salzburg, although since we're just going for the day I believe we will miss it. (Darn)

Today it was all about just wandering the streets a bit. After heading to the tabaq for tickets, we took the central ring which circles the city. The tram reminded me of Amsterdam. Although, the city does not have Amsterdam's bike presence. You could see the Parliament, the palaces, and some other places we plan to visit on Wednesday.

We walked up Kartner Strasse, stopping in and out a few of the shops along the way. We ended at the Stephansdom, a beautiful Gothic cathedral. It is an imposing structure, sadly in great need of some cleansing. There is scaffolding up, so hopefully that's in the works.

There was a service in progress, so we could only watch from the immediate entrance. The church was dark, solely illuminated by candles and the faint glimmer of the sinking sun through the stained glass windows. The exterior wouldn't have led me to expect a lot, but I found myself pleasantly surprised.

I wanted to try melange, their local coffee specialty. I tell you... after these restaurants, cafes, desserts, and the like, it's going to be hard to go back to the US.


Restaurant Fuhrich - Fuhrichgasse 6

Julius Meinl, cafe

Pizzeria - Ristorante Ferrari
Salzgries 15


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the 3 terrors & pest

Sunday in Euorope is always a gamble. Usually next to nothing is open. The strategy is in choosing where you"ll be stuck on a Sunday. For us, it's what turned out to be our only real day in Budapest. We planned to start off with the "daily" tour of the Hungarian Parliament. Apparently, we learned that Sunday must not count as a day, as we found it to be closed. Who knew?

We decided to take the bus out to Statue Park (Szobobor Park), which was a park that displayed and preserved in one location all of the statues which had been located in public squares throughout Hungary during their time under Communist rule. My mom kept calling it Commie Park. The statues were fascinating and the gift shop a trip. I got a coffee mug with a pic of Lenin in the middle of a modified Starbucks logo. The other side says "I'm from the old school. I like my coffee black and my communism red". My mom bought a poster which had the 3 terrors instead of the 3 tenors (the terrors being Lenin, Stalin, and Mao).

We went back into the city center and went over to St. Stephen's Basilica. It was really beautiful, with an ornate gold ceiling and the most exquisite rose-colored. marble. I don't know that I've ever seen marble in that shade. The relic unique to the basilica was the mummified forearm of Saint Stephen, which I found simultaneously intruguing and creepy.

We then found our way over to Vaci Uta, one of the main streets, which is also a bit toutisty side. Our guess was it would be more likely to have things that were open. We had lunch at Cellar Central, where we had some of their traditional Hungarian goulash (chicken though, not beef). We walked on down to the Central Market Hall, still a bit bitter we wouldn't get to go. Seems like Sunday should be a logical time for people to go to the market, but perhaps no.

We took the metro over to the train station to check on our tickets for today. I'd joked about the metro system reminding me of Lisbon, where it seemed that you could have easily ridden for free since no one seemed to be monitoring things. When I was in Portugal, I don't think we had any concept of the stiff penalties we would face if caught. Well, I came face-to-face with the metro Nazis here. Yes, ticket in hand. Nyah!

Getting back to the hotel was another adventure, too long to explain. Tired, we opted to stroll back to Grand Cafe Oktogon for dinner.

Sitting in our nice train car here in Budapest, it's off to Vienna. I'm ready for the change, although I wish the currency change did not accompany. Here, the practice has been to drop two zeroes and divide by two. Translation? Good price... and now we're sadly going to the land o' Euros. More expensive, but looking forward to seeing Austria. Hope those hills are still alive...

Grand Café Oktogon, VI Teréz körút 23

Radisson SAS Beke Hotel
Terez Korut 43, Budapest 1067

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nem beszelek magyarul

If there was any doubt (and I'm sure there was not), that translates out to "I don't speak Hungarian". It looks a little bit Russian, a little bit Polish, and a lot about the city's overall feel seems to remind me a tad of Germany.

We had a small delay out of Paris to Budapest. It was around 6:45 by the time we reached our hotel. We ended up splurging for a cab in. The prospect of the whole bus/train tango was not too appealing. I think we were just so relieved that our baggage successfully seemed to follow our zigzag trip here that we would have probably agreed to basically whatever cab fare was quoted.

We just got back from a fabulous dinner. I checked with the Yankee for suggestions from De Gaulle and he replied back noting chicken paprikash. So mom and I headed off on a chicken hunt.

Most definitely did not disappoint. It came with a side of egg noodles, which looked identical to German spaetzle. After a day of airport and Air France food (big yuck), it was a welcomed change.

At the suggestion of our server, we tried some Hungarian sponge cake. Very different from what we'd call sponge cake in the US. In a good way. I'll have to read what that's all about.

Yeah so it's 9:30. We're wiped out and planning to hit the ground running for a full day (now truly our *only* day in Budapest) tomorrow. Think we're turning in. Been a long one, for sure.


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30 minute plane teases

... or why I love to hate Charles De Gaulle. (Have your pick. I'm bored, so you get options)

Oh what a night...

DC. Sweet DC. N'er was I so happy to bid thee adieu. Last night, I swear... thought that moment would never arrive. With the bad weather coming shortly, we thought it was all but cemented that we were soon to be herded like cattle back into the gate from which we came.

They came out to de-ice the plane, a process we were advised would take 20-30 minutes. The funky salmon-colored substance was soon shooting out onto the wing from a gun thing which looked like a water gun on steroids. Steam came off the wing. No A/C allowed during the process, so the cabin became hot and sticky for a good 45 min.

Success, right? Wrong. The machine ran out of the de-icing goo, and some hour later, the captain would come on to say that the process would move quickly, once they figured out where the de-icing guy was. Wing re-iced, so we went back to step one. We were finally de-iced (hallelujah). I thought if I heard one more 20-30 minute promise though, I just might lose it.

Total DC delay? Close to 3 hours.
Happily airborn passengers en route to Budapest? 2

We dashed to the gate here in Paris to have it shut in our face. Air France does get props for meal vouchers, even though we curtly were informed that the croque monsieur was not included. Charles De Gaulle does not get props on layout though. Seriously, whomever set up this place must have been on crack!

So now we've got 4 hours we're stuck here. Nothing interesting to look at here... but at least we're this side of the ocean. I'm bummed we'll have to miss the market, since it's not open on Sunday. But if that's the biggest concern we're left with, guess we're doing fine!

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par avion? oui!

It's a nice change to not travel solo. Don't get me wrong. I'm usually on my way to meet someone or go somewhere where others will be. It's just the time roaming around in the airport where it's usually just me.

My mom met me here at Dulles. We've had a great relaxing afternoon to kick off our trip. He had a nice lunch at Harry's Tap Room since international check-in had yet to open. We've perused the fine offerings of the Duty Free shop (and mom didn't disappoint - pointing to the shelves of rum, vodka, and gin and stating we could stock up our stash of "booze" - always cracks me up when she pulls out the booze term... classic mom).

We're flying Air France. It's Dulles to Paris and Paris on to Budapest. Our hope is that Air France means croissants and brie for breakfast ;-)

Well, boarding's about to begin... in an appropriate fashion for our airline, au revoir!

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