Budapest In My Front Yard

Note: This post was written for a weekend that happened a few weeks ago, but never got posted due to a website malfunction. Here it is as my 100th post!!!

Even though the sky had a rainy tinge to it, Laura and I decided to get out and see the city. As I stepped out my door, I realized again that the city is here. Something I wanted so badly last year when I was confined to a select few curving roads through the hills in Szerencs.

Laura and I wanted to have an outdoorish day and that's just what we had, even though the rain hammered on our heads.

At a grocery store on the way to the Citadella (the great hill with a statue of a woman on top), we bought:
* Cheddar cheese (Laura's finding and pretty uncommon in Hungary.)
*XXXL Salami
*Two cheese bread rolls fresh from the oven
*Carrot/orange/banana juice

As there was too much salami and cheese in the package, we tried to pile on as much as we could handle, but ended up leaving half. After picnicking under the gazebo fountain in front of the Gellert Hotel, we made our way through the cave church, where Laura and I both decided that if we went to church, this would be the kind of church we'd go to. It was very natural and cozy, especially away from the rain that was now starting to fall harder.

We trekked on up the hill pathways and encountered a slide park with ladders and ropes. Oh so reminiscent of that game, "Chutes and Ladders." The slides were wet, so I decided to use the ladders to get up the hill.

On our way up, Laura scurried into holes and at the top, we tried to savor the picturesqueness of the city before being forced down the hill by gusty winds and rain. Our heads were soaked, but we were enjoying ourselves.

We walked all the way to a coffee shop to meet some other people in our program and warmed up with a hot drink. Later on, we had dinner at a restaurant where Laura and Sara ordered a vegetarian platter for two, which appeared to be more like a platter for six.

The past weekend reminded me of weekends when I would come into Budapest for the weekend from Szerencs...attempting to cram several different activities into one weekend. And more importantly, it reminded me of the fact that Budapest really is in my front yard.