The Cruise, Day Four: More Budapest

Oh. My. Goodness.
I am going to begin with the end - we ended our time in Budapest with a 6 p.m. sailing-out-of-the-city - and a "Captain's Welcome Dinner" that began with cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres and continued through EIGHT elegant courses and lasted about four hours. It was quite a feast, including things like scallops served on a bed of spinach, pallet-cleansing sorbet, veal... and, of course, ending with an assortment of cheeses which were tempting but I was way too full to enjoy! Hopefully they'll have them on their breakfast buffet this morning!
We spent the morning wandering around Castle Hill in the city and taking in the view from FIsherman's Bastion, before heading for the Jewish section where where we spent a most fascinating afternoon. From Matthias Church (not SAINT Matthias - the church is named for the king, who was a renaissance man who did many good things for the city - but a SAINT he definitely WAS NOT we were told! I show here the music racks, stored in a corner, which I found delightful!) to the large Jewish temple (the largest in the world if you use cubic feet instead of square feet, our guide said)... The Hungarian Jews were such an integral part of Hungarian society in the 19th century that, although Jewish architects designed many of Budapest's finest buildings (including the Roman Catholic cathedral and the Parliament Building) they commissioned a gentile architect to build their synagogue. He, knowing nothing of synagogues, went to Spain, figuring he'd learn about JEwery at its hight prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain... and fell under the influence of Moorish architecture and came back and designed and built a very Mosquelike synagogue - with many Christian features (never used) including kneelers and pulpits! Pictured here: their Holocaust Memorial: what looks like a weeping willow (whose leaves bear the names of those lost in the Holocaust) is also an upside down mennorah).
The city-banks of the Danube have yielded to the green of trees alongside as we sail toward Vienna. We'll arrive tonight in time for a concert at the Imperial Opera House. Should be fun!

The Cruise, Day Three: Budapest

To bed late - but up early, because we had a new city to explore! Two contrasting encounters with people/local culture: one, a toothless old man kept plucking at me, trying to get us to follow him so he could show us something (all communicated with gestures - no English involved on his part, and certainly no Hungarian on ours!). He wanted us to see the beautiful glass ceiling in a building (pictured here) housing numerous small shops. Then, of course, he rubbed his fingers together for a tip, and said, "for coffee..." (cost of photo: 2 euros!) Later, walking along the streets, we passed an ice cream shop with an amazing window display of - ice cream (pictured here)! Naturally Ray and I began reminiscing about the times when we were kids and would go into Kaiserslautern and eat (forbidden) German ice cream, and of course I had to taste the czech version (very similar to my memory!)... The woman at the counter handed me a small scoop - and then took the cone back and added a second scoop and gave it back to me - and wouldn't allow me to pay her for it. (Taste of ice cream and nostalgia: free) Now we're aboard the ship, having had our first "pampered meal" - which included an appetizer of pumpkin/smoked trout/caviar salad, among other things - and are about to give Ray his "crying towel" - the culmination (?!) of our pre-trip trash-talking! More Budapest tomorrow...

Danube Cruise, Day Two: Traveling

It was a relatively easy (but long!) trip: after 11 1/2 hours to Germany, our two-hour lay-over in Munich, where we met Ray and Chris, turned into four, but we were finally able to board our plane and head for Budapest! We didn't arrive at our hotel until after midnight, but the view from our window made it worthwhile! Here we see Castle Hill and the Chain Bridge. Now to sleep - tomorrow to explore!

Danube Cruise, Day One: The Waiting

My suitcases are packed; there are clean linens on my bed; the refrigerator is cleaned and the trash taken out; kindle and camera are fully charged. Now comes the hardest part of any trip: the waiting. Waiting for Deb to arrive. Waiting for time to go to the airport. Waiting for security. Waiting until we land...
I'm excited!
And I've discovered a terrific new ap for my phone: it translates in 57 different languages, text-to-speech, and, since I have no clue how to pronounce either Czech or Hungarian, it promises to be very helpful in locating such important venues as bathrooms!

Lemonade Stand

It was a perfect afternoon for a Lemonade Stand, so Jack and Alex made lemonade (five cents) - and decided that for an extra penny you could have food coloring added to make your drink extra special! Jack was a bit shy with the customers, but Alex was quite the entrepreneur - and they both loved ladeling the drink into cups and then mixing in the food coloring when requested!

ER in Nashville

The Laffitte family is in Nashville, and Jack decided (?!) to make things interesting by precipitating a 2:30 a.m. trip to the ER when he developed croup and couldn't breathe. Here he is, enjoying a popsicle after they got his fever down and gave him steroids and a breathing treatment... Nothing like keeping life interesting and contributing to a memorable vacation! We're glad he's doing better, and hope he'll be well enough for everyone to fly home today!

An afternoon with the kids...

I had a "play date" with Alex and Jack this afternoon, and we had great good fun! All grandparents should be lucky enough to live close to their grandchildren! What a joy!