10 Saturday in the Park

Saturday, July 9th




Maddy and Dave made a great breakfast of eggs, sausage, and chocolate chip pancakes--yum!!! Sheila had gone for a rather lengthy run with her friend Kim, so we were fairly relaxed in our approach to the morning. We got everyone piled into the car and set out on a brief excursion to the park, well, a castle and a bridge and a bunch of statues...and more!

We benefitted from the Farthings' special parking status and got a fairly convenient spot in the lightly wooded area near our destination. We strolled past a small skate park and along the sidewalk until we came to a building with a, well, I guess it was a moat! There were ducks for the feeding and a small castle-type dwelling complete with a Rapunzel turret! There was an opportunity or two for the liberation of tourist money, so I did buy a couple items that were easy to carry. 

Afterwards, Andy and Dave took the kids to the other side of the river to rent a paddleboat for a half hour or so while ShiShi and I crossed the bridge and the street to Heroes' Square; it is home to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace/Hall of Art.

The whole area apparently has a somewhat tortured history; one reason that it looks relatively new is that it was bombed pretty heavily in WWII and was rebuilt, with some new occupants in the statue complex. It looks great now, though, especially the "Seven Chieftains of the Magyars."

After our quick jaunt, we returned to the paddleboat area to see Andy waiting for us in the shade; Dave was out with the kids in a light blue Polizei paddleboat car.

I ordered a lemon sorbet cone, which was disappointingly small on first appearance, but the flavor was so intense that it was actually just right. Bigger is not always better!



The tzatziki was just the right accompaniment to this caprese panini.

We decided to go ahead and get lunch--grilled cheese and WHATEVER. I got one that was strongly reminiscent of a pizza, mozzarella and sundried tomato, but the main thing was that it was fresh! Delicious. Of course I had to get an iced coffee, which in Budapest means "covered with dangerous amounts of whipped cream and/or ice cream"...yikes! What an enjoyable afternoon, beautiful in the shade, just relaxing with the oleander lining the river.
The time the kids stayed close by, which means we didn't lose them. We made it back home, but then after a short respite, Sheila dragged me (at my request) to the grocery store--it was a tiny store, but apparently there are many of them all over the place rather than just a few larger ones; they have them too, but it seems that the lifestyle is more to just pick up enough for a day and go several times a week.

The produce was absolutely beautiful, and other items looked nice; but the aisles were narrow and not conducive to perusal. We managed, in good American fashion, to waltz out of there with a whole cart full of groceries.

Back home to prepare for a good old fashioned cookout! There were steaks and chops, and I got to help prep the corn for grilling and chop up the cucumber/tomato salad while Sheila prepped veggies to grill and got everything else ready. Dave manned the grill while the table got set, and then we sat down to eat, just like old times. Home is where the love is, just saying.

Afterwards we roasted marshmallows and made "not-quite-s'mores"--little round cookies because there were no graham crackers--and sat and talked around the fire pit long into the evening.