Budapest

I  thought I might paint one of the kitten's rooms, or maybe paint a mural above our front door. Instead I went to see if the baby quail were out and about and pulled weeds. I did some chalk drawing on the sidewalk then I went to Walmart to buy lemons, it was the only store open before 6:00 a.m. Jet lag! Oh... but it is so nice to be home.

I spent the last couple of weeks in Central Europe with Dan. He was invited to give a paper at InSEA in Budapest and after much worrying about leaving my kittens for so long, I bought my ticket and packed my efficient travel bag.

I had never been to Budapest and I had a whole week there to explore. Rick Steves taught me a little about the place and helped me form a list of things to see. I found myself saying, "Rick says..." a lot of times, like we were best friends. I actually wanted to call him more than once and wished he had included his number in his book.

It was interesting to me that I didn't know very much history about this place where so much has happened. Budapest, with it's beautiful buildings and artworks, is wearing it's story. In the middle of the night one night I woke up thinking that Budapest was like a woman who has been involved in a series of abusive relationships and now, she is standing on her own, she is pretty thrashed but wiser and stronger for all she has been through.