She was a HOT ride!

Looks so charming, right? So simple and harmless. And yet, outfitted with air conditioning and windows that don't open, she was a mighty HOT ride for seven hours when the air conditioning didn't work. Sure did make my shower feel good when I got home.

Building Budapest

When visiting a beautiful, old city for the first time, one MUST take pictures such as this one. It's a law. What the camera does not capture are the bright colors of the tiled roof. You can sort of tell they are colored, but at high noon they are a bit bleached here. Travelers can't be choosy.

And just look at this little headless man hanging out on the wall of some person's home. I left Rich anchored at a cafe with coffee and took a swift walk around the neighborhood. Is this stencil graffiti on purpose or is the homeowner hapless? I'm not sure, but a cropped version turned into a great wallpaper pic for my laptop.

And this beauty was found between our hotel and the metro. It was such an enthusiastic welcome to the city!

Budapest Held Captive

Rich wasn't feeling too well so it was up to me to create the itinerary for our day in Budapest. First on the list was the Parliament building. Our waiter from the night before recommended it and as we approached I was quite awed by the size and grandness of the building. WOW! Only, there was all this construction. No matter. Follow the tour groups and we are bound to find the entrance. Or not. Shut down and inaccessible. *sigh* So visible. So out of reach. We did get a good view from across the Danube River.

And as we walked toward the bus stop to head over and up to the castle complex we discovered that the Parliament building was not the only beautiful thing being held captive in Budapest.

Approaching Budapest in the Round

Traveling in foreign countries can be a bit disorienting. That's part of the fun, right? And I'm okay with that. Especially when there are all sorts of lines, shapes and new perspectives awaiting my discovery! As we boarded the train from Prague to Budapest, well, we took the right train, just the wrong direction. No turning around for an HOUR. And of course we had to pay for the extra journey - both ways. Whoops. These pictures were taken as we waited to take the train back to Prague and then to Budapest.

Doesn't it almost look like a fake backdrop to some modern set? But it's not.