A Breif Interlude...

...before our pork-o-Sunday begins. Diane made this delicious dinner--bean soup with focaccia topping--acompanied with a nice bottle of Montepulciano. The soup was primed with some bacon to get our stomachs ready for tomorrow. Yum!

2nd Annual Budapest Mangalica Festival - Part I

Coming Soon...some very interesting photos!

Ironically, our friend, Kate*, in Seattle told us about the Budapest Mangalica Pig Festival.  We plan to attend this weekend.

The Mangalica pig is rather cute by some standards with its wooly coat.  We hear too that the meat is healthier then "regular" pork--less cholesterol.

The festival offers opportunities to pet live piggies and of course eat pork prepared in all variations such as cured, smoked, boiled, fried, baked and roasted.  There will also be a sausage making contest.  Let's hope they use safety equipment.  We can just imagine a finger here, finger there going missing!  Yikes!  

There will also be disznóvágás ("pig cutting")...so we will get to see the whole continuum of a pig's life.  Here is some additional humorous info about piggies in Hungary--click here. 

* It should be noted that Kate is the daughter of a butcher and grew up on a farm! :-)

Good Things

You may have the realized the the blog updates have decreased. Well, we have been so busy since the first of the year. Things are going very well despite the world economy... Steven just spent a week at a conference in Florida (got back last night) and Diane has been busy actively searching for freelance (with good results) and trying to get involved with the arts and people in Budapest. So, although it is sad we are not updating as often, it is a good thing.

So, today I am going to post a few photos that we took a week and a half ago. Steve and I went to a few of our favorite places and enjoyed sights, sweets and wine....

A Kávéház close to out flat

Cappuccino and chocolate cake makes everything OK:)SteveSzent István-bazilika

Mai Manó Kávéház

Relaxing and enjozing a glass of wine

"Past, Present and Possible"

When Steve and I were planning our move, we asked our Hungarian friends in Seattle,
"What drives you crazy about Americans. What do we do that makes us so American?"

The number one answer....
"You smile too much, are too optimistic and have a solution for every problem."

We asked the question so that we knew not to do it.....And I try not to be too optimistic, smile too much or find solutions to problems.....and I hate it! It is miserable. Especially now when it is too easy to do all of these things. So, I look for quotes, inspiring articles anything to give me hope for a future that is so unclear....and this is what I find...

Click HERE

My new motto: "Past, present and possible"
Thank you to Peter Saville for sharing his motto in Elle Decoration...which now is my motto.

Home Alone...Part Two

Steve is off to Orlando, Florida today to attend a conference! I am so jealous!

He left today and will return on Monday. It is a very short trip considering he will travel more than 14 hours one way!

Budapest Temperature:
37 degrees F/3 degrees c

Orlando Temperature:
78 degrees F/26 degrees c

Diane's Trip to Frankfurt

I returned from Frankfurt last Sunday. I had a fantastic time!

Steve took me to the train station on Thursday morning. I meet up with the group and we boarded the train. There were 18 of us. All Hungarian (and me). Mostly artists and designers. We took a train to Vienna and then another to Frankfurt. The train ride was around 10 hours. It sounds bad-10 hours on a train-but it was very nice. The snowy landscape and the conversations made it all go by so quickly. Plus I love traveling by train!

We stayed in a nice youth hostel. There were 4 of us to a room in bunk beds. The shower and bathroom we shared with everyone else on the floor. We were of all ages...9 to 58 (Szilvi brought her daughter). We laughed, ate, shared stories (some translated for me) and enjoyed each others company. It was fantastic!

We attended a show called Heimtextil. It is one of the largest textile shows in Europe. We attended the show on Friday and Saturday. And headed back by train on Sunday.

To summarize this trip is difficult. It was, however, just what I needed. It was so nice to be around so many talented and inspiring women (and a man-there was one). I spent two days networking with companies and meeting future clients. I even meet with a friend from Nordstrom for lunch!! It was so nice to see a familiar face from Seattle. In the evenings, I would meet with the Hungarian group for dinner. We would then head to a pub or for a walk around the city. One night I ended up in a room with 7 other women learning a card game called Rikiki-we played until 12:30 at night!

I made so many friends and had such a great time. Here are a few photos....

The group!

In the train's dining car heading to Frankfurt

Anna, Zsuzsanna and Larisa

Walking to the pub in Frankfurt
Finally off the train, checked into our rooms and off to the pub!I love this guy--the master bartender. Check out the rows

of porcelain beer pitchers in the background!
Snowy Frankfurt

Two of my room mates: Márta and Ágnes

I never got to eat Bratwurst while I was there:(

Learning Rikiki...day one

Rikiki...day two
on the train ride home

Korean Day with the International Womens Club

I have never thought of myself as one to join a club, but on Wednesday I decided to attend the International Women's Club for their general meeting. The theme: "Korean Day".

I entered a huge room where around 200 women from all over the world were getting together to experience everything Korea! I found my friend Fiona (I meet Fiona in Hungarian classes). We found a table and listened to the Korean Ambassador speak, watched Korean fan dancing, live opera, folk games being played, and a Korean fashion show. The best part...Korean lunch! A buffet of bulgogi, kimchi, and lots of other tasty dishes!

It was a fantastic time! I will be attending the next event:)