Hunting…

Taking a break from my travel pics, I actually got my camera out this week and found some stuff for this week’s Scavenger Hunt.  I had to stretch it a bit but I got stuff.

SHINE:  Well, kind a of dull shine but a shine nonetheless.

FAST:  Our neighbor Doug had his dog Shelby down at the beach this past Friday.  Shelby, being a Golden Retriever, had to go in the water and Doug was hot on her trail trying to make sure she didn’t shake pond water all over everybody.  Doug won and Shelby got a ride home in a golf cart.

LEFT:  We sure have a lot of signs in our town admonishing us to stay left or go left.

PEACE:  I love being down at our beach in the evening with friends.  We get together each Friday in the spring and summer when the weather cooperates.  It feels like peace to me.

PLAIN:  Now, tell me, is there anything plainer than white bread?

Linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Hungarian Fences…

One city fence...

One country fence...

Linking to Friday Fences!

Buda and Pest and Odds and Ends...

Just a few parting shots of Budapest, a place I really hope to return to one of these days...

Franz Liszt's hand.

Matyas Church

In Buda looking toward Pest and the Parliament Building.

Inside the Central Market.  I would love having a place like this to shop.

Looks to me like the beginnings of a good goulash.

Exterior of the Central Market.

Dazed and confused.

An unforgettable day in the Puszta…

Not being city folks, Evan and I thought a day in the countryside in Hungary might be a nice break.  So, we decided to take an excursion to the Puszta or the Hungarian countryside.

 

Our first stop was in the town of Kecskemét, where we heard the noon bells ringing from the town hall and got to wander through a market on the town square.

City Hall and its bells.  An outstanding example of Hungarian Art Nouveau architecture.

One of the offerings at the market.  If I could have figured out how to get one of these jars home intact, I may have bought one.  They look delicious!
 

Then we took off for the countryside and a horse farm Varga Tanya, where we went to see a traditional Hungarian farm.

Then we went back to Varga Tanya to catch a Hungarian Equestrian Show.

The first demonstration was of three horses pulling a cart.

These are the two lead horses of a "four-in-hand," a vehicle traditionally used by nobles.

Horsemen were easy to see from a long distance in the Puszta so it was vital for the horseman to be able to make the horse lie down quickly.  This way they were able to hide.  This is a demonstration of the horse's ability to lie down and remain quiet.  The men are wearing a traditional Hungarian garment.

Here is the Puszta Ten.  In the 19th century there was an Austrian painter, Ludwigh Koch, who loved the Puszta and horses.  He painted an imaginary picture with a horseman standing on the back of the last two of five horses and driving them.  He said no horseman could do it in reality.  The Hungarian horsemen said they certainly could and did.  They did it so well that they even increased the number of horses to ten.

Our day ended with a feast of traditional Goulash, this fantastic platter of chicken and fried mushrooms, a pancake with apricot sauce and wine.  Great times!

Floating down the Danube…

Evan and I are home from our travels.  Both of us agree that of the three cities we visited, Budapest, Vienna and Prague, we liked Budapest the best.  The others are no slouches, mind you, but there was something very charming about Budapest.  I’m not sure if it was the beautiful (and sometimes stunning) waterfront, the easy subway accessibility or the friendly people that did it for me, but I really enjoyed being there.

We got in around 11 am their time after flying all night.  So after checking in to our hotel and taking a brief nap, we figured the best way to spend what we could manage of our first afternoon was to take a boat ride.  We actually enjoyed the boat ride so much, that we went back on our last evening there and cruised through Budapest in the dark.  So to get started, here are some pics I took as we floated down the Danube admiring the sights in Budapest.

This is the Liberty Bridge built in 1896 for the Millennium World Exhibition.

The Margaret Bridge has an unusual Y construction.  One branch goes to  Margaret Island.

The spectacular Parliament Building glowing in the evening light.

The Chain Bridge at night.

The Liberty Bridge at night.

The Parliament Building at night.

Evan and I are celebrating that we actually managed to negotiate our way down to the boat with two hours of sleep.

Happy Days…

So I mentioned that this weekend Greg, Carrie and I drove out to Syracuse, New York to attend the graduation festivities at Syracuse University where my son Evan received his Masters of Library and Information Science.  We had a wonderful time!  I was very impressed with the way SU handled the whole thing.  Because there are close to 4,000 graduates, on the day before the official graduation ceremony, they hold Convocations for each of the colleges.  So Evan got his chance to process across the stage and have his achievement acknowledged along with the others in his College.  Back in the day, when I graduated from University of Cincinnati, they did nothing like that so I didn’t even bother to attend.

  This is much better.

Undergraduates rush down the street for their Convocation Ceremonies.  Their robes are made out of recycled plastic bottles.  How cool is that??

And on Sunday, the ceremony was relatively short and sweet but still with all the pomp and circumstance.  

There's the Master himself.

And here I am...proud mother on Mother's Day.

So now he is on the job search.  But first, he and I are going to go to Budapest, Vienna and Prague for a few days.  This should be an interesting trip for two very directionally challenged humans.  I’ll see you all when we return.

And oh, by the way, I have to show you what Carrie made me for Mother's Day.

I love it!

Drive by Shootings: Barns on the Fly…

Well, I had a very nice weekend and a very nice Mother’s Day.  My weekend was full of graduation to dos at Syracuse University where my son Evan received his Masters Degree in Library and Information Science.  I took about 6 million pictures.  Okay, I exaggerate.  I actually took about 600.  And I will get to them soon, I hope.  Meanwhile, I did a quick clean up of a couple of the barns we passed on Interstate 90 on our way to the graduation and that is what I am posting tonight. 

Later I will show you a pic or two of the graduate and his beautiful sister.  

Linking to Barn Charm at Bluff Area Daily!