Ambassador Andy, U.S.A.

Palms sweaty, heart racing, I felt like a nervous wreck on a sugar high. I'd successfully made my way out to the airport via public transit (very very easy to do, just time consuming) and was now eagerly anticipating the arrival of Andy. Surprisingly enough his flight was on time, but he also wasn't coming in on a Hungarian Airline. Word to the wise-- those who find themselves flying in on Malev Hungarian Airlines should brace themselves for some sort of delay. Anyways, as the masses started to come through the doors, I became slightly distracted by a large Portuguese Rotary club that was now gathering in the window of what was a perfect view of the doorway. Out of the corner of my eye I spot a small wave from a tall, handsome Asian fellow...wait! That's Andy! Now picture Roadrunner, photochop my head onto the body, and you've got a near perfect image of what I am sure I looked like as I slalomed through the crowd, leaving a wake of disgruntled tour guides and travelers, and launched myself into the greatest bear hug Ferihegy Airport ever did see.

That night we had my infamous "I Cleaned Out The Fridge and We Need To Eat This Before It Spoils" risotto and then walked around Budapest that evening. The night was perfect, and there's nothing more beautiful than the Chain Bridge and Palace on a clear night. We had some very tasty Hungarian palacsintak (something like a deflated American Pancake crossed with a crepe) and called it a night. I made *real* American banana pancakes for breakfast, and was rather happy that they actually turned out the way they were supposed to. We headed out to City Park where we walked around Hero's Square and the Millennium Castle. Thanks to the rain a few weeks ago the fall foliage on the trees is simply stunning.

Located in the park is one of Budapest's most popular thermal baths-- Szechenyi Furdo. It was an experience that I would recommend to anyone. I loved it, and especially loved the fact that it was something I got to try for the first time with Andy. The tickets are in English and very easy to understand, although we opted for a cabin to change in and that was rather confusing as no one really seemed inclined to enlighten us on how everything worked, but we did eventually figure out. We tried just about all of the different baths-- some were blue, some were green, some hot, some cold. The outdoor pool that hovers around 100 Fahrenheit pool was incredible-- it's 50 degrees outside and the steam is just rolling off, but we were warm and toasty in the water. Our fingers were starting to look like prunes so we took a few minutes to roast in the sauna. When we'd had our fill of thermal fun we received a small refund for leaving early and headed back to the flat.

On our way back we stopped at Kaiser's, the grocery store I frequent. Eggs, milk, strawberry juice, bread, and mushrooms (dinner!) were all on the list. I don't suppose Andy had ever seen the bagless checkout phenomenon, but I was quick to inform him of the redundancy of the procedure: Pull food out of basket, put on belt, watch lady scan food and throw to the end of the counter, hope she doesn't break the eggs, pay for food, return food into basket, take basket to loading counter, unload food (again) out of basket, load food into personal bags and/or backpack.

Sigh.

Later that evening I took Andy to the local restaurant Red Pepper for some classic kettle goulash and beef porkolt. The food was so filling and tasty that I had to take a siesta after dinner before we headed back out into the nightlife. I have a feeling that because it is a holiday weekend things aren't as "hoppin" as they usually are, but we did have a nice night at the nearby club Banhof. I was surprised at the friendliness of the bartenders (and their English) and after some drinks and fun, Andy and I walked the entire 3 blocks back to the flat. Who knows what this weekend has in store for us?