On my way home...I'm going home

Okay. (as János says) Supair!

Now, to write what I have not had chance to write. 

The Dog and his Girl

Chips, the dog, is about a foot long, tiny little Yorkshire Terrier.  Masa brings him along for the ride when we go to the store, or the airport, and most places.  The night we went out to eat, Chips knew we were going out all together, and went and sat in his doggy carrying bag waiting to be brought along with us.  Alas, he was left behind. 

Masa loves her little Chipsy.  And Chips loves his little slipper.  Krisz has a pair of slippers with dog heads on the front, and they are bigger than Chips, and whenever Chips sees the slippers, he starts humping it non-stop.  I have photos.  We put the slipper in the kitchen, and János was laughing that Chips dragged it into the bedroom for privacy.  He jokes with me -- "Get a room!" because I saw him kissing his friend all the time and I said, get a room, and when they asked about it, I said, in America, kissing in public is embarrassing and people will say get a room.  They were surprised.  In Hungary there is a lot of public display of affection.  I told János, yes, American men like public displays of affection -- sex on the hood of the car, sex on the 50 yard line, sex in the car, but not plain old kissing in the mall or in the street. 

Masa has these little doggy w.c. pads -- so Chips does not have to be let out, there is this flat diaper-like pad under the sink in the bathroom, and Chips pees on it.  Chips does go out, but when it is not convenient, or no one is home, Chips has his little w.c. pad.  I have never seen it in the U.S., but who am I to know about dog things, or shopping.

Eating Out

János and I and his friend, Szilvia, went to that restaurant last night at Liszt Ference tér, a big open plaza I have written about before.  It is filled with restaurants and trees and for the most part no cars.  It was a nice place, very high energy with one table of people speaking German, one speaking American English, one speaking British, and others speaking Hungarian.  There was nice gentle lighting amidst trees and shrubs with umbrellas over the tables.  When the evening air gets cold, the waiter or hostess comes by with a very soft blanket for the ladies to cover themselves with.  We had to wait awhile for our food, and János joked that they had to kill my deer for the meat.  So the waiter brought us, free of charge, a plate of fried vegetable chips and different flavored dips -- salsa, sour cream, garlic dip and guacamole.

Bridge Festival --My Baby's Got me Locked up in Chains

Today, I went to the Chain Bridge to meet Ruth, where we watched and photographed and videotaped some Hungarian folk dancing -- most of which was all about wedding celebrations and costumes.  I hoped they would have Langos, the pizza-like snack, but they had these big hot lunches on plates and one stand had soup with beans and meat and bread (salad was chopped cabbage --typical type of salad here).  Ruth said that yesterday there were more little easy to hold foods to buy, but that today she didn't understand why there were such big meals.  I said to her that Sunday dinner is a big deal here, and they probably wanted to provide the people with what they were missing if they were home -- to entice them to come to buy.  The bridge is right near three large international hotels -- the Sofitel, the Four Seasons and the (I can't remember...) Intercontinental Hotel, I think.  So there were lots of English people there and Germans. 

I also saw a show with a man with a whip using it to take paper out of a girl's hands.  There also was a show about soldiers that looked like Monty Python ("It's got teeth").  One guy was so striking looking, high cheekbones and long hair, that I took a picture of him as they all relaxed at a table afterwards.  I guess it is the Hungarian version of civil War reenactment, but from like 1000 years ago.

Ruth and I walked around Vörösmarty tér, a real touristy cafe, shop, restaurant area by the Danube.  I saw some vendors with tables selling goodies, so I bought Kenny a key ring for his car keys, and a cookbook that shows how to make Langos -- just what I need to be eating -- fried dough made with flour, potatoes, and eggs.  But it had lots of good foods I have eaten here, and I thought that with my wine tastings I would have to serve food with it, and I can show my friend ,Murray, the recipes and he can make them if I need it catered.

The Opposite Sexes

When János and I went out last night, Masa called around 11:00 wondering why we were out so late.  I asked if that was a problem, since we had only been out for a couple of hours, long enough to get dinner. He said, "You know the women are always jealous"  (and, I added, with good reason).  They were arguing when we got home, and then she showed us her new outfits.  A thong and a dress, and a little teddy.  Size 2.  János likes to try to say "thong" because Hungarians don't use the "th" sound, so I used to always correct Cookie when he said "dis" or "dat" and János exaggerates the TH sound and laughs.  Then he says "get a room". 

So today, when he picked me up at the end of the day, at the Arkád mall, he bought Masa a bunch of chocolates and a big chocolate heart. 

But yesterday, before we took Krisztian or was it after we took him to the airport, János was sitting with me at the kitchen table, and called, "Masa, what are you doing?"  She said, "Nothing" from the other room.  He said, "Would you please make me a cappucino?"  Now this cappucino is an instant mix that you stir with hot water and milk. They have an electric teapot that instantly heats the water.  He could have made it himself by the time it took her to come into the room.  So later I teased him that in America, or at least among the people I know, that if a man does that, a woman would usually say, "Is your arm broken?" or as my grandmother used to say, "stick a broom up my ass and I'll sweep the floor, too."  He said, "When you make 100,000 dollars, I will cook for you and wash your clothes, but if I make the money, you make the coffee."  And Masa works very hard.  She never eats, just runs around doing things, and watching TV with her mother. 

Well, I must get up very early and it is 10:00 p.m.  I have to get the wine on the plane...János has a friend in customs who said that foreigners can bring up to 100 liters of wine out of the country, so I should only have to pay cargo charges for my wine being shipped.  That sounds more reasonable if people want to visit this country and buy its products.

I think Masa is serving tea and chocolates right now so I will go and then get up with the birds and János to go to his office at 6:30.  May not have time for the Internet again until I return. 

So, SZIA, as they say here.  Szia on the flip side (of the world).

Diane