today i stepped out of the apartment in mid-afternoon. a gust of wind met me on the sidewalk wrapping my skin in the perfect temperature. i stayed close to home because i read that some of the public transportation wouldn’t be running due to the big holiday.
i love this square where the apartment is located. i spun a dial and it landed me here. on this street. in this neighborhood. by this church. it pleases me to no end when i get lucky with the big wheel.
come closer. for me the beauty in everything lies in the details. so many of the buildings in budapest look like the work of a pastry chef with a pastry bag of pale icing and dozens of decorating tips that squeeze out ribbons and leaves and floral motifs.
and when the eye needs a place to rest there is the gingerbread tile and brickwork.
here is my building. last night i did my duty and placed the flag in its pole without incident.
i wonder what the entrance looked like 75 or 100 years ago. i am convinced it could not have been more beautiful than it is right now.
late at night when i stand on the balcony and peer through the leafy shadows on the street below i think i can here a horse clicking its way down the street.
someone coming to collect me!
i wonder if i should bring the flag…
oh the excitement and perils of time travel!
but anyway back to my square. a building on one corner has a lovely onion dome…
and thickly iced panels under the windows. sigh.
i basked in the light & air & beauty of my stroll through the neighborhood today. absorbing everything i saw and heard. old men walking dogs, women pushing strollers, talking couples on benches, a grandfather and his little grandaughter skipping ahead down the street singing.
seriously.
are you kidding me?!
now i understand the romanian woman in a kansas city department store who said about budapest:
prepare to be amazed.
i’m more than amazed. i’m in love.
i missed the 10,000 slice mega birthday cake. a recipe selected carefully each year by the national guild of hungarian confectioners.
but i didn’t miss the fireworks tonight over the danube.
well, not the danube per se. but a grove of trees next to the danube.
and i did manage to find in my wanderings today my very own hungarian confectioner. thus my very own cream cake.
and all that my friends, is a true story!
Your picture of the fruit stand and flowers is beyond words. You can taste the colors. Again, you have given us yummy pictures. Thank you.
Can’t wait for some pix of your travel journal. Carry on!
oh, the beauty, artistry, civilized nature of the place. and the pastries. i could taste it, see it, love it with you. thank you dear reporter. another wonderful day in Budapest.
Simply lovely! *sigh* I’m looking into travel agents right now.
Wonderful pics–thanks.
susan-
carol is winging here way here as i type this! should be here by tomorrow morning budapest time!
i came out a week in advance. she could only take off 1 week from her job.
I have enjoyed your eye and and your photographs from the very beginnings of Dispatch. However, your practice over the years and this schmancy recent camera make your images even better (didn’t think that was possible.) These are so crisp and gloriously hued!
Is Carol with you? I don’t see “we” in the posts or sister in images; are you soloing this time?
I have no words other than AMAZING. Going to add Budapest to my bucket list right now! Thank you!
Great job on the flag! Great talking to you, too.
Guess what city I saw tonight on House Hunters International? Yup, Budapest. Your apartment is way better than the show’s final choice. I think you should work for that show.
xo,s
That cream cake looks amazing–my stomach is growling, my mouth is watering…OK, I admit to being rather 1 track-minded…I love food!! Hence my fascination with your pictures of the food you find during your travels. Budapest is a beautiful city and I thank you for sharing it with us. I envy your courage in going to a new country by yourself, not even speaking the language and getting out there every day. That’s more guts than I was born with!! Well, as long as you’re willing to share your adventures with us, I’ll get to see more of the world than I ever would on my own!!
Oh so wonderful, Mary Ann. Wow. Loved this! I was thinking of you today as I spray painted some stencils back here in sunny, southern California for my own travel journal. I’ll be going to Hawaii in September and am so glad I took some of your classes. Enjoy!!!! You deserve it.
Thank you for your very generous sharing of photos and the comments………I too look forward to all your posts and enjoy “traveling” with you. I love fireworks and what a great way to celebrate a birthday……….your pictures are amazing!!!
I love to look into windows at night to see the interiors of homes in neighborhoods to see how they are decorated. That would be a great treat here I’m sure, and where you stayed in Paris. Not in a prying way, but just glances, you know? Have fun MaryAnn – love the posts! xxoo
Wow!! Happy 1011th Birthday Hungary!!! Now THAT is a long life!!
I used to pass a beautiful church similar to the one in your picture every day, years ago, as I walked to work. One day I went in and just sat in the quiet. I said a prayer … and my life changed forever.
Blessings to you, Mary Ann, in beautiful beautiful Budapest.
Thank you Mary Ann for sharing this with us. The photos take my breath away.
oh yum! to every wonderful deetail of the buildings-the fireworks-the cake!!!
Oh the joy of traveling with you, the sights, the sounds and the tastes. I wish I was by your side walking along and sharing the experience. I look forward to your posts each day.
Love all the tiny details. I am going to look through (more carefully) my pix from Italy and Spain and start cropping to get at those details; I still have an extra Europe ROD to fill! Thank you for the inspiring photos; I too am in envy but feeling so lucky to live vicariously through you! Have fun and eat an extra dessert for me!
You are in heaven.. you are in heaven.. enjoy… I’m so envious!
hugs bonitarose
I am just loving these Budapest posts. Almost as good as going there myself. Great pictures with little stories. Thank you for doing these. And thanks for letting me know about the tall tan thing in the corner.
Yumm. Beautiful, feels like I’m there, experiencing a new and ornate world! Happy Birthday Budapest!
I marvel at all the scenery and the pastries aren’t bad either. Continue to have a great time and we will continue to enjoy the journey through your eyes.
I am so enjoying your trip to Budapest! I have always wanted to go there and now I want to even more than ever! I love your idea of renting an apartment — I would love to know the details sometime, how you found it, arrangements.
You have incredible good fortune in finding miraculous places and I am so happy for you that you have this lovely place to enjoy that beautiful city!
Looking forward to more!!!
Such beauty! Don’t you wonder if the people living in the places you visit see their cities with eyes of wonder and appreciation like you do? I agree with ceevee – I so much admire your courage to travel as you do!
I really like ‘traveling’ with you. What wonderful buildings, details, and that cloudless sky! Thanks again. You are so brave to go off on your own where you don’t know the language. And that one is difficult. (my mother-in-law spoke it)