Vegan conspiracy?

Mercury in our fish, mad cow and now bird flu in chickens. So what's a red-blooded carnivore like me supposed to eat? I suppose the people over at PETA are feeling pretty happy these days. I guess it's time to drag out my ancient Moosewood cookbook and try out some of their yummy veggie casseroles and soups. Actually though, I was a bit alarmed that bird flu was showing up in the Balkans, Croatia to be specific. Hygiene and food safety were HUGE issues when we were over there and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see problems in Kosovo because of it. I'm glad M is not going back over after all.

In other news, I am so thankful that my family in Naples, FL was spared the worse of Hurricane Wilma. Actually Naples, which is mostly new construction, withstood the storm very well. I guess there is a lot of tree and foliage damage, but not to much structurally other than roofs, shingles and signs. Not at all like New Orleans, or even what Wilma did to Miami. My parents, sister and brother are all fine, and are waiting to get the utilities back on line. Actually my parents had phone service Monday night, which says a lot about Naples infrastructure, I think. My brother was hosting a Halloween party this weekend, which D, M and I were really looking forward to, but it's on hold until they know if they'll have electric and water (they have a well system).

In the meantime, here in St. Pete, we had some very blustery, rainy weather but the only catastrophic damage was to our Halloween decorations. You know that white cobwebby stuff you string up? Yeah, well, it's not made to withstand 40 mph wind gusts.

Have a spook-tacular Halloween! I'll post picture of D in her pumpkin costume next week!

Storm watch

Hello. I've dragged myself away from the Weather Channel's continuous coverage of Hurricane Wilma. I had to take a break. We have our evacuation plans. We've collected our important papers, precious mementos and of course, my iPod, and are ready to flee if need be. And this is all on the remote chance it heads toward the Bay area. Right now we're just on the fringes - close enough to need to prepare, far away enough to not take those preparations TOO seriously. For instance, my "supply" trip to Publix this morning. Sure I stocked up on more bottled water. But in trying to prepare, but not overprepare, I also found myself buying M&Ms, yogurt raisins, Tostitos, Stove Top stuffing, and Chocolate-flavored Silk. Mmmm. Random food items! There might be a meal in there, but basically, we'll be eating movie theatre snacks for a few days if we lose power.
At least they'll be easy to throw in the car in a hurry.

Probably the best comment I've heard so far on the hurricane was this morning at school drop-off. D was sitting with some of her little girlfriends and another little girl came running up saying, "Guys, guys...I have important and bad news! My daddy says this storm is going to hook a hard right and come right at us!" Immediately all the other little girls jumped in with their own commentary and opinions. It was so innocent and cute and grown up all at once.

Change in the air

I woke up - okay, I was woken up - at 7:00 and noticed the Change when I went into the kitchen to make the coffee. I quickly checked the thermostat, yep holding steady at 78 and the a/c wasn't even running. I opened the back door to cool(ish), dry air - Autumn has come to West Central Florida. Hurrah! While poor miserable Northerners get ready for months of cold and slush and thousand-dollar heating bills, Floridians are now looking forward to months of blue skies, low mosquito counts and beautiful weather. Beach weather! The temperature this morning was 76. A woman I used to work with had a theory that you knew it was going to be a good day if the first number of the temperature was the same - or lower - than the hour (e.g., 76 at 7 a.m. is good; 84 at 6:30 is bad.) Good day today!

The other big Change is my good friend Katy and her family are moving to Washington, D.C. She's the organizer for D's playgroup and her daughter and D have been playing together for over a year, which may not seem like a lot to you & I, but that's 1/3 of our kids lives! Anyway, when you've bonded over things like potty-training and pre-school, it's hard to say good-bye, but it's an exciting opportunity for their family, so we're happy for them too.

M was in D.C. this week as well, presenting on the Kosovo project. His presentation went very well and was well received. He came back energized and re-charged, just what he needs right now. I hope he starts seeing some more benefits from all the work he's put in this year.

But today we'll be enjoying the weather.

Adults only

This is our anniversary weekend - M & I have been married six wonderful years today. It is amazing to look back at all we've accomplished and done as a couple and a family; I couldn't have asked for more. It's amazing to see some of the things we discussed in our "five year plan" five years ago actually happening now. Equally as amazing is it has been 10 years almost to the day since I first met M and fell in love at first sight.

But the best part of this weekend is having some much needed time alone. D is spending the weekend with Aunt Debbie. It's been great - conversations go uninterrupted, we can watch whatever we want on TV (a Michael Douglas movie marathon) and walking the dogs takes an appropriate 10-15 minutes. I even slept in until 7 this morning. Last night we went to Bern's for dinner. Probably the most famous local restaurant/steakhouse in the area, we had a wonderful meal made even more wonderful by not having to rush back home to relieve a babysitter. This morning I'm suffering from still-full syndrome, I think my stomach is just getting around to processing dessert.

We pick D up at 4 this afternoon. So we have a whole day before we have to get back to being parents.

Night out

I am going out tonight! Alone! My sister Debbie is having a dinner & games girls-only night at her house, my other sister Bunky is driving up from Naples and M is watching D for the night, so I'm going out! I think this will be the first "fun" time I've had away from M & D since May, so I'm waaaaay overdue.

It comes at a great time too because it was sort of a rough week. M's been working "lawyers hours" - up at 5, home at 10. D's been waking up early too, and so we're all a bit sleep deprived. Not that it's an unfamiliar feeling. I think the last time I slept all the way through the night was in Budapest and before that.... maybe when M & I went to Aruba last year. D wakes up 2, maybe 3, times a night, either from bad dreams or she needs a drink of water or has to go potty or her sheets have gotten tangled. There's always some reason to yell for Mom & Dad. I imagine one day she'll be able to do all that stuff completely unassisted and then I'll feel sad because she's NOT waking me up every night, but then again, she'll probably be waking me up for different stuff. M tries to help but sometimes she just wants me. And I always feel really guilty for waking M up, after all he's the one that has to go to work, where if we're too tired we can just pod out at home all day. Not that the days are much fun when everyone is tired and cranky.

Truly, the biggest sufferer here is the ever-patient Fizzy, our dog (see picture). She must be wondering what in the world she did to be brought back here (hot, bugs, sketchy walks) from North Carolina (cool, no bugs, cats to play with, big deck overlooking mountain valley to play on, 4 walks/day). M's parents really took great care of her while we were away. She's not really ignored though - D's at the age where she just loves to "play" with the dog. Unfortunately this usually means running after or from her through the house. And since I have a rental car while my Murano is in the shop D and Fizzy have to sit next to each other in the back seat, which is always fun. The first time we all had to go somewhere I heard Fizzy shake and then D shout happily "OOOH, Fur!" Looked back to see a cloud of dog hair. They'll love me at the rental place.

I'm really looking forward to tonight.

Busytown

We had a pretty busy week. Besides the regular school and volunteer stuff, on Wednesday D and I also attended a cool program at Boyd Hill Nature Park, one of our favorite local parks. The program, called "Jungle Boogie," focuses on a different native animal every week and includes a story, short nature walk and a craft project. It's really neat.

On Thursday we had a bit of a car accident. I was driving down the street when one of my neighbors pulled out of the alley and ran right into the side of my car. It seemed like mostly cosmetic damage at the time, but it turns out my car wasn't drivable. Luckily my neighbor (who we're friends with) has great insurance and they had no problem getting me a rental car and taking care of towing my car to the body shop. They're supposed to have an estimate today of how long it will take to repair. I hope soon because the rental they gave me is a Pontiac Grand Prix, which is a perfectly fine car but just a wee bit flashy for me. I've never really felt that your car is a reflection of who you are, but I might change my mind if I have to drive around in a sports car for a few weeks.

So. On Friday, D suddenly spiked a fever so we spent the day resting and ended up doing the same on Saturday. M worked from home all day and I made homemade chicken noodle soup. It was my first try at homemade soup and frankly I don't think I'll ever eat canned again. It was delicious and had none of that funny, salty, tinny taste that even the best canned soups always have. M and I ate practically the whole pot on Saturday.

Inspired by my soup-er success, I went on to make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast Sunday and a broccoli salad for a party we went to Sunday night. So now I'm kind of cooked out. Luckily my sister Debbie has invited D & I for dinner tonight so I'll have a day off from the kitchen.

The big news this week is that we're getting TiVo installed tomorrow! I never thought I'd need something like this in my life, but I saw it in action a few weeks back and it made a convert out of me. Plus M won't have to rush home from work on Wednesdays to watch "Lost." After this my last big technical challenge is converting everything to wireless, and if you think it takes a long time to roll this kind of stuff out at work, try doing it with a three-year-old interrupting you every 20 seconds.

In the midnight hour

M comes home from Kosovo today. His part of the project has wrapped up although it looks like it will be another year before the UN pulls out. Maybe they can use that time to pin down exactly how the Kosovars expect to support themselves once they are independent.

I've not been sleeping well, staying up far too late. In part because I can't calm my brain down enough to get a good night's sleep and in part because the cable channels have been showing Titanic a couple times a week and really, I just can't get enough of that movie. I have no idea why I haven't bought the DVD yet, but if it's on TV I can't resist watching and hoping - again and again - that Jack makes it out alive and he and Rose live happily ever after. (For the two or three people out there who haven't seen it AND coincidentally stumble on this blog: sorry for giving away the ending.) Anyhoo, the movie clocks in at three hours and change and tends to start around 11:00 pm so, you do the math, but generally it means I'm up until 2:00 watching the ship go down. Even after seeing it dozens of times, I still cry a bit during the "Jack! I'm flying!" part and when Rose can't wake Jack up at the end and when Celine starts singing at the credits. But at least I'm not thinking about my own misery during all this so for me the movie has fulfilled it's promise of Escapist Entertainment. But now that M's home I may have to switch to something a wee more highbrow, or at the very least something we haven't seen before.

For me, working through the grief and loss of the baby has resulted in my trying to stay very busy, which it turns out isn't that hard to do with a three-year-old in the house, especially since her school requires volunteer hours. I've signed up for a couple classroom projects and I'm in charge of their Valentine's Day party (OK, that's February but I'm thinking about it now!). Also I'm working on Teacher Appreciation Week, there's the school Silent Auction in October, field trips, etc. Then we've got our neighborhood playgroup, which has been so supportive of our family during all this. Plus I'm still in the Junior League and between committees and monthly meetings (which start again this month), it's that time of the year where I start wondering if I should buy a PDA and get myself organized instead of wandering around town with random dates and times scribbled on the backs of whatever loose paper I find in my purse.

Life does go on, whether you like it or not.

Loss

(Warning: Graphic details ahead!)

Has it really been two weeks since my last post? Seems like two days with everything that has been going on. Our week in North Carolina turned into an exercise in grief and loss. First D and I had to cut short our visit in Atlanta to stay ahead of any hurricane Katrina-related storms. Then Tuesday we weathered through a day with no power, no water at my in-laws house as the remnants of Katrina blew through. When the power did come back on, it was almost as if we were glued to the TV unable to turn away from the horrible devastation on the Gulf Coast. One day with no power, no water a small penance for what was happening there.

The loss got personal on Wednesday however. Mid-morning I started bleeding a little bit and when it didn't stop even after I lay down for awhile, I called my OB in St. Pete and he said I needed to go to the ER. Where, to my horror and disbelief, I found out that I was miscarrying our precious baby. Loss and grief don't even begin to describe what I felt and am still feeling. I called M who made arrangements to fly up a day early on Thursday to be with us. The ER doctor at Haywood Regional Medical Center was very compassionate and wisely made arrangements for me to see a local OB in the morning just to confirm what was happening. Unfortunately, the next morning (Thursday) I woke up feeling like I was in labor. The cramping/contractions were so severe I couldn't stand up. By the time my MIL got me to the OB I was bleeding heavily and couldn't really walk. So I ended up having emergency surgery - a D&C - under general anesthesia. With M not there. With D in the waiting room with my MIL. With me crushed under a black hole of loss and sadness.

Even after seeing my own OB back here in town and being reassured that it was just "one of those things" and we could try again as soon as we wanted to and yes, my age (almost 39) is a risk factor, but only in the 20-30% range since I already have a healthy baby, I wake up every morning not really comprehending that I'm NOT pregnant, that it really did happen. And have to cope with the fear that it could happen again. The one beautiful thing is D, who I am so grateful for. I can't imagine what it would be like not to have a child to hold during all of this and my heart breaks for women who miscarry on their first pregnancies, or who may have miscarried several times, or who may be waking up every morning wondering if they'll ever be able to carry a baby of their own.

I am fortunate to have two close friends who have been through miscarriages who understand how it feels and the emptiness you feel. They reassure me that it's OK, really, to feel like you're not over it yet. I wake up in the morning thinking, it's been two weeks (exactly two weeks today) and I'm still sad and depressed. I'm not over it. Is that OK? Shouldn't I have snapped out of it by now? No, I guess not. I am surprised at how many other women that I know have said that they also had one (and in a lot of cases, gone on to have more children!). It really is just something that we (as women) don't talk about. I don't like talking about it because the grief and fear is so personal and overwhelming that I ache and could just cry and cry all day thinking about it.

So, we are trying to resume our normally scheduled programming of preschool and playdates and parties and grocery shopping. We eat our meals, although sometimes a bit later than usual, and we walk the dog and I email my friends. I think it's called getting back to normal.

Recent developments

I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted. When we were abroad I was obsessed with writing something every day. Then again, I didn't have much else to do.

Hectic times here lately! M is trying to figure out a way to go back to Kosovo and work with all the various organizations through the transition period this fall. It's hard to believe that Kosovo thinks it's ready for independence, but I guess that's why everyone is working so hard. IMHO it would be a bit like sending your 8th grader to college just because he bought college-level textbooks. What do I know! Anyway, the debate here is whether D and I would return with him, complicated by the fact that we recently discovered that I'm a bit over two months pregnant! Very exciting and we've been talking about expanding our family for a while now, but I never thought it would happen while we were in Kosovo. Anyway, I'm not sure I'm ready to brave Pristina while I'm in the throes of morning/noon/night sickness. It's hard enough to keep down foods that I like, let alone think about the stuff that we ate over there. The water situation is also a concern. But I totally support M going back and finishing what he started. It would be lonely, but it would just be for a few months (or so they say).

Other than that, we're firmly in the pre-school routine and D is really enjoying it. It gives me a few hours of rest time a week, which I really look forward to.

Next weekend D & I are driving to Atlanta to visit my b.f. Lisa and her family. Then off to North Carolina for a week at my in-law's house in the mountains and to pick up our dog Fizzy, who's been boarding with them since May. Ought to be lovely and I hope the blueberries are still in season!

First Day of School

Today was D's first day of school. In preparation, we've been practicing a "School Day" routine for about a week and it's a good thing that we didn't try to wing it because it turns out D needs a considerable amount of time to wake up in the morning (takes after her father that way). But by this morning, we were all ready to get up and at 'em at 6:15 in the morning. I let her have five minutes to get the sleep out then time to wash up, dress and go through the agony of what to do with her curly, un-ruly hair. Ponytail, of course. All in all it went very smoothly and she looked adorable with her backpack.

We got to the school in a torrential downpour, so instead of dropping off in the car line I had to carry her in under the umbrella. I helped her get her things stashed away, then Ms. Donna asked all the kids to come sit on the carpet at the front of the room. We had a touch-and-go moment because D wanted to sit in "her" chair with her name tag on it, but I reminded her that she was there to learn and listen to Ms. Donna. She seemed OK with that and then I got out of there as quick as I could.

It was weird when I went back to pick her up. She seemed...older. Talking about kids I didn't know, singing songs I didn't know. Now I know how parents end up out of touch with their kids.

She's only going Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so I'm making a special effort to enjoy the time we will get to spend together.

High hopes

Ah, the weekend. Well, for D & I anyway. M is working really long hours just now. I don't think he's been home before 9 one night this week and he had to work last Saturday and this Saturday as well.

My parents are coming up to visit us tomorrow and then D & I will be down in sunny Naples all next week. My sister, Bunky, is taking three days off to hang out with us. I can't wait to see everyone. I'd also like to catch up on some movies, like Madagascar, and get a pedicure and maybe leave D with mom & dad for a few hours and just relax somewhere. Except for one 20 minute break in Macedonia I haven't had any time to myself for months.

In other developments, there is a new Chinese restaurant, Great Wall 2, on Fourth Street and rumor has it the food is very good. I've gotten my hopes up before only to be disappointed, but I'm willing to give them a try. Saint Petersburg really needs a good Chinese take-out place. Maybe this is it.

I finished the new Harry Potter last night and I'm more a fan than ever. Such great story-telling! So many loose ends! Can I pre-order Number Seven now?! As much as I (and probably a million other readers) don't want to see the end of the series, i can imagine how hard it must be on J.K. Rowling to let it go. In the meantime, I'll move on to some of the other (i.e. adult) books that I've been wanting to read or that have been recommended to me: The Kite Runner, Family Matters (by Rohinton Mistry who wrote A Fine Balance, which was excellent!) and The Historian - a new book that has something to do with vampires and history and, well, I can't remember any more right now but it sounded interesting at the time and I put it on my must-read list.

Another boiling hot day here. I'm happy to stay inside where it's nice and cool. D told me today at the supermarket that she likes hot weather cause it makes everything "so warm and cozy." She may be more of an optimist than I am.

Little big girl

Our little big girl is growing up. D is officially potty training. I wish I could say trained, but I'm still putting her in pull-ups at night, when we go out or on long car rides. She did it "all by herself" in just two days! Kind of gives credence to the theory that you just need to educate, introduce and then let the kid take it from there. I am very proud of her and look forward to crossing diapers off my grocery list. I'll keep wipes on there though. Lots of uses for them.

D's doing really well. You'd never know we only got back a week ago. The biggest holdover from our time in Kosovo is that we're no longer dependent on TV. We're down to barely an hour a day - she gets 30 minutes in the morning while I take my shower and 30 in the evening (if we've had a good day). Even I no longer look to it as a "babysitter." She seems so much older - happy to play with her Care Bears or Calico Corner animals. She'll stage massive tea parties for all her stuffed animal friends. Or look at her books. Or she'll sit on the couch with this great, wrinkled-brow, concentrating look and when I ask her what she's thinking about she'll say "What's the name of that song, the one about the mountains?" And I'll have to wrack my brain and try to sing or hum all the songs she may have heard about mountains. It's like playing Cranium, all day long.

Back to normal

We've been home almost a whole week now. Time just flies when you're having fun...or unpacking, organizing, doing mountains of laundry, sorting mail.

Our homecoming was pretty smooth, even though only 1 out of our 4 big suitcases made it to Tampa. We also had an hour wait in customs because a thunderstorm prevented them from unloading the plance. When we finally cleared customs and got to the terminal, I spotted my sister and pointed her out to D, who popped out of her stroller and sprinted across the terminal screaming "Aunt Debbbbieeeeeeee" and wrapped herself around her. It was so touching, it makes me tear up even now. I'm so glad that they have such a strong relationship.

The first few days back were a bit tumultuous. M was down with a ferocious case of jet-lagged induced traveler's tummy. He ended up being up all night Tuesday throwing up and then slept all day Wednesday. Our bags made it home on Thursday night. We got a call at about 1 in the morning from a nice man informing us that they were on the way. I informed him he could leave them on the doorstep for us. They were too heavy for anyone to steal anyway.

We had a few mornings of waking up at 4:00 or so, but now we're all sleeping until our regular times and D is back on schedule - HURRAY! In bed by 7:45, sleeping until 7:30. As my good friend Lisa once told me (speaking from her experience with two active boys): "sleep begets sleep." Something I take to heart.

I'll get around to it...

I was going to write a full account of our transition back to the U.S. complete with pithy observances on life, commentary on our horrible case of jet-lagged induced traveler's tummy and an update on the Saga of the Lost Luggage, except my copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" arrived in the post this morning.

The blog (and dinner, laundry, etc.) will have to wait... .

Home!

Home! We got back last night, although most of our luggage didn't. It feels weird posting in "real time" instead of six hours before everyone over here wakes up.

The trip back was smooth, thanks in part to British Airways, their great customer service and excellent, comfortable planes. We almost had too much to eat on the flight. Too bad our luggage didn't enjoy the same treatment although the problem originated in Pristina. My greatest fear is that our luggage will get sent back to Kosovo, disappear into a great yawning maw of bureaucratic nonsense and we'll never see it again. Which would be horrible because all of M's business clothes are missing as well as all of D's & mine, plus souvenirs, gifts, DVDs, etc. Oh well. They assure us that it will turn up eventually.

My wonderful sister, Aunt Debbie to D, stocked our fridge with all kinds of goodies: milk, watermelon, broccoli and BACON. Yes, I had my much dreamt about BLT on Sourdough for lunch today. It was as good as I had imagined it would be. Unfortunately M couldn't share in the treat since he's down with a horrible case of traveler's tummy. He did manage a half a banana and some water at lunch, so maybe he's on the mend.

Anyway, we're all in transition. D has every single one of her toys out in the living room, M is lying on the couch resting and I'm in heaven unpacking the bags that did make it, organizing and going through seven weeks of backlogged mail.

Do I miss Kosovo? Heck no, not yet.

Over and out

Final post from Kosovo. We leave for the airport shortly after lunch, overnight in London, then head for Florida on Tuesday morning. It's rainy and cool this morning - just like when we arrived. It will be very hard getting used to the steamy Florida summer weather.

I've been feeling bittersweet about leaving for the last few days. I realized there were a few things I would miss - the laid-back atmosphere, our new friends, meeting people from all over the world and the sense that this was an introduction to a new way of life for our little family of three. Being an "international" is a career in itself, whether or not you have a job to do. It has been an amazing experience, complete with hardships, challenges, lots of improvisation and wonderful, rewarding adventures.

We had a first rate final lunch out at Pishat, an Albanian restaurant, yesterday - chicken kebabs, shopska salad, fried cheese, country bread and peppers in cream followed by an enormous platter of assorted fresh fruits on the "house." It was lovely, sitting outside and enjoying the wonderful weather on the terrace while munching on melon and enjoying macchiatos.

D woke up this morning so excited to be going back to "St. Pete home." She's especially excited to see her Aunt Debbie who is meeting us at the airport. I think she thought Debbie would be coming to pick us up because she was looking all over the apartment for her this morning. I haven't quite managed to get through to her that we have to spend the night in London before we get home; I anticipate lots of tears when we check into the airport hotel.

OK. So that's it from this edge of the world. Final bit of packing to do. Drop off some leftover supplies and groceries for our American Neighbor Eric. One last slapdash lunch (pudding? fruit? pasta?) to throw together. Then we're off. I'd leave for the airport right now if I could.

Next post from home.

A few of my favorite things

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite things from the last seven weeks:

1) Sour cream on everything! Especially good on the lasagne in Macedonia.
2) Chilled sour cherry soup
3) Fried cheese
4) Gerbaud Cafe, Budapest
5) Burek with djath (and a Coca-Cola Light or Fanta)
6) Eating ice creams for lunch
7) Cassandra Peninsula, Halkidiki, Greece
8) Garlicky roasted potatoes
9) Bootleg DVDs
10) Talking at night instead of watching TV
11) Bakery Wednesday with D
12) Farmer's markets
13) Seeing the Chain Bridge at night for the first time
14) St. Stephen's Basilica
15) Watching D eat grilled sardines
16) Collecting rocks from the crystal clear waters of Lake Ohrid
17) Pogasca
18) Playing in the pools at Szechenyi
19) Having two people ask me for directions in Budapest!
20) Afitos & the Best Vanilla Milkshake Ever
21) Looking for yarn with Sharon at the Pristina farmer's market
22) Lake Bled, Slovenia
23) The triple bridges, Ljubjana
24) D polka-ing on the street in Ljubjana
25) Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm (on DVD)
26) Fresh, soft sheets and towels at Four Seasons
27) Listening to M speaking Hungarian
28) The blue-eyed stare
29) Fresh fruit
30) Thinking I can't handle living here, then supposing I could, then realizing I am

Six days in Budapest

Day One - We fly to Budapest. We knew it was going to be good when Malev, Hungary's national airline, served real food on the 90 minute flight from Pristina. The hotel was absolute luxury and after 7 weeks in the Balkans your appreciation of things like hot showers, potable water and Frette sheets is heightened. I could have spent six days just in the room! It was heaven coming "home" every evening to a soft bed, hot bath and fresh ice in the bucket.

Day Two - We explore the Buda Hills Castle District. We took the furnicular (what we called an incline in Pittsburgh) up to the top of the Hill which provided us with a beautiful view of the city. The Castle District is unique because there are no castles, but lots of beautiful gardens, museums, churches and other fascinating architecture. It also has the Budapest Labyrinth, which runs along the old tunnels beneath the Hill. It's part history, part Disney, part tongue-in-cheek spoof. We had ice creams (for D) and coffees at a lovely cafe at the top of the hill. In the evening, we walked over to St. Stephen's Basilica, which was just a few blocks from the hotel. There was a choir singing inside and the setting sun lit up the building. It was so moving I actually cried a bit.

Day Three - We see the City Park. We woke up terrifically late today, probably because of the ultra-comfortable hotel room. Even D slept until almost 9 in her little rollaway bed. After we got moving, we had breakfast at Gerbaud's - mine included brioche and a banana "omlette" which was actually sliced bananas atop a decadent whipped mousse atop a shortbread biscuit. Yumm. We then took the metro out to Hero's Square and the City Park and walked for miles through the park and the different neighborhoods. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the Farmer's Market, which is housed in this fantastic old building. As with all the Farmer's Markets over here, the wares ran the gamut from produce to sausage to meat to folk art and other goods. The building was breathtaking though, as is so much of the architecture in Budapest.

Day Four - We visit M's old school. Wednesday, after a quick lunch for D at the local McDonalds, we took the Blue line metro (as D calls it, the "quiet one") out to see M's old school. It is in a working class neighborhood outside of the city. This is where M taught English to 4 - 8 graders back in the mid-90s. Since it was summer holidays no one was around, but it was neat to see where he worked. We had lunch in the metro stations at one of the street food vendors. Pogasca are popover-type muffins with either cheese or ham or plain and they are cheap, filling and delicious. I ate about a dozen as we walked around the city. The rest of the day we spent souvenir-hunting and then had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. I had Shrimp Scampi, my first real shellfish in seven weeks. Note: I did have prawns in Slovenia, but they were whole prawns, complete with shells, claws, eye-stalks and innards, and they were a lot of work to eat and so I tend to think of them as something other than shellfish.

Day Five - We go swimming. On Thursday we spent the day at the Szechenyi furdo (thermal baths). The pools are located in the main City Park, in their own beautiful baroque building. We had quite an adventure just getting in. After buying the tickets, D & I were herded down to the ancient, decrepit locker rooms. It was like an 80-year-old school locker room, complete with 80-year-old naked ladies dressing and drying. We were completely freaked. When we finally emerged on the pool deck, M told us we had actually paid for a private family cabin - sort of like a cabana - in the updated, clean and remodeled part of the locker rooms. Thank goodness for someone who understands the language! Anyway, the rest of the day was fabulous and D really enjoyed the hot and cold pools, playing in the thermal springs and the "wave pool," which was actually a large circular current which spun you around and around a small pool. It was an amazing day and really made us feel part of the city. We had dinner at Goa, which serves great fresh, modern Hungarian, Continental and Asian food. It was odd to see stir-fried shrimp and bok choy on the same menu as Chicken Paprikas, but somehow it worked. I had a starter of grilled Cyprus cheese and blood oranges, then followed it up with papardelle (my new favorite noodle) with beef tenderloin and mushrooms. Mmm.

Day Six - We celebrate D's birthday. We had arranged for the hotel to bring up a birthday muffin for D, complete with candle for a birthday surprise. M took some great video of us singing Happy Birthday and then her blowing out the candle (I helped a bit). I hope she remembers some of this trip, but if not she'll enjoy looking back at the video.

Back from Budapest

We're back from Budapest, safe and sound. I plan on writing a full recap when we get back home to Florida next week, but suffice it to say we had an amazing week. It was great seeing all the places where M used to hang out back in the early 90s. A lot has changed too, so it was neat for him to see all the progress the city has made over the last decade. It's truly a model of a great European capital city. We've already decided our favorite family memory of Budapest was Thursday's visit to the Szecheny furdo. This is the giant thermal pool right in the heart of the city, housed in a wonderful baroque building. There is a hot pool - about 80 bubbling hot degrees - and a cool pool - at about 73 degrees. We stayed and played all day and then walked around the city and had dinner and stayed out until wayyyyy after 10.

Which is why we didn't hear about the London bombings until this morning. What a horrible shock. Not the least because we're due to fly through London on Monday on our way back home. Of course that's only if Hurricane Dennis stays away from the St. Petersburg area and we can get back at all. Or if Dennis doesn't stray to far west affecting Dallas/Ft. Worth, which is where M has to fly through. Sigh. Always something when you're traveling.

Anyway, today is D's third birthday. We had arranged to have a birthday muffin, complete with candle, delivered to the hotel room this morning and she was very surprised! M got video of her reaction. She's been a little trooper, being dragged all over the place, and only had a few blowouts in Budapest. I hope she can hang in there for a little bit longer until we get home sweet home.

Now it's time to unpack (before we pack again, that is), do some last minute laundry, buy our last six-pack of water and try to figure out what we're having for dinner. I know we'll be seeing our friends this weekend to say goodbye. It's hard to believe we're down to a weekend. I just hope our trip home goes smoothly.

Pristina in the news

Hello friends, family and readers - You may have seen the reports that there were bombings at UN headquarters in Pristina Saturday night. Not to worry, our neighborhood is a few miles from the area that was damaged and we are all fine and dandy. Plus we have some good UN contacts who would be sure to alert us if there was a serious problem for Americans.

That said, when we leave for Hungary today we will be taking our return tickets to America with us, just in case. We are playing it safe because while M is on the official evacuation list, neither D nor I are. Kosovo is not considered a "family posting," so one of the things that was made clear to us when we came over was that families are low priority for evacuation. Not that I think our friends would leave us behind to fend for ourselves, but I'd rather make my own plans to get us home, thank you very much.

Anyway, we are safe. Please keep in prayer all the folks at the UN, EU, NCSC, USAID and, of course, the KFOR troops who are working so hard to help the Kosovars attain independence.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!