Hungary

The last day and a half of our vacation was spent in Budapest. Originally we'd planned a day more there, but we ended up staying in Zagreb 24 extra hours since we'd lost Sunday and Monday to Jesse's flu. In any event, Budapest, like Zagreb, was a destination totally and happily motivated by friendship. It was so wonderful to spend time with Jay, Teanna, and the girls! Although Jesse had run into them a few years ago during a travel snafu that got him briefly marooned in Budapest, this was the first I'd seen them all since 2003, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

As we drove up the gravel road to their home on Wednesday afternoon, this awesome sign was waiting at the house gate:

(William had wowed Teanna with his dance skills via Skype that morning...her first introduction to him. Ha!)

We felt so welcome so immediately; it's impossible not to with Teanna and Jay.  :)  William also instantly made friends with the resident furry member of the family. She's only looking docile in the picture below because she was spent with the wild running and playing she and William had been doing for the previous hour!

Another reason the boys were in heaven? One of the girls dug out a Wii!! Josiah and Will have been missing their Wii Sports and Mario Kart since last July, and they could have happily sat in the living room the full duration of our time in Budapest.


Fortunately for them, we had planned to lay low the balance of the day on Wednesday anyway, because Jesse was still feeling a little fragile. He went to bed around 7:30 p.m. and slept almost 14 hours! But Thursday was perfect for a day out. Jay and Teanna showed us the Jewish Quarter of Budapest, in particular the spectacular and historic Dohány Street Synagogue. It's the second largest synagogue in the world, following only the Temple Emanu-El in New York.

Before we entered, Jay and Teanna helped the boys do one of those crank-a-coin memento things, which apparently has been a tradition with their own four girls. The boys were thrilled!

The synagogue was absolutely beautiful, and the history was moving and painful. Half the Jews of Budapest—thousands upon thousands—perished during the Holocaust.

The gravity apparently was lost on one member of our party...   

Later on, we walked around and enjoyed street vendors and the sights and sounds of the city. We especially were taken with the local specialty called kürtőskalács (pronounced something like koo-too-shko-lach?)...or...more easily just called chimney cakes! We watched men roll out long snakes of dough, wrap the dough around wooden forms, roll and flatten it in sugar, and then twirl the batons over a fire until they were golden and crackly and caramelized on the outside, soft and puffy inside.

Teanna treated the boys to a cinnamon sugar one. If she wasn't a friend already, she sealed it there!

All too soon it was Friday morning and we had to hit the road. It was sad to say goodbye after such a quick reunion, but the boys made me and Jesse promise we'd be back for another visit one day, in fact no later than "when William is 7 and Josiah is 10."

Jay and Teanna indulged me in an early-morning photo as we were heading out on Friday. Thank you for everything!!

*  *  *

By Friday night, at the end of a very long travel day, we finally were home. After leaving Jay and Teanna's that morning, we drove the teeny rental car back to the Budapest airport, then caught our flight from Budapest to north of Paris, then took an hour-long bus shuttle into downtown Paris, then took two different metro lines to get to the main train station, then took a high-speed train to a city in our region, then boarded a regional train to our town, then hopped in our own car and drove the 1.5 km to our house. Getting on and off of trains and up and down endless flights of mobbed subway stairs with two kids and our gear was a test of endurance, strength, and patience, but we made it! (As I've joked with a few people, maybe one of these days we'll choose to do the most convenient thing instead of the most economical, eh?)

Josiah was great in managing his bag. William was...less so (although to be fair, he did his best most of the time). We tried to pack lightly but it wasn't easy given that the trip was 11 days long in varied temps and with varied activities planned. It was adding the two car boosters and the stroller that did us in. But we made it and have lived to tell the tale! 

After hours of flying, busing, and metro-ing, the baguette sandwiches we finally had to time to buy at the train station in Paris tasted phenomenal. It was well after 3 p.m. We inhaled those things!

Croatia

The joy of rekindling old friendships is something truly special, isn't it? Visiting friends was the real purpose of our recent holiday. The Rome part (previous post) was just a bonus.   :)

So: After being in Rome for three full days, we rose on Saturday morning during the darkness well before dawn and hastily packed. By 6:20 a.m., in a heavy mist as light began to glimmer, the four of us were hustling through the streets to the nearest metro station, each of us with a small roller case. We also had two car booster seats, my pocketbook, and the stroller...and as often as not, either Jesse or I was managing William's roller as well, so it wasn't the easiest going. (Yes, it would have been simpler to have packed into just one larger case, but checked bag fees is where these discount airlines make their money...)

We thus were already a bit weary by the time we climbed on the airplane a few hours later, and Jesse was—very uncharacteristically—fighting a headache that had begun the afternoon before. But, happily, the flight to Hungary was easy, we picked up our *miniscule* rental car without hassle, and we were on the open road by noon. 

We found ourselves at a Hungarian cafeteria for lunch. Jesse and the boys chose the fried chicken and fries they could see through the glass. On a whim, I uttered "goulash," since that's the one Hungarian word in my vocabulary, not that I had a clue what it would yield in this instance. The older lady behind the glass raised her eyebrows at me. "Goulash?" she questioned. "Goulash," I repeated. She gave a "huh, what d'ya know?" shrug, turned behind her, took the lid off of a stainless steel urn, and ladled some beefy broth and potatoes into a bowl. It was salty—heck, we were at a roadside caf—but not half bad.

By mid-afternoon we arrived in Zagreb, at the home of friends we hadn't laid eyes on in over 10 years. Who knew the last time we saw Dave and Betsy in Quincy, MA that the next time we'd have doubled in number (four kids among us now) and be standing in the capital of Croatia! What a treat it was to be with them and to build friendship for several days. The kids hit it off fast. Their son is just a little older than Josiah and a kindred Lego lover, so they spent hours and hours making creations together. Their 3-year-old daughter is adorable, and she loved chasing William in circles; he wasn't an unwilling participant! More adorable yet, she called Jesse 'nother daddy the entire time we were there. "Oh, hi 'nother daddy!" she'd exclaim when he walked into the room. Ridiculous cuteness.

Unfortunately, though, Jesse felt worse and worse as Saturday wore on. We kept telling ourselves it was just weariness and a bad headache, but then he started with chills at bedtime. In the middle of the night (as the clock ticked over to March 1, his birthday, of all inauspicious things), he began moaning and tossing in his sleep, feverish and out of it.  The flu.  Fortunately the boys slept through Daddy's unsettled night—they were on the floor—but I couldn't quit worrying about him, not to mention thinking about (a) all the water bottles and ice creams Jesse and I had shared during the previous days, and (b) how here we were, guests, bringing a full-on flu into the house!! Awful.

Morning came, and Dave and Betsy were awesome. That is to say, they adeptly squashed any urge to tell us to get the heck out and not come back for another decade!  :)  We rearranged plans and agreed to lay low for the time being. And, thankfully, in the end Jesse had a pretty quick run with the "Roman plague," as we took to calling it. With meds, he was able to be out and about for a few short hours on Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday we all took a proper day trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park. He didn't really eat for a few days and wasn't at 100% all week, which was a bummer, but it was a manageable and welcome outcome all things considered. And the rest of us never succumbed, hallelujah!

But that's where this narrative needs to end and photos need to begin. Plitvice Lakes, our destination on Tuesday, has to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We were stunned by the majesty and power of the lakes and waterfalls that are the main attraction. Unbelievable beauty.

This is the first glimpse you get of the lakes/waterfalls, after coming from the parking and the entry area. WOW!!

The extra person you see is a friend who works with Dave and Betsy; it was nice getting to know her on Tuesday too! And...um....yes, this is photographic evidence that we almost immediately chose the barricaded trail. 

Initially the walkways switchback down the cliffside. Then they turn into planked paths through the marshy areas.

Before you know it, you're over the open water. Given the time of year, the water was at its high, the falls crashing and coursing around the walkways!

In other places the water seemed so serene. The colors were amazing. 

We enjoyed a picnic along the way. The rest of us stayed on the plank path, but these two climbed over to their own perch.

I sure do love these guys. And hey! You'd never guess Jesse had been a quivering, fevered mess 48 hours before!

Jesse carried William on a few really steep/tricky bits. He required "kiss power" from William, who obligingly provided loud smooches the entire way down, pictured here.

On the way back up, there were caves to explore and woodlands to see. The view from above wasn't too shabby a reward.

We could have explored for hours more, but with four kids and a fading Jesse, we kept the visit pretty short. Next time!

On the 2+ hour drive back to Zagreb, we stopped in the town of Rastoke. It felt, just as Betsy had described, like it was torn from the Lord of the Rings. The town's homes and buildings are built directly on the waterfalls.

***

On a separate note: Dave and Betsy procured this lovely cake when they realized it was Jesse's birthday. Of course we were forced to eat it for him. Why the Lego dude with a tin foil crown, you ask? Why the door-looking cookies stuck on the side? Well, I had shared with them how this trip had gotten me out of making the "château gâteau" (castle cake) for Jesse that somehow had become a thing of grand anticipation in the family. Months ago, Jesse jokingly mentioned that he'd like a château gâteau for his birthday, just because of the silly rhyme. Well, the boys latched on (with Jesse's encouragement of course) and the cake requirements had proliferated with time...chocolate moat, working drawbridge, turrets and flags...  I laughed out loud when this appeared! Such a shame Jesse couldn't appreciate it himself.  

The kids were happy to be the candle blowers in Jesse's stead.

I'll just include a few "friend" shots to end this out. THANK YOU Dave and Betsy!!!

 

When in Rome...

William saved up 5 euro in pocket change for the trip. He chose to buy this t-shirt...and obviously was pleased with the purchase.  :)

One of the great parts of the school system here in France is the generous holiday schedule. I'm sure it would be maddening if I were working full-time...but since I'm not [she says with glee], we're embracing the "7 weeks on, 2 weeks off" pattern that pretty much holds from the beginning of September to the beginning of July. What's more, I think the boys cope with the stress of school better knowing that every Wednesday is a half day and les vacances are always around the corner.

Another thing we love here? The dirt cheap airfares within Europe. Long school breaks + great airfares = verrrry nice combo indeed. We just enjoyed a trip that involved flights from Nantes to Rome, from Rome to Budapest, and from Budapest back to Paris—over 2500 miles total. Airfare was $140 per person! Even our cheapskate selves could handle that.  :)

The Rome part was chosen pretty much entirely because it was the most affordable flight available for that first leg; we would have just as happily ended up in some other European city! Be that as it may, it was awesome. We rented a little flat for housing and relied on mass transit (and our own sturdy legs) for transportation, logging 8-10 miles on foot per day. We were thankful to have lugged the stroller along; William still wears 3T trousers at the age of 5 and a half, and his wee legs give out understandably quickly.

In front of St. Peter's Basilica

We spent most of Day 1 in the Vatican area. It was almost physically painful for me and Jesse not to go into the Vatican museum, missing countless art treasures, the Sistene Chapel, etc. But with multi-hour lines and the prospect of boys who'd be bored long before we even got inside, we let it go. Maybe one day...   (Yes, I know there are tours that skip the lines, and tours catering specifically to families with kiddos. They look totally, completely amazing. But...you know...$$$).  Instead, we followed the "simple, free, and fun" phrase that has been a mantra for planning activities since Jesse first uttered it as ENC student body president in the 1990s. And it rarely disappoints!

First we looked (me and Jesse) and ran (Josiah and William) around St. Peter's Square and the vicinity. So many tourists! Such grandeur! So many priests and nuns! And...so much confetti between the cobbles? (I'm assuming this was because we arrived not long after Shrove Tuesday...)

Around noon we hit up Alice's Pizza. It's a tiny place around the corner from St. Peter's that came with highest recommendations from our friend Steve, who lived in the area for years. Oh my goodness. I thought I knew what pizza was before this. I was badly wrong. Words fail. What I can tell you is that we bought a big boxful (you just choose various types on the counter, indicate how big a chunk you want of each, and the total amount is warmed and weighed); we ate it all; we felt pleasantly and adequately full; and then we went ahead and bought another boxful because it was Just That Good. Stuffing ourselves silly felt like a moral imperative.



After lunch, the queues to get into St. Peter's Basilica had gone down by about half—enough that we were willing to stand in line despite the arrival of light rain. The boys chased pigeons and each other in the enormous square for the 50 minutes that we inched forward. It's free entry, but since you go through an airport style security scanner, you can't just cruise on in. The interior of the church was gorgeous—so colorful, so grand. But what we especially enjoyed was climbing the 551 steps to go up the dome (yes, we sprung for those tickets, and yes, it was good exercise post-pizza extravaganza!).

The first "stop" on the climb up was still inside the church, right up by the interior of the dome. The mosaics were beautiful, and looking down on the sanctuary below was breathtaking. 

Then the real climb began. The boys were troopers and of course actually completely enjoyed it, but we all were a little spent several hundred steps later!

Oh, the views in all directions! 

The giant columns the boys had run among in the morning looked like toothpicks.

***

We did more walking and touring around that day, but I'll share just this one story. Metro stops are few and far between (there's so much ancient history underground that officials have been rightly loathe to dig too many tunnels!). We all were weary; we weren't relishing the mile or so hike ahead of us to the nearest metro stop. We were trudging along a sidewalk by the river. It was busy with evening car traffic beside us but had very few pedestrians on the walkway, and there was a fair bit of trash and graffiti around. Josiah suddenly said, "I'll catch you up," and ran backward a few feet. Moments later he was wide-eyed, saying, "Is this real??!" with a 50 euro bill in his hands! 50 euros! He'd spied the bill crumpled with some litter and leaves against the wall. It perhaps would seem his daddy's infamous pink-winged angels have, after several decades of faithful service, now lit on Josiah's shoulders.   :)

Josiah spent the remainder of the walk considerably perkier, considering how to spend this windfall. He eventually decided to put 15 euro in the bank, 15 euro toward the child he helps us sponsor (he pays half each month), and 20 toward a new Lego. We approved. William, meanwhile, spent the remainder of not just the evening but the entire vacation with his eyes glued to the ground, awaiting his own payout! 

***

This post is WAY too long so I'll just drop in pics to cover Days 2 and 3:

Beautiful buildings and sculptures and fountains were around every corner, it seemed. 

The boys were wonderfully good about us dragging them into church after church after church...

Of course their behavior had nothing to do with gelato bribery each day...  (Oh, that gelato!)

A painted church ceiling. We played "I spy," necks craning, for quite a while...

We ate/made both breakfast and dinner in our little flat each day, but we had lunch somewhere out-and-about. Delicious pasta and pizza and lasagna = two boys in heaven. Their parents weren't especially put out either.

Pinocchio!

The last day was glorious. The weather was in the 60s, bright blue skies. We spent it primarily at the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and Palatine Hill. So much ancient history...

(Excuse me having a little tilt-shift fun, turning the Forum into a model village!)

The only downside to our time in Rome was that by the last night, Jesse wasn't feeling great: very tired with a headache he couldn't shake. Obviously we'd been going hard for days, so we didn't think too much of it. What we didn't know at the time was that he was coming down with the flu, or as we affectionately came to call it, the Roman Plague. But I guess I'll pick that up in a future post!