Mother Nature

This Obie Platon mural in Budapest was done
in 2014 (which is when I took this photo).  
Click here and scroll down to learn more about
it—and to see the part of the wall that's
hidden here behind the tree.

[Linking back to Monday Mural at 
Oakland Daily Photo and to Blue Monday
at Jeanne's Backyard Neighbor.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Next best thing to a fire in the grate—at a
restaurant that was new-ish when
I visited Budapest a couple of years ago.
The owners were welcoming and the
bread was freshly baked (always a good sign).
I hope they've made a success of it.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"cooking"

I always thought that Hungarian goulash was
a kind of stew.  But when I went to 
Budapest last year, I was treated to this bowl 
of the real thing, prepared by a real 
Hungarian.  Anyway, it's actually a soup—
and it made me feel just a bit sorry for vegans.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

The Weekend in Black and White

These beautiful etched-glass windows adorn
the Budapest home of my friends Jane and Lance.
It's as warm and welcoming as they are and
I'm hoping that I get to visit them there
again one of these days.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—C is for "ceiling"

(and chandelier too)
Last week, my photo for the letter B was taken at the
Hungarian State Opera House, in Budapest.
This one was too—of what you see when you look up.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—B is for "Blanche Dubois"

. . . who likes to tag along when I travel
(elle adore Paris, naturellement).  Last September, 
she got to attend the opera in Budapest . . .

where she enjoyed the performance
along with Teddy, Oskar, and Bunny
—the special friends of my special
friends (you see, I'm not the only one).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is St. Teresa's in Budapest.
They've saved some money on hymnals by
having the lyrics up on that screen.
On the other hand, maybe that cost more
than a set of hymnals.
Since there was a mass going on when
I happened in here, I only took this one photo
(w/no sound and no flash, of course).

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—T is for "tools of the trade"

. . . and also for "talented."  These tools belong
to my favorite young Hungarian artist,
Maté Orr, whom I've featured before.

This is what he was working on when
we visited his studio last September.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

I saw these men in the Nyugati Railway Station,
in Budapest.  It could be a dramatic story, 
I suppose—or maybe (and I hope this is the case)
they were just two tired workers waiting
to catch their train and go home after a long day.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—H is for "hands"

 . . . and also for Hungarian.
These are the very talented hands of
my favorite young artist, Maté Orr.

And here's a detail from a painting (Maté is his
own best model) that was hanging up in
his Budapest studio on the day we went to visit.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Weekend Reflections

Loved riding across Budapest on these
colorful trams.  However . . . you punch your ticket
in a machine when you get on, and the first time I did
it I got my ticket stuck and broke the machine.
Hoppá!  (I think that's Hungarian for oops.)

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]

Dinner in Budapest

Our friends took us to one of their favorite
restaurants (Klassz, on Andrassy Ut—go if you 
visit Budapest).  The food was excellent and 
the company even more so, but now I wish someone
had explained the illustration on this bottle of
sparkling rosé.  It was very good, btw, and cost
about 920 forints (that's approximately $3.50—yet
another reason to love this beautiful city).

[It's Mandarin Orange Monday. To see more, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"red"

Spotted in Budapest last September—this
work, called "Still Life With (removable) Bacon,"
by the Hungarian artist Franyo Aatoth
(btw, Aatoth is his first name; in Hungary
names are said last first).

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

The Weekend in Black and White

In Budapest, the good stuff—
still warm from the oven.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"toys"

I saw these bouncy thingies for sale at the
Saturday market in Sarasota.  And they really get
around:  I saw the same little toys for sale
last September at a street market in Budapest.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

inSPIREd Sunday

No spire here—this is the Art Nouveau
Kazinczy Street synagogue, situated in the heart
of the Jewish ghetto in Pest.  Nearby are
kosher shops and restaurants and the only 
mikve (ritual bath) in Budapest.

[To see more places of worship from
around the world, go here.] 

The Weekend in Black and White

A window in Budapest

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.
Also linking up to the B+W Photography Project at PODcast.]

two redheads

Last Wednesday, I showed you Szimpla Kért,
the original "ruin pub" in Budapest
(where they also have a great Sunday market).
I found both of these Hungarian beauties
there—though one of them wasn't too sure about
us.  Unlike some other places in Europe
(i.e., France, where it is strictly verboten), parents
in Budapest didn't seem the least bit bothered
if I wanted to take a photo of their child.

[Linking back to Mandarin Orange Monday.] 

Shadow Shot Sunday

This bridge traverses the lake/ice-skating pond 
(depending on the season) in Városliget (City Park), in 
Budapest—one of the first public parks in the world. 
It's a lovely spot for a stroll and a picnic on a 
sunny day, but we were there late at night.
(Thanks to the floodlights around the lake, there
were still some excellent shadows!)

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.]

égeszségünkre!

. . . which means "to our health!" in Hungarian.
This glass of rosé was enjoyed at the Ari Kupsus
Gallery, in Budapest, where I bought a (very) small 
painting by my favorite Hungarian artist, 
Maté Orr, a lovely and very talented young man.
(I was introduced to Maté by my wonderful
new friends, Jane and Lance Hattatt, who
featured him on their own blog.)

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]