nice in budapest

Dina came on Saturday with Stefan. Camille stayed home with trusted friends so as not to miss school. It was a great reunion. We walked through the old city, had a great pizza lunch looking out onto the parliment building, shopped, drank some fine Hungarian wine, and visited the fine arts museum which featured an exhibit by Mucha. Wow! Great stuff!After another delicious meal at a mediterreanean restaurant, we took stefan to the zoo where we saw strange and exhotic animals, watched a bird show, and had ice cream and iced coffee.

Our quarters are in a World Heritage site! Part of the old city that is walled in. The view is spectacular looking out over the pest part of Budapest and the Danube River. The old cathedral chimes it's bells from the bell tower every day and flowers are blooming everywhere.

I was scheduled to go to a medical conference next week in Portugal but it was cancelled on account of the swine flu. The department feels we should stay put and prepare for the potential pandemic as well as decrease the risk of exposure. So Portugal is postponed until Autumn. I will be flying back to Camille with Dina and Stefan.