Karen likes touring, call a medic

I'm enjoying touring! I'm enjoying sight seeing! Who is this imposter taking over my very soul? 

 Hungary is so friggin' beautiful that it knocks the crabbiness right out of you, even if you're the most whiny curmudgeon in the world. I think this is the prettiest European city we've been to.  And you know what's even more beautiful than the architecture?  The faces on every Hungarian woman we've seen.  Our delightful tour guide, Vivian, looked like a more beautiful version of Ivanka Trump, and let's give credit where credit is due, that feckless c-u next Tuesday is, at least on the outside, undeniably beautiful. 

We learned a lot about Budapest on this morning's tour--mostly that the city is divided into two parts, the hilly, wealthy "Buda" and the "phasht" section for the common folk.

I knew I was going to be in my comfort zone when an octogenarian boards our bus and says, "look at the beautiful faces on all these folks in their forties."  Which meant my bus fellow rider was blind or clever or both, because we're probably the youngest people here, which means everyone walks slowly and leisurely, which means I am comfortable, and could actually follow the history of the statues, like the one about a raven stealing a ring and why the king's favorite color is black. We were given ear pieces that actually loop around the lobe, so everyone with hearing aids could actually follow what was going on.

Jim still could use subtitles.  If you ever meet him in a bar and he opens with "my wife doesn't understand me" bear in mind that he's not looking for something on the side, it means I literally can't decipher Midwest Mumble, even after nearly twenty nine years of marriage.

My takeaways from this morning's tour: The Parliament building is magnificent. Streudel is important here, and male Hungarians like it with a a cabbage flavor. (not a typo) 

And finally, paprika....

It is what makes Hungary Hungary. It is..well..she never called it a national spice, but I think it transcends even that.  It is everywhere and used in everything.  I am neutral about paprika..the one jar I have in my spice rack it probably thirty years old.  (So maybe I'm not THAT neutral)

We're about to take the metro to the thermal baths, hoping that the arrival of the Turkish dictator doesn't rain on our parade.

But we'd like a little rain.  This "low water" situation is a little unnerving...what if you plan a river cruise and there's no river?

We knew the blue Danube wasn't exactly blue by looking at photos, but we never expected it to be so shallow and un-riverish..   

We can hope for the best..and realize we're still talking first world problems in he scheme of things..  More later..