9 June, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I’m in Hungary. This story starts off bad…but it gets better.

My plane from London Gatwick took off more than three hours late. Thanks Easy Jet! You’re the best. The delay was due to the fact that our plane was “unfit to fly” and another plane had to be flown in from Luton Airport. I don’t fly often, but when I do this sort of disaster seems to occur. I had a lot of fun wandering around Gatwick bored out of my skull, but the £3 voucher I was given to spend on “refreshments” really helped. As if.

Once on-board the plane, things got even better. Turns out our flight was filled with finalists for the Screaming Baby World Cup Championships. Yes, two hours and ten minutes filled with non-stop shrieking. I kid you not. The monkey cage at the zoo would have been quieter. By the time I got off that plane at the teeny tiny little Budapest airport, my head was throbbing. I actually gave a two-year boy the evil eye. I’m sorry, but that kid needed to be put into restraints. Luckily things got better after this, but it was an irritating journey. A mere two-hour flight ended up taking 11 hours door-to-door. That’s ridiculous.

At least the process of going through Hungarian customs was easy. Going through British customs is terrifying, but here they just stamp your passport, smile and let you walk right through. It’s as if they’re saying – “Even if you want to stay in our country illegally forever, we don’t give a crap. Have a nice day!”

On the airport shuttle I got to sit next to two hunky Australian backpackers, which was fun, even though they paid no attention to me. And my hotel is fabulous! I’m really spoiled right now. I wanted to stay in a nice place because of my surgery on Wednesday. I’m not sure how I’ll feel afterwards and wanted a comfy hotel. It’s less than $100/£50 a night and totally wonderful. I much prefer these prices to London’s.

Thanks to Easy Jet, I did not arrive at my hotel until 9:00 p.m. (I should have arrived at 5:00), so I haven’t really seen anything of Budapest yet. I asked the receptionist at the hotel to recommend a place to have dinner, since I was starving. He pointed me to a restaurant across the street. It looked perfectly ordinary from the front – a bar/restaurant with people watching the football tournament on a large screen. They asked if I wanted to sit inside or out, and not being a football fan, I chose to sit outside. Good choice. The tables were set outside in a cobblestone courtyard. There was a gorgeous fountain in the center and three live musicians playing. It was so lovely. I could have stayed there for hours. Really, it was magical.

And the best part is, I had a yummy dinner. The menu had German and English translations. My choices are somewhat limited, but under “Hungarian specialties” I saw something called “fillet of pullet.” I had never heard of pullet. I asked the server what it was and she said chicken, but I was skeptical. She didn’t speak English too well, but I told her I can’t eat beef or pork. She said, “No, it’s not beef or pork. Don’t worry – it has wings!” And then she flapped her arms. After that I decided to trust her. [I have since discovered that pullet is a hen less than a year old.] The pullet came in a paprika cream sauce with thick egg noodles on the side. I have to tell you, it was the best meal I’ve had in a long long time. The perfect end to a very long day.

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1. Sufferer of the Screaming Baby Says:

   June 10th, 2008 at 12:29 am

   Babies shouldn’t be allowed to fly!

2. Gregory Says:

   June 10th, 2008 at 6:41 pm

   The average baby has 24 hours to fill, once its had something to eat, a slight boke down the back of Mom or Dad, it then has to decide whether it’s time to try the NYT crossword or give bellowing a bit of a try,

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