Our last day in Budapest, after 2 months of fun and travelling around, we take inventory of all we’ve done! We spent loads of time visiting our families and friends, first and foremost. Way more rewarding than I had realized, our kids are watching Hungarian TV as I write my blog entry and they understand it! Completely learning the language in 2 months, exposing and emerging them in to their native culture. We taught them about their Hungarian history, and we thought it was worth every second! I got used to every square inch of this apartment and made it our home. I love the Walnut Apartment.
Today we leave for Austria; tomorrow we meet up with Alfonz’s childhood friend for a few hours as he takes us on a personal tour of the not so touristy places of Vienna. I visited the city in my younger years, and always wanted to return to revisit their gorgeous castles.
Our last day here we went to the Tractor Expo just outside the 7th district of Budapest.
Much like the PNE in Vancouver, it was full of prize-winning cattle, horses, pigs, bunnies, chicken and sheep. Also displayed were huge tractors for farmers to drool over and again like always loads of food!
Here are some pictures we took.
Where do we go from here? Our travel plans for the next few weeks’ looks like this.
1.Austria tomorrow, just outside Vienna, to visit a friend, one night in a campsite to test out the Mercedes camper van. Second day we explore with a friend and early afternoon departure towards the boarder.
2.Germany for Saturday night. On the boarder is the beautiful city of Passau. (2008 trip http://tinyurl.com/6fyvya7) We will be spending one night in a campsite and taking the kids around their city park on the Danube River.
3.Mosbach, where Alfonz’s aunt and uncle live is next in the list. They are getting older and we will be here for a few days, visiting the water park, and the Neckar River, enjoying the spirited couple that keeps us laughing. They never had children, and when we visit we feel like we are part of their family. She cooks for us, loves and spoils our kids; he keeps the booze flowing and tells us dirty jokes after the kids go to bed! Love them!
4.Through Switzerland to visit Alfonz’s other childhood friend. I am sure we will be here a few days, as the kids and I have never been. I cannot wait to figure out what is around where we are staying and try to catch a few touristy spots.
5. Italy!! Since discovering spaghetti I have wanted to travel Italy! We watch under the Tuscan Sun with Alfonz over and again, and planned our honeymoon there for fall 2003. We moved up our wedding to June with Daniel’s early arrival and never went to Italy. A great trade off is you ask us. So we go as a family in 2011!
6. France hoping to scoop up some real estate! The French system is a whole lot different than the Canadian system we are used to negotiating in. Closing on a house on average takes 6 months – a year. Wish us luck!
7.Spain boarder is only 2 hours from the property we are looking at! We plan to follow the coastline and explore with the kids. I have heard the Spanish food it totally under rated, and is rival to the more popular French cuisine. I’ll be the judge of that!
8.Portugal. I have an old friend that moved and married a man from Portugal and hope to say hello while we are there. I don’t know much about Portugal but I hope to once we are ready to go back to France. The pictures are striking, and cannot wait to see it with my own eyes.
The Riviera coast is lined with sandy beaches, covered stunning towns and cities, and rich with culture. Should keep us busy for the next few months.
If you have any suggestions to add to our itinerary we would love to hear them and will try to add them in as we go!
That’s Hamori!
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