Knowledge is Power. France is Bacon.

After the fiasco of getting back to Cambridge on Monday the rest of the week was relatively smooth sailing. Monday afternoon Rebecca and I decided to book flights to Budapest because why the heck not.

Monday also marked the start of my 'topics in financial statements essay'...this bad boy required math and if you know me well, you know that is my weakest link. So this one was rough to attempt to write. I was able to get around a thousand words down on that one by end of day.

Tuesday was a good day. Spent some more time on my essay and after dinner eventually made my way to Maid's Manor for the belated Texas Independence Day Party. I loved seeing everyone wear their Texas best, and a big shout out to Ruth for the fantastic USA visor that she let me borrow! That night I did catch up with some of my favorite former CO coworkers as well - Second Breakfast is the best breakfast. 

Wednesday took me back to the airport, this time going east to Hungary! After some time spent living that lounge life, we headed to Budapest. Budapest is one of the most unique places I've had the pleasure of exploring. After dinner, we ended up at a Tiki Bar close to our Airbnb and somehow shots were consumed, but they were presented so beautifully! We left our mark on the bar with a $2 bill #teamjunction forever.

Thursday meant exploring good ole Pest. We walked around and saw the Basilica and the Parliament building. We also did a free walking tour of the city. There's a lot of Hungary's history that I did not know. That small country has experienced a lot. You can still see the Soviet influence on their architecture, even a statue or two comes from that era. Interesting to hear a retelling of the Nazi takeover and the subsequent Soviet stronghold from someone who grew up there. Hungary wasn't free until 1992. That's as long as I've been on this earth. Jarring. That evening we explored the ruin bars, definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me. The ruin bars are so cool! Highly recommend visiting them if you ever go to Budapest. We made sure to try some of the local cuisine and drinks throughout the night. Goulash is now high on both of our lists as solid comfort food.

 

 

On Friday, these two pests headed to Buda and explored the Castle grounds. We rode a tram thing up to the top and got yelled at for being dumb Americans. There was shame in both our eyes... Once we made it to the top, we visited the old Royal Palace, the National Library of Hungary, and the other Basilica. At a certain point, the hunger kicked in and I got a lil hangry. We found food soon after; enjoyed another goulash along with some cabbage and paprika chicken - all quite good! 

After we thoroughly explored Buda, we went back to Pest where we belong, and made our way to the thermal baths. Remember when we went to Norway and were perhaps over-prepared for the cold? Well, we were under-prepared for the baths. No towels, no sandals, nothing. Did we look like fools walking around in our trainers and boots, yes. Was it worth it, probably. We did the dang thing.

After this, we stopped at a McDonald's - Rebecca likes to try the diff golden arches in each country. Budapest was spicy, but they had ranch dressing, so it was okay. We ended our night with a river cruise along the Danube (good ole Dan as we referred to it). It started raining halfway through so we left the top of the boat in search of cover. Every city looks more beautiful with all its lights on though.

Spent our last night in an arcade absolutely dying of laughter. From air hockey to dance dance revolution, we were killing it. I was successfully able to get a rubber ducky from the claw machine and am quite proud of that achievement thank you very much.

 

We flew back to London on Saturday and caught up with life (aka laundry). Sunday has been pretty chill. I went to Trinity Hall for chapel this morning and laughed when we sang Psalm 95 (STE people will get it). Spent the evening at Taylor's doing a bubbly wine tasting. One of my favorite activities. Dominique taught us all about the fermentation process and how to know what the different names of bubbles mean. Thoroughly enjoyed the evening! When I ran for social chair last term, my speech referenced bubbles in a champagne glass. I wasn't able to deliver that speech since I was at the A&E, but the longer this program goes, the more I hope that the bubbles metaphor is resonating with people. 

This week also marks the halfway point. 

I've lived in England for six months now. 

Time is flying by. 

I don't feel like there's enough of it. 

But is there ever enough time?