Thursday in the big city

today we went into budapest proper. first stop was the market - 2 floors of things hungarian. on the bottom floor are the food stuffs - sausages, meats, spices, vegetables, honey, nuts, cheeses, and more of the same. a large space in a very large building for all the things you need to make a good goulash. on the top floor are the tablecloths, t-shirts, embroidered vests and blouses, various crafts, and a sort of food court. the building was architected by the same fellow who did the eiffel tower, and is very impressive.

next we went to the museum of applied arts. the special exhibition today was of ceramics by early people in íhungary and Transylvania, as well as a different exhibit on glassware by a french fellow and by tiffany. there was a substantial colelction of treasures from the esterhazy's as well. they were prominent in the history and the culture of Hungary. Hayden was sponsored by the Esterhazys.

then we walked the streets of downtown budapest, vaci utca and other streets as well. there is a fine music store off one of the side streets, and near by is a shop that sells marzipan. Supper tonite was at Sir Lancelot, a restuarant that features food prepared medieval style, and patrons eat with their fingers. deer, bear, rabbit and boar are on the menu.

There are many sunflower fields around budapest. The drop has now ripened, and waht you see are stalks about 4 feet high with black heads about 4 inches across. I presume somone will cut them down and take them to a processing plant soon.