mmm-yoso – Page 169 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

Budapest – Dinner at Hungarikum Bisztro, a Walk to Buda, and a Danube River Cruise at Night

June 25, 2019 mmm-yoso Budapest, Hungarian Food and Restaurants, Hungary, Travel

It was getting a bit warm after our lunch at Street Food Karavan Budapest. After having a slightly annoying drizzle during the morning and an overcast noon, the sun was now brightly shining down on us. We'd done a fair amount of walking and it was time for a nice nap in airconditioned comfort.

We woke after that short respite fresh and ready to go. And of course, I had to take yet another look at the view out our window….it just never got old.

We walked the rather short distance over to the place I'd booked a few weeks earlier. I'd heard the place, by the name of Hungarikum Bisztro, was very popular and served well prepared traditional Hungarian dishes; which both the Missus and I wanted to try. Also, this was a Sunday so many of our options were limited.

We got there about five minutes before opening and were quickly seated. The young lady who served us was so friendly and just a joy! There was a gentleman playing the Cimbalom. When we were seated, he looked over at us, smiled, and started playing some romantic standard whose title escapes me at this moment. It was quite charming. The restaurant filled up quickly.

The missus started with a glass of white wine; while I chose something a bit more interesting; Unicum Next. Unicum is basically bitters, made from a bunch of different botanicals. Unicum Next is supposed to be lighter; but at 80 proof this still had a bit of kick which was amplified by all the bitter tones.

The Missus took a sip and made one of those really funny faces only She can make. I actually had another as an digestif.

As for ordering; the Missus went with the three course House Special Menu; basically Goulash, Duck Leg with Onion Potatoes, and Braised Cabbage, and a dessert, which seemed like something right up Her alley. I went ahead and ordered the Loin of Pork with Paprika Sauce. The young lady was really on top of things and asked if we'd like to split the goulash soup.

First up, the amuse bouche of bacon and onion bread topped with sour cream and paprika. This was moist and quite lovely as it wasn't too savory, nor too sweet.

The Goulash Soup was interesting as it was a lot milder than I anticipated.

The beef was as expected, on the chewy side, but the broth while lightly smokey and salty, was quite mild; we ended up using the entire small bowl of chili paste provided with the meal (which was nicely floral and spicy) to add some "umph" to the goulash.

The Missus's Duck Leg was decent, if a bit on the drier side, though the skin of the duck was decently crisped up, and it had been under-seasoned. We were warned by the young lady serving us that Hungarian Food was "salty and spicy", but so far not so much.

The cabbage while nicely flavored was quite dry and the potatoes dry and pasty, in need of some seasoning as well.

I fared better with my Pork Loin.

The pork was toothsome, though still pleasant to eat. It was nicely seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika. The porkiness was quite mild as I expected a more pronounced swineyness to it like other regions of Europe. The paprika sauce was good and the sour cream added some nice acidity. The bacon-sour cabbage "dumplings" were on the dry and hard side, but had a mild savory-sourness to it. The dumplings strangely seemed like it was more on the, ahem, healthy side than I expected.

The Missus got Her dessert and I my liquid version.

The meal was quite inexpensive the service excellent and charming. I was glad I'd made reservations as we saw several parties being turned away….one had an older gentleman who was quite pushy and plain nasty…..oh boy; another "Ugly American". Sigh…..

Not sure I'd eat here again, but it was low keyed, friendly, easy to find, and easy on the wallet.

Hungarikum Bisztro
Steindl Imre Utca 13
Budapest 1051, Hungary

It was still bright outside when we left the restaurant and walked to the Danube.

And we revisited some of the places we'd checked out earlier in the day.

The Missus decided that we should walk across the Chain Bridge and since it was still light out, I really couldn't come up with any good excuse.

So we headed toward the bridge. Along the way we passed this place which was starting to fill up. It's the Pontoon Bar….which, even though two Viking Cruise ships was were docked right next to it; seemed to be filling up with young locals.

The view from the bridge is quite nice and the walk across is just about a quarter mile.

Across the bridge is the funicular up to the Royal Palace; which of course we never took because, well….you know the Missus, and the Castle Tunnel. To the right of the tunnel are stairways; which you can use to hike up to the palace; or be like us on this evening and stop at the viewpoint right over the tunnel.

That roundabout is called Clark Adam Square…which cracks me up, because, well, it's round. It's named after the designer, William Clark and the engineer who managed the building of the Chain Bridge Adam Clark.

The Missus decided that we needed to walk down the Buda side and cross on the Elisabeth Bridge a bit further south.

I'll have photos from the Buda side in a future post as we visited twice more.

The Gellért Monument (Gerard of Csanád Monument) overlooks the bridge. Read more about Gerard by clicking on that link.

And of course the views from the Elisabeth Bridge were wonderful.

After crossing the bridge, we headed back to the Marriott. Right across from the Marriot, you can head down some stairs to the Danube. The Missus decided that since it was a beautiful evening (I have the feeling that Budapest has many beautiful evenings) we should see about taking a Danube River Cruise. I read and found out that the cruise was only about 45 minutes long, was narrated, and cost the equivalent of around seven bucks each. Sold! And I am so glad we did this. We got on the last cruise of the evening and the sun had fully set.

I did learn a bit about the history of the various bridges and buildings….but man, the views. During my previous posts I'd mentioned how beautiful the Buda side of the Danube was….and yes, it was indeed beautiful.

But man, when the lights of the Parliament Building comes on……well, the photos speak for themselves.

You need no narration…..the photos speak for themselves, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Meanderings – Smack’n Guamanian Grill Coming to Miramar, No Moa’ Poke at Zarlitos, and Some Snackage

June 24, 2019 mmm-yoso Guamanian/Chamorro, Poke, Stuff

I haven't done one of these for a bit, so here are a couple of things I saw this past weekend.

Smack'n Guamanian Grill Taking Over the Bann Bann Cutlet & Teriyaki Location:

Noticed this as I drove past the old Bann Cutlet & Teriyaki location on Miramar. In case you don't know; Bann has reopened in the new H Mart.

I'll miss Bann, but it looks like some Kelaguen is coming our way?

9506 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92126

No Moa' Poke at Zarlitos:

I was hoping to grab some poke this past weekend so I drove down to Zarlitos, which I thought made some pretty decent poke, it had become a favorite of the Missus, and I enjoyed having a "Poke-silog" from time to time. First thing I noticed was a sign on the door announcing that Zarlitos was raising their prices. I walk in and quickly noticed no poke in the fridge and a sign that said there has been a management change and no more poke.

Looks like I'm going to have to work on a replacement.

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

And finally……

A Bit of "Snackage":

During my last trip to the SGV for an appointment; I stopped by Hong Kong Plaza, which has gone thru so many changes since we lived in the neighborhood in the late 90's. I quickly noticed how much HK Market had changed; especially the snack selection. So, when we recently drove up to the SGV for lunch (that post is coming soon), I convinced the Missus to drop by the market.

At first She wasn't too keen on the idea……but then

She saw the snacks and had a pretty good haul.

The salted egg fish skin is pretty heady stuff; deeply savory, and not cheap at almost ten bucks a package.

We did have a good time…..and because I was curious, I also got a bottle of the 3 year aged black vinegar ($8.29!!!) for my jiaozi as well.

While I was there, I actually saw a customer grab that bottle on the left, open the cap, and pop the tab to have a whiff. Sigh…..some things never change.

Hong Kong Supermarket
18414 Colima Rd #1
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Sunday Sandwiches – Running Into a “Little Frenchie” (Francesinha) at Paragon Deli Cafe

June 23, 2019 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

**** Sadly, Paragon deli has closed.

Just before we returned from vacation I received an email from (Friend of Yoso) FOY Som Tommy. He started off mentioning visiting a newish deli in the Point Loma area and running into a sandwich I'd mentioned from our travel posts. I almost fell down when he said it was a Francesinha! Apparently he remembered the sandwich from my post on Cafe Santiago in Porto. In case you don't remember what that Francesinha, called a "Little Frenchie" because it was based on a Croque-Monsieuer looked like; this might help.

I had always regretted not having another one of these while in Porto….basically, the Missus would not let me have another….under the guise of caring for my health and fortitude!

So, here I had another chance.

This tiny, but well adorned little shop….I really loved the décor from the tin ceiling tiles to fans; is located in a strip mall on Shelter Island Drive, in the same structure as Fiddler's Green. Parking is a bit of a challenge as there are only two spaces for Paragon in the lot.

The gentleman training the young lady on the register on this day was really friendly and I found my target on the lunch menu at the bottom of the "Signature Sandwiches" list….."Portuguese Francesinha". How appropriate since as the Portuguese have a long history, especially as Tuna Fisherman in Point Loma. We had a short chat at the counter talking about Porto, where the gentleman had been just last year and the Francesinha.

Which was brought to my table shortly by a very friendly older gentleman…….this was humongous.

In case your keeping score; this has ham, roast beef, Linguica Sausage, cheese, topped with a fried egg and "Francesinha sauce" and it was recommended that I have fries with it……the fried egg and fries would have made the "Francesinha a Santiago" at Café Santiago, which is what I regretted not ordering.

The sandwich had been decently toasted, so the bread held out pretty well. The Linguica garnered most of the attention the flavor stood out the most. The egg was a perfect easy over, not that all this gooeyness needed any help. Loved the fries which stayed relatively crunchy thru the whole meal…mainly because this wasn't as drenched in sauce as versions in Porto.

The usual tomato and beer based sauce was also a bit tangier, thicker, and milder than the version I had in Porto. If I had one wish; it would have been the use of a more flavor forward cheese as while it was wonderfully stringy and gooey; I'd have enjoyed more milkiness.

And yes; this was a total calorie bomb, I basically finished two thirds of it before saying "no mas"…..but if I had perished; it would have been with a smile on my face!

I'm sure regular readers would have quickly noticed that this was a single visit. I liked the folks here so much; that I'm sure to revisit. The place seems to have quite a few regulars; at least on this day. They wondered if I lived in the neighborhood and quickly made recommendations for my next visit. And, if I do have another Francesinha; I'll make sure to bring reinforcements.

Paragon Deli Café
2724 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
Hours:
Mon – Sat 7am – 3pm

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Our Last Night in Bologna

June 21, 2019 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

I figure I better get these posts done. Our trip to Florence and Emilia-Romana finished up in April of last year.

We had really enjoyed our time in Emilia-Romagna; from the Culatello to the Tortellini en Brodo, to aged Parmesano Reggiano…well, that was me. The Missus loved the castles, the Devil's Bridge, and we both loved the warm and friendly people…and of course the amazing Italian Days Food Tour.

For our last dinner in Bologna, I selected a modern, yet very popular restaurant named Oltre. I'd heard it was a bit difficult to find, so while the Missus was taking a nap I headed out to find the sticker covered door of the restaurant.

So, for dinner, I basically retraced our steps. The restaurant was dimly lit and the wine and bread were quite good.

The food however, was disappointing; from the bland broth and the strange and almost rancid tasting pasta in the Tortellini en Brodo (we mentioned this to the Server who looked at us and said; "this is the way it's supposed to taste").

To the tough meat in the Sformantino en Ragu….

The Guancia di manzo (beef cheeks) were very tender, but the thick sauce was bitter and overwhelmed the equally delicious black cabbage.

We just decided to call it quits before dessert.

Oh well, sometimes it just doesn't work out, right?

Oltre
Via Augusto Majani 1
40122 Bologna, Italy

We took our time heading back to the apartment. Stopping to take in Piazza Maggiore.

And yet another amazing street performer.

Here's a little snippet of the performance.

Awesome, yeah?

As is my little tradition; I picked up a beer on the way back to the apartment.

And the next day we headed home. The Business Class Lounge in Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport is kinda cramped and the offerings nothing worth mentioning.

What is worth mentioning is the excellent fast-track security exit at the rear of the lounge.

And because "DerekR" seems to like my airline food photos…….this is for you!

The Chicken Terrine was the best item.

So that's it…..

Thanks for stopping by!

Budapest – Langos from Langos Burger at Street Food Karavan

June 20, 2019 mmm-yoso Budapest, Food Trucks, Hungarian Food and Restaurants, Hungary, Travel

We were really having a great time walking around Lipótváros (Leopold Town); there seemed to be something around every corner. By now, the clouds had started melting away and the sun started shining through. As we crossed thru Liberty Square I noticed this (yet another) statue.

Yes, it's a statue of Ronald Reagan. It is said that RR is beloved in Hungary because of his efforts to end the Cold War.

A few yards away is the Soviet War Memorial. Which commemorates Liberation Day (April 4th) when the Soviets forced the Nazis out of Hungary. I find it somewhat interesting that Ronald Reagan's Statue sits just a few meters away. Such is the complex history of Hungary I guess.

Right past that is the Monument to the Hungarian Victims of the Nazis.

Which is a controversial monument, after all, didn't Miklós Horthy ally himself with Adolf Hitler? The memorial was so controversial that from what I read; it was completed under the cover of darkness. Like I said; its complicated.

A short stroll away is Szent Istvan Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilica). I read that the plaza in front of the Basilica was once a huge parking lot; but the parking lot has been moved underground, creating this nice, open, plaza.

We enjoyed the little stretch of Sas Utca leading up to the plaza where the Basilica stood. Here and there you'd see bits of normal life……

We headed down the pedestrian only Zrinyl Utca back to the Danube. With the sun peeking out, the Royal Palace sure looked wonderful.

All this walking had stirred up our appetite. We had what seemed like a pretty hefty dinner planned, so I thought we'd head toward the Jewish Quarter; past the Great Synagogue.

And the Tree of Life Memorial in Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park in the back of the Synagogue.

A few blocks past the Synagogue is a very popular area; once full of abandoned buildings, the area is now full of Ruin Bars and restaurants. We went to check out the original ruin bar; Szimpla Kert, but it was Sunday, market day, and the place was packed to the rafters.

After unsuccessfully trying to find us some space we headed next door, to a lot full of food trucks called "Street Food Karavan Budapest".

I had wanted to try some Langos, the fried dough specialty of Hungary. I'd been told that "Langos Burger", parked in this lot of food trucks was a great place to try them.

And yes, while they do actually have a "Langos Burger", I was after a more traditional version, which is what I ordered. The Missus went with the "red", which is topped with red peppers.

These are made to order, so there's a short wait. For which you are rewarded with steaming hot fried bread.

Like I said, I got the "Classic" which is served with the traditional sour cream (very mild) and grated cheese (ditto). The bread was fairly yeasty, with a mild salt, and very light sweetness. It wasn't greasy, but overall was pretty mild in flavor.

The "red" had more flavor from the mildly spicy and slightly sweet red peppers which we enjoyed much more.

This was filling stuff.

I'm not sure I'd have this again….well, maybe one more time if we're back in Hungary. But it was fun, the sun was now shining down brightly and people were enjoying the day.

Street Food Karavan Budapest
Kazinczy Utca 18
Budapest 1075, Hungary

It had turned into quite a beautiful day. And since the sun didn't set until nearly 9pm, we'd be assured of a nice evening.

Even after a short nap!

Chicken Wing Wednesday – Cross Street Chicken and Beer Revisited

June 19, 2019 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chicken Wings, Korean Restaurants

I always try to return to places and I thought it was about time for a revisit to Cross Street. My previous visits were when the place was in pre-soft opening mode and I'd waited a good long time…since then there's been several other "KFC" places open in the San Diego region. So, I was interested to see how Cross Street was doing.

The place is open for lunch these days so I headed over between meetings.

I got there right at 1130 and actually found a parking spot……seemed like a good sign.

The menu has changed a bit since my previous visits, with lunch specials, and other items though the service was just as friendly and nice.

I started with something I found interesting on the menu; the Corn Poppers ($7).

I actually enjoyed these fried little spheres. The interior was like a molten bechamel and had some nice and sweet corn; wasn't overly cheesy, the bacon was a nice savory touch.

I actually enjoyed these more then the wings.

After some contemplation, I went with the Soy Garlic ($12) Wings. Now, in my previous post I mentioned how large the wings here were and my preference of a smaller wing with a better batter – skin – meat ratio. If anything, these were even larger than before!

The coating seemed to have also been revised as it was harder and more lacquer like then before. Not necessarily a good thing in my book as it was a bit too crumbly. It as also drenched in sauce….previously, there was a nice light glaze; which made for a decent balance in saltiness to sweetness to batter to tasting the chicken. In this case it was just way too sweet as the glaze just overwhelmed everything. Not sure if this is the new standard here. The chicken was moist and cooked perfectly so no complaints there.

Like I said; I enjoyed those corn poppers….and used to like the fried pickles which are no longer on the menu. I also really like the young people working here. I'll probably return; but with a few more folks in tow and this time will definitely order those garlic parmesan wings instead.

Cross Street Chicken and Beer
4403 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours
Sun – Wed 1130am – 930pm
Thurs – Sat 1130am – 1130pm

Thai Thai (Santee)

June 18, 2019 Cathy Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Well, you're back reading mmm-yoso!!! and looking for another food post. Today, it will be Thai. Cathy is writing while Kirk is busy at work.

For 16 years, this location was a Japanese-Thai restaurant named Oiishi, which I only posted a total of three times despite it being a regular stop (since it is very close to home). The Japanese owners decided to retire and the Thai owners of the popular Fallbrook and Vista based Thai Thai restaurants purchased this Santee location, which opened in May.

The interior has been 'upgraded'. The area pictured here -to the right- had been the 12 seat sushi bar for Oiishi and now there is a bit more seating.

There is a Monday-Friday Lunch Menu featuring 14 choices with prices based on the protein ordered ($8.95 vegetarian/tofu, $9.95 mock chicken or mock duck, $10.95 chicken, pork or beef, $11.95 shrimp, calamari or duck, $12.95 for combo of shrimp, chicken, pork and beef and $13.95 for seafood combo of shrimp, calamari, scallop, mussel and fish). #L13. Lunch Special of yellow curry with tofu ($8.95). Wow. This was great. The lunch specials come with a vegetable soup, vegetable egg roll, fried wonton, rice and cucumber salad. The curry- smooth, coconut based, potato, onion and carrot with the tofu. Very nice, mild curry. We asked for a lower heat level (2/10) to be able to taste the ingredients. Wonderful, fresh- everything. The cucumber salad is available as an appetizer for $5.95 and is quite large. We shared this with a dinner meal one evening.
#15. Pork Larb ($10.95) A trio of condiments are brought out, with the chili powder pointed out as what works best with the larb…so you can make each bite as spicy as you wish. The rice powder, mint, cilantro, red and green onion, lime juice and a touch of dried chili made this good enough to eat on its own with a sliced pieces of cabbage before I ventured further with the tabletop condiments.
#13. Nam Khao Tod ($10.95) Crispy Rice Salad, as it's described on the menu, is something we look for at every Thai restaurant, since each version is a bit differently prepared despite the use of the same ingredients (the same way we look for egg foo young at Chinese places). The sour pork sausage was chopped into small chunks and plentiful, mixed in with the crispy rice. It had a good flavor with a touch of sour. The red onion slices, Thai chili, cilantro, mint, fresh ginger, cashews and lime juice were a wonderful, bright blend of freshness.
#56. Pad Prik-Khing with chicken ($10.95) is made with sautéed green beans, red and green bell peppers, kaffir lime leaves and curry paste, served with rice. This was really good and each ingredient was distinct with fresh flavor.

There are 12 choices on the soup menu at Thai Thai and we are slowly exploring. #82, Yen Ta Fo ($11.95) was a Friday choice. Clear broth with a vinegar base (it's pleasant, not strong) fish balls, squid, fungus, fried tofu and, as your vegetable, morning glory. Served with the wide Thai noodle, which stays firm throughout the meal, this is a new favorite.

There will be many more postings. Thai Thai is the third (there are two other Thai restaurants) Thai restaurant in Santee.

Thai Thai 10251 Mast Blvd Santee, CA 92071 (619)596-5852 Open Tues-Sun 11a.m.-9 p.m. Closed Monday

Buta Ramen

June 17, 2019 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Back in April I noted that ramen was coming to Linda Vista, as "Buta Ramen" was taking the place of Coney's.

Which had me wondering if we'd finally hit the saturation point for ramen in San Diego. Anyway, I drove by our first weekend back from vacation and noticed that Buta had opened. So, I decided to see how the ramen here was.

The place has that modern-slightly hipsterish look.

The Ramen on the menu has what I guess is thought of as clever names for the versions of ramen; the Shoyu Ramen is called "Soul You", the Tonkotsu with sesame is "Tahini Old School" and so on.

The young lady who I think is one of the owners and the young man at the counter were very nice; I believe they're Thai? It didn't sound like they were speaking in Vietnamese.

Anyway, as is my M.O. I ordered the Chicken Karaage ($5), there's a garlic version, but I thought I'd just go with the standard, just to see how things measured up.

This was not bad, slightly crunchy, moist dark meat, with just a touch of ginger, though it could have used more flavor as it was pretty mild compared to versions I enjoy. It needed more soy – mirin – sake.

And of course the Tonkotsu ($9); sorry I just couldn't bring myself to say "Tahini Old School".

The chashu was tender and had been nicely simmered as the porky-soy tones came thru quite well. From there; it was downhill. The egg was nicely cooked, but had no flavor. The noodles, straight, almost Hakata style noodles were over-cooked. The broth; sigh, what's with these bitter-salty-metallic tasting soups? Are they getting their obviously processed tare at the same place? Much like Kimae, the broth was oily rather than rich, and lacked that nice collagen, tongue coating texture. And it was so salty that I could not make out any traces of sesame paste.

That karaage wasn't bad though….so I returned this past weekend.

And started with the Agedashi Tofu ($5); which came with the Tsuyu on the side.

Which might not be a bad move as it preserves the fried crispness of the tofu. I did not enjoy however, the fact that it was ice cold and basically tasted like the typical bottled stuff you can get at Nijiya…in other words quite salty. The tofu was garnishes with some katsuobushi and was decently fried. I prefer my agedashi tofu to have a light crispness; this was more hard and crunchy.

I also ordered the Shoyu (sorry – like the tonkotsu; there's no way I could order a "Soul You" ramen).

The chashu again was good; perhaps even better than what I'd had on my previous visit. The broth; while not rich enough for my taste wasn't overly salty, with a decent soy sauce fragrance and flavor; fairly one dimensional, but much better than the tonkotsu broth. Sadly, the noodles were even more over-cooked than on my previous visit….literally mushy.

I'm thinking that Buta might do well here serving USD students and the such, as the prices aren't too bad. As for me; well, I place Buta among my lower second tier ramen places like Isshido and Kimae. Can't say I didn't expect this, but I always hope for the very best meal. Hopefully this isn't the best that Buta can do….I'll check back in a few months.

And if you get the chance, check out the menu on their website; it has "Agidashi", bean spourt, and memma sprinkled among the dishes and descriptions – hopefully they'll get that fixed.

Buta Japanese Ramen
5201 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Open Daily 11am – 10pm

Emilia – Romagna: Breakfast in Ravenna and Returning to Bologna

June 14, 2019 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italy, Travel

Our visit to Ravenna had exceeded our expectations. I'm glad we had stayed the night; we enjoyed our dinner, and the relaxed, pleasant vibe of the city. We really enjoyed our suite at the Casa Masoli. It was so comfortable and spacious and took us back in time and waking up to this in the morning sure does make a statement!

Breakfast was included in our night's stay, so we packed and headed down to the quaint dining area.

Breakfast was basic but quite satisfying.

After breakfast; we freshened up a bit, stored our bags….our train back to Bologna wasn't until 1230, and decided to take one more walk around Ravenna.

It seems like many cities in Italy have their own "leaning tower". Ravenna is no exception. This is the Torre Comunale (Torre Civica) which leans slightly to the west.

As we made our way back to Casa Masoli, we walked thru what is considered Ravenna's Main Square; Piazza del Popolo. Things were quite lively as there seemed to be some kind of bicycle event for families. Folks smiled and waved at us, folks congregated and chatted, what I'm assuming is a Girl Scout Troop marched thru the square as older folks caught up on the latest news (and gossip). It made for a wonderful scene.

We grabbed our bags; thanked the woman who runs things, we'd had a lovely stay. Great sights, good food, wonderful people, what more could one ask?

The train ride back to Bologna was a quick 90 minutes and change. We walked to our apartment, dropped our bags and headed on out.

This being a Sunday, Bologna was buzzing. The streets full of students, visitors, and locals enjoying their Sunday. It seemed like everyone was out and about on this beautiful day.

Of course every visitor just "needed" that selfie of Asinelli Tower.

It was fun just wandering the streets and alleyways people and pooch watching.

We passed the Chiesa de San Martino.

And somehow found ourselves at Palazzo della Mercanzia.

This has been Bologna's center of trade and commerce since the 14th century!

And guess what? There was some "trade" happening on this day as well as right down the street on Piazza Santo Stefano, the monthly Antiques Market was happening.

It was fun browsing thru the different stands. Though our favorite by far was a particular used book seller…… whose "assistant" was hard at work!

All this walking and browsing made me want a snack.

So we headed off to the Quadrilatero and back to Af Tamburini. Which was quite busy as usual.

We just got a cheese sandwich and headed off to eat it at my favorite spot; on the stairs of San Petronio Basilica, where we could watch Bologna pass us by.

We love sitting on the stairs and just people watch.

Soon enough it was time to head back to the apartment for a nice nap.

This would be our last evening of this vacation and I had made a reservation at a well regarded restaurant for dinner.

You know, I hadn't read much about Emilia-Romagna over the years. A colleague of mine had mentioned his daughter going on an exchange program to Bologna, which is when, beyond all the food stuff, I started learning about the region.

From the warm and friendly people, the amazing food and ingredients (how can you beat Balsamic Vinegar, Parmesano Reggiano, Prosciutto de Parma, and of course culatello), to the history, I wonder why more people don't travel to this region.

Budapest – Getting There and Exploring Lipótváros (Leopold Town)

June 12, 2019 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Budapest, Hungary, Travel

***** Sorry, not much food in this one. But, if you'd like to see some photos and stories on Budapest….

Four months seemed like an excruciating wait for the Missus. After going "back home" for a few days in January, She had to wait four months for our next vacation. But I thought this one was going to be worth it. It entailed starting in a city that the Missus always wanted to visit, Budapest, and ending in what has become (along with Japan) almost like our home away form home if you will.

The travel time was going to be rather long, though the meals on the San Diego to LHR leg was not bad at all.

And while the Galleries Lounge in Terminal 3 at Heathrow was rather small and seemingly a bit worn, it was quiet, and relaxing.

And so it was; an almost eleven hour flight from San Diego to Heathrow, a five hour lay-over in LHR, followed by an almost three hour flight to Budapest. In the end we'd had three square meals in an airplane.

We felt blessed to be able to travel in Business Class.

We arrived in Budapest after midnight, though getting thru customs and immigration, then working a system of getting a cab at the booth, you go to the cab booth, tell the person your destination, you are handed a ticket with a number. This number coincides with the cab number. You'll see the number on the visor of the taxi. Since we pack light and never check luggage going, we actually got to our hotel, the Budapest Marriott around 130 am. There's a reason I picked the Marriott; while the façade looks like something left over from the cold war, the view when I opened the shades in the morning looked like this.

That's the Royal Palace perched on top of Palace Hill, on the Buda side of the Danube. Man was it beautiful!

Since the sun rose early and set at around 830pm, we'd be able to get in a good amount of exploring. There were two things we noticed right away as we walked along the Danube. There were benches everywhere….along with statues and monuments…too many to count. Like this one; simply called "A girl with her dog".

The day had started overcast and it started drizzling a bit, well, more like an irritating mistiness as we got to the Parliament Building.

And yes, that's another statue, of Attila József a 20th century poet, who is much beloved in his home town of Budapest. In fact, his birthday is celebrated as National Poetry Day in Hungary. Sadly, József's life would be a rather short one. He was run over by a train on December 3rd, 1937….whether a suicide or a terrible accident is up for debate. Regardless, he died at the age of 32. His statue sits on the stairs right before the parliament building, looking at the Danube.

We headed down the stairs and headed south along the Danube, to this somber monument of 60 1940's style iron shoes at the banks of the river.

This is the monument called "Shoes on the Danube Bank". This memorial remembers the hundreds of Jews killed by the militia of the Arrow Cross Party. Many were murdered along the Danube and were forced to remove their shoes and even strip naked before being shot.

From the rocks and pebbles placed in and around the shoes; something that is often done on graves; to the flowers, candles, and other items…..on a later visit we saw a woman who looked like was in perhaps her late 80's place flowers here, walking arm in arm with what I can only assume were relatives.

It was quite moving…..

More on the Shoes on the Danube here and here.

We then crossed back and took in the impressive Parliament Building.

As we took a walk around the building there were…well, monuments galore. Like this one of István Tisza.

On the grand statue of Ferenc Rákóczi, who led Hungarians in an uprising (unsuccessful) against the Habsburgs.

Across from the Parliament are two other grand looking buildings; the Museum of Ethnography.

And the Ministry of Agriculture.

We crossed the street to check something out at the end of the building.

These black "plugs" are actually bullet hole markers that memorialize the victims of "Bloody Thursday" a moment at the beginning of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. On October 25th, 1956, a large group of peaceful protesters gathered in front of the Parliament Building. For whatever reason, the Államvédelmi Hatóság (AVH – the Communist Police) opened fire and scores were killed.

Yes, the views are beautiful, the buildings grand…..

But if those structures could talk……..

Thanks for stopping by!