Kim Files 7

Yesterday, Ron took Kim to the Parliament where she went on the tour to be thoroughly impressed. They then met me at Cafe Gerbeaud's, which I still think is overrated and overpriced, but not as much as others. We wandered down Vaci shopping once again, hit some shops for a second time and others that we missed the first time. Needing lunch, we made our way to the Amstel Cafe and waited for 45-minutes to be served. As it turned out, the waitress who was busy talking to a friend had forgotten to turn the order in at all. This was the worst service I had ever received here. Toward the end of the street, we returned to Intuita where Kim bought us a clock I had noticed yesterday and really liked. We made our way to St. Stephen's Basilica. Ron did the interior tour while I tried getting a table for us at California Coffee Company, but no deal, so we had rose petal ice cream cones instead. We had to show her the Four Seasons and of course use their bathrooms. Back home, we rested and then went to Szep Ilona for dinner. Szep Ilona has remodeled since we were there last. It is lovely inside, but we dined in the garden. The food was exceptional and so was the environment. Another memorable dinner.

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Kim Files 6

Ron took Kim on a tour of Kerepesi Cemetery, which some may think is strange, but really it is a glorious park where history meets art. I have included a larger section on it in my new book. While they were gone, I caught up on my writing for the book, completing a couple of chapters, which really felt accomplished. After they returned, Kim rested, we discussed our shopping day. When I told her of the itinerary, she rebuked the idea of so much territory, but I knew better. We started on Kiraly, where she tried on eyeglass frames from the Seattle/Hungarian Tipton. His frames are handmade from old vinyl records and the newer models are from old celluloid film. After trying on a dozen pairs, she finally settled on one to purchase. We wandered down to the tram to arrive at the great market for a quick once over for souvenirs, but they were declared unworthy, so we moved on to Vaci street. Once I got her into one of my favorite stores, Intuita, she received that shopper's rush of energy. Store to store we went, shopping bags accumulating with each block, and finally making it to the other end of Vaci, my original suggestion earlier that morning. All in all, it was quite an exciting day having a shopper with me for a change who made purchases. Dinner was at Marquis de Salade. This was a memorable restaurant that Ron and I went to when we first, first came to Budapest on vacation in 1998. The service was fine, but there was something off about the food. We did start with the six salads, a great choice, but the entrees were not as spectacular as in the past. For one thing, the menu has shrunk. There were quite a number of choices from Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and other countries, but many seemed to be absent from this new menu. What we ordered was good, but not exceptional, so it was disappointing for me who wanted to show off a great restaurant.

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