November 19, 2010: Winter Festival

November 19, 2010: After school I met Joe and Sonia who had had a busy day traveling by foot to Buda Castle and the central market. We met my friends Jack, Deb, and Ric who had arrived from their town in eastern Hungary. Deb will be returning to the US on Sunday. We went together to the Palace of Arts where I wanted Joe to see an exhibit of Frank Molina who was one of the founders of JPL. After JPL, Molina went on the become an artist. But the thing I wanted Joe to see most was the movie on propulsion that Joe hadn't seen before. Although I had seen most of the movie during my last visit to the museum, I saw the entire film and noticed that some of the speakers were people I knew from when I worked at JPL. Small world. 

After leaving the museum, I showed them the National Theatre and the unusual sculptures in front of it. Office buildings were reflected in the water of the pond at the front of the National Theatre.

office buildings seen from National Theatre building

Then we walked across the street to my colleague, David's apartment and had a glass of wine and talked with him for a while. After that it was back downtown for dinner at what has become my favorite restaurant. The others really enjoyed it too. We stayed there for several hours just talking and having a good time. Then, since Sonia's feet were killing her, she and Joe returned to their hotel while Jack, Deb, and I roamed through the streets to see what was still open in the Winter Festival. Unfortunately, many of the booths were closed including the one that sells rooster testicle stew. (I couldn't have eaten that anyway since I was still very full from dinner!) 

Winter Festival

Winter Festival

Winter Festival

Then I returned to Joe and Sonia's hotel room to retrieve my bag and returned home. A full day was had by all.