Leaving the Village

After dinner with Csaba, Eva and friends we head home to pack. We are packed and leaving the village. There is always that transition from dreading leaving to being ready to go. That took place after we stayed up late packing and cleaning, repacking and re-cleaning, stressing if our bags would be over the weight limit. We said our goodbyes to everyone earlier in the day. We finished packing and cleaning about 3 hours before we had to get up. We were sad but happy to be seeing our friends and family soon.

Csaba arrived at 5am sharp to take us to the airport. It is cold and dark, about -17 degrees centigrade. I hear a Red Hot Chili Peppers song on the radio that talks of California being the edge of western civilization. I realize we are going back to the west. I dread it. We have been living in between east and west. Not far from here near the Black Sea is where eastern civilization begins. California, the edge of western civilization. Southern California, even better. That which represents all of America or so the television would have us believe. We are returning to the materialistic, capitalistic civilization. The one lacking connection and depth.

Csaba drops of off and we give a sleepy hug to our dear friend and say goodbye. The airport is smooth to Budapest. We arrive in Budapest and our ride is there. We go to the train station where Byron and I left some luggage on our way to Poland and all is there and intact. So far so good. The trip is smooth. Our apartment is very nice. We stay there overnight and spend the day in Budapest. It is nice to travel with James.

In Budapest we come across a kurtos stand complete with Szekley fabrics. Byron and I are watching how it is made. Kurtos is a Szekley pastry. We tour Buda, the other side of the Danube where the Buda Var castle is. James is so happy to be there. The weather is cold but sunny, tourists are few and we are full of energy walking the city. We eat dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant. We have been longing for this place since we were there last. We go to bed and sleep well waking up early to catch our flight. Luna is thrilled that there is ample room in the carry-on box for her carry-on. Silly as it sounds, I think this was a healing experience for her. She was so crushed in London in September and worried so much about having our carry-ons make the correct dimensions. We stop in London and then Los Angeles and then to San Diego where we happily met Grandma and Grandpa.