A Special Visit

We were so excited to welcome Lele & Papa Jack to Budapest for the first time from September 6th till the 17th. After over a year of seeing our home via webcam on Skype and through blog pictures and stories, they were finally able to experience our new Eastern European life in person!

Caden had started school and Kyle was in the throws of deadlines at work, so the three of us (plus Reese) spent most of our days touring various landmarks of the city and venturing to a few small towns surrounding Budapest. We also tried to give them a taste of our everyday life which included shuttling children to and from school and soccer, grocery shopping, playground time, and meeting our friends. We even subjected them to a few crazy taxi rides and Lele to our Tuesday Playgroup (12 moms and 15 kids!).

We enjoyed beautiful weather every day until their departure – perfect for views of the city from the Citadel! We found ourselves eating lots of pizza at various cafes for lunch and cooking at night. Papa Jack was a fan of the pizza so it became pretty standard. Pizza at the Citadel, pizza on Vaci Street, pizza in Vac and pizza in the city! I even made homemade pizza on their last night here!

View from the Citadel

Besides just spending time together, the highlights of their trip to see us included a private tour of the Parliament building, completed in 1902 and one of the largest state buildings in Europe. The dome of Parliament is exactly 96 meters high, the same height as the dome in St. Stephen’s Church. No other building in Budapest is allowed to reach as high. Housed in Parliament are the legendary crown jewels of St. Stephen which were once protected and kept on American soil during the second World War.

Parliament (with our tour guide Andrea)

The Crown Jewels

Lisa and I also attended a German opera by Beethoven, Fidelio, at the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest’s most celebrated performance hall. The opera house is beautiful and ornate and a must-see. The opera we saw was not exactly what we were expecting – but the music was good. It was a great reason to get dressed up and feel like “Pretty Women” for the night!

Our trips outside the city included a drive to Vac to visit my favorite antique furniture shop and their quaint town square. Lisa found a great coffee table that will be making its way to Atlanta via Louisville, KY in the next several weeks. I would say that is a very nice souvenir from their trip! Reese could have cared less for more furniture shopping, but was delighted to play in the fountains with Lele before lunch. Our second trip outside the city was to Szentendre, a gorgeous little town on the banks of the Danube where many of Hungary’s artists have taken up residence. The town center boasts lots of Hungarian handicraft shops, galleries and museums. Lisa found some traditional souvenirs to bring home to friends and family.

Funny enough, during their visit “Grandparent’s Day” was on the calendar – probably a Hallmark holiday, but if it is there, we should celebrate, right? We did so by treating Lele & Papa Jack to Sunday Brunch at the Intercontinental Hotel. They do a great job at the brunch to serve the best food Hungary has to offer, complete with Hungarian champagne! They also have a wonderful children’s corner with toys and crafts to keep antsy kids entertained. We had a lovely afternoon and enjoyed the day a lot.

Even with all the sightseeing we did, Lele & Papa Jack were still able to do the most important thing they came to do, love and spoil Caden and Reese! They showed up with an entire suitcase of goodies for all of us, but especially the kids. Caden was thrilled to see more pop-tarts, books and toys and Princess Reese received her own crown & tiara and a precious Halloween costume. I’m pretty sure Lele gets the record for longest bedtime routine as Caden asked questions about each page of every book to drag out the process! They were thrilled to meet Caden’s teachers and see his school, attend his soccer practices and meet his friends. They played lots of hide-n-go-seek, went for moto rides and visits to the park. We will be working off their “over-attention” for a while with the kids!

We were sad to say goodbye but so grateful for the sacrifices made for this visit and the happy and fun times had! We miss you Lele & Papa Jack!