Still on the train to Budapest

Still on the train to Budapest
June 12, 2010
We are about halfway to Budapest. The lavender fields are amazing. If they weren’t swarming with bees, I’d love to just run around in one. We will meet my Aunt Joan and Uncle John there for a couple days. We told my grandma we were all going when we found she left us enough for this trip. How thankful I am that we got to tell her before she passed. She was probably very happy at the idea. The expression on her face led me to believe so. I believe we carry her energy with us, and because of that, she knows somehow and is very happy seeing us on this trip from wherever she is.
Anyway, so Vienna. That city is awesome. I didn’t really get to test our queer culture there, but I did get a taste of the skate(boarding) culture, which is very strong there. I love supporting local skate shops when possible. I went to two different ones in Vienna, Rock and Roll and Stil. Bought a new backpack and T-shirt from Rock and Roll (I seriously have a bag buying problem, please help). And, I bought a complete (a skateboard with all its parts put together) and a T-shirt from Stil. The reason why I decided to get a skateboard now is because it will be a fun way to explore cities when I’m not with my dad. He’s going back on the 17th and I will be heading to Paris. Also, I am interested in local(ish) brands from out here. The guy whole sold me the skateboard is a co-owner of the brand of the deck (the part of the skateboard you stand on with the pretty picture on the bottom), Yux. I plan on grabbing some skate shoes in either Budapest or Kosice. We’ll see. These Chucks work okay for skating, but are not ideal. They are also sun bleached to an almost brown. (Yes, I also have a shoe problem. Please help. And by “help” I mean help me find more shoes!).
Other than the skate culture, the city has a great art culture and a bunch of awesome shops I wish I had gotten to go into but closed at 5 or 6 so I could only window shop at… The food from Café Europa was especially delicious. We both ordered some pretty much perfectly done pasta dishes and I also tried the gazpacho, which was also pretty much perfect, especially in the 80 something degree heat (in F). Oh, we finished off the meal with mojito, one of my favorite alcoholic beverages. My dad had a local beer, some cognac, and that mojito and was still standing. Impressive. I do not have his tolerance.