My Travels: Budapest, Dublin/Belfast, Barcelona

I have three travels to write about: Budapest, Dublin/Belfast, Barcelona. Since it has been quite some time and describing everything would be exhaustive, I'm just going to give the tidbits.

Budapest: Weekend Wedding
I attended the wedding of a family friend and it was a beautiful sight. I love weddings, I love being in them even more. The groom, Wilson, was so very calm and collected - he mirrored my impression of my Cousin-in-law Emmanuel, who was my connection to the groom. Wilson and Emmanuel are friends dating back to high school in Canada. They lead such international lives and I wish I had an MBA so I could work on months-long projects for "the firm" in some place like Hungary, or Hong Kong, or Romania. Wilson has spent the past ten years on business projects in Eastern Europe, much of it wooing his new bride, Aggie, and learning to speak fluent Hungarian (a very difficult language).

And I loved the whole affair. The wedding went well and the reception was an absolute blast that went on to 4 in the morning. I met fabulously friendly people from Quebec, Australia, Toronto, Geneva, and the list went on. We all have such attractive accents. And we danced with the glorious view of the Buda hills and winsome Hungarian renditions of American 80s music. (I would have liked to hear more Hungarian music from the band.)

And it was wonderful to see Tania and Emmanuel again. I don't see them too often since they live in Hong Kong. While Emmanuel enviably worked away on his laptop at our suite in the Intercontinental as Mr Accountant (how glamorous?!), Tania and I explored Buda+Pest. We went to the Castle, commented on art at the national gallery, discussed our complicated family, and milled around the Buda hills. What an international rendezvous. More of these should happen. And I wish Wilson and Aggie all the best in their new lives.

Dublin/Belfast: Scholars Trip
So I spent a week on the green island and it, too, was an absolute blast. The Republic of Ireland, otherwise known as the Celtic Tiger, is ridiculously rich. The economy is booming with a full embrace of the promise of the European Union. When we went to a comedy show, the MC pointed out the one audience member from Britain, a Manchester fellow. "Don't worry. We won't hurt you. We don't hate you anymore," assured the MC, "Because, well, we're bloody rich now."

And then it came to us Americans and about the best ridicule that could be said about us was that we were good-looking. Fine by me. Some Irish jokes were lost on us Americans - but the comedy was rich, incisive, and witty and I loved it. Being in a different country and making guffaws about our differences is much better than festering ignorant hate. An international lifestyle once seemed so undeservingly self-indulgent and now I cannot imagine being so unaware of the world.

There were about 30 other scholars who attended the trip, most flew in from New York. I didn't know many of them and it's amazing what a week in Ireland can do. We had fish and chips, explored Temple Bar and St George's Street, went to the Brazen Head (oldest pub in Dublin - Estd 1198), had the bangers n' mash dinner at the Hairy Lemon, walked around the Powerscourt House gardens and imagined the allure of being English oppressors, attended a concert of Irish music, saw a passionate hurling and football match, rushed the field, and of course there was the St Patrick's Parade. St Pat's is not as big of a deal in Ireland and it is on the upswing by government efforts but it was such a delight nonetheless. The parade was very whimsical and interactive. No Macy's balloon floats. It was dancers and bands and people in playful costumes like the Druids and other figures of Irish heritage.

I just have to mention that I went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art and viewed the works of Howard Hodgkin. He’s a very modernist painter who spends years on specific abstract brush strokes that stress the picture plane. He uses very bright colors and every once in a while engages in shapes. It affirms painting as an object since he often will paint over into the frame. And he titles his works with autobiographical references like "Lunch," "Montada en Tabla," "In Bed in Venice," "When in Rome," and "Turkish Delight." This is my favorite piece - of a upper middle class couple from Connecticut (not a good picture.) And I read a poem by James Fenton inspired by Howard Hodgkin called “In Paris with you” which I adored.

And I almost forgot to mention that we went to Belfast for a day. And I had an ₤11 (US$22) lunch. It was pea and bacon soup with a salad that had a piece of fried goat cheese to top it. There was a sweet mound of caramelized red onions on top of that. So guilty and so delicious. Subsequently did some running around town at City Hall and Mango and it was all very urban and newer looking than Dublin. Though, Belfast is a smaller city than Dublin. And Belfast is incredibly depressing. Not the cheeriest place on Earth, I say.

All in all an enchanting time.

Spring Break in Barcelona
I spent 6 days in Barcelona for spring break and I met up with my friend Dorian for the weekend portion of it. He came in from Florence and doesn't have the same spring break as I do. We stayed at a wonderfully located place on Passeig de Grácia. And well, since I have uploaded pictures on facebook with all the necessary comments (that is if you view each picture individually will the comments display), I don't think I will write too much. We saw a lot of buildings from the wonderful architect Antoni Gaudi and I make proper comments in the pictures of his buildings. And sat on the beach. Was mesmerized by views of the Mediterranean and Barcelona from the mountains. And I fell in love with Spain. And remarked on the differences between Eastern and Western Europe. And had wonderful chocolate and delicious meals and sangria. Anyway: here below are three photo albums for your perusal.

BCN

BCN part 2

BCN 3!