Sightseeing with Susan and Remarkable Cucumber Salad

Great to have Susan visit me from Kansas City.  Took her to some of my usual haunts – the market where I shop, the evil Árkád shopping center, wi fi at McDonalds, some restaurants where I eat cheap food.  She explored while I’m teaching class and is finding her way around the city pretty well.  She also had her share of “adventures.”  Her first night in Hungary – we went to a restaurant for dinner.  Susan ordered a cucumber salad to go with her entrée.  Imagine her surprise when the waiter brought out a big plate with 8 large pickles fanned out in a circle.  Susan remarked – well, they were cucumbers at one time.  We toured the early Roman cemetery with burial vaults at the Cella Septichora Visitors’ Center – impressive Roman ruins that are truly amazing and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Toured St. Stephen’s Cathedral, as well as the church in Széchenyi Square that used to be a Turkish mosque and still has much of that time period intact inside and out. When we were in the cathedral, someone began to play the organ and that is the music you hear over the cathedral images.  Agí made us dinner so we could taste some traditional Hungarian items  Lescó, a tasty stew with a tomato-paprika base, Unicom, a Hungarian liquor with 23 herbs, and Dobos tortas, a beautiful layered cake with glaze on top. Here’s a look at some of the city sights.