We delighted in Budapest yesterday, our last day. We began with the luxury of a slow morning, nowhere to go but breakfast. After breakfast, a short walk brought us to a shopping mall. Two of the casters on one of our big suitcases had disintegrated. With help from the desk clerk, we found the mall and the equivalent of Walmart or Zellers or Sears. Suitcases in every size, color and price awaited us. We focused on lightweight, cheap and sturdy. Our new suitcase fits the airline requirements and cost only 16,900 FORINT. We were grateful that the exchange rate was 204 FORINT to the Canadian dollar.

An afternoon nap prepared us for the rest of our day. We packed and weighed suitcases until our “stuff” was organized. The hotel clerk identified for us a live “Folklore” concert that evening, sold us the tickets and wrote down directions for the subway and concert hall. The Hungarian words seem to have an excess of letters, which makes them hard to remember. The tickets were worth every penny/FORINT. We soaked in a history of Hungary, superbly recounted in almost two hours of professional traditional dancing, singing, and orchestra. The evening was a highlight of our trip. Tom and I decided that we much prefer concerts and dramas to touring palaces. We returned to the hotel joyful and proud. With some good advice, we’d planned our own evening, found our way to the concert hall and back on public transport, chosen a fine Hungarian restaurant for supper, and experienced an awe-inspiring show. We crawled into bed still smiling.