Budapest 2: The food! The wine!

It's a pity I'm not in the food blogging mode anymore, because Budapest would have given great inspiration for some culinary posts.

I didn't even take many notes about the wonderful dishes I tasted and the excellent wine I sipped, but in my short time in the city, I can definitely say that dining out at incredibly reasonable prices is one of Budapest's major attractions.

On the second evening of my stay, the Erasmus conference organizers treated us to a top-class meal at Speiz, a lovely restaurant in the historic Castle Hill district.

The event was billed as a "Wine Dinner," and this restaurant was sure the right place for that:



I wasn't aware that Hungary offers a rich variety of wines, and I may have to consider mail-ordering some because I definitely left the country wanting to learn more about them.

In general, savoring Hungarian cuisine was one of the highlights of my stay.

Budapest 1

So, with no further ado, a little update on some of the excitement in my life.

I went to an Erasmus contact seminar in Budapest from November 30-December 4th. Actually, the conference ended on the 2nd, but I worked things out to get a bit of time in the city on my own over the weekend. I figure I won't be in Budapest every day.

First impressions? To me, Budapest was more sprawling and grandiose than I had expected.

(I hate to say that I didn't do much research before I left, or else I would have known that Budapest was sprawling and grandiose.)

There may be more to come on this subject.

Bad blogger...

No, not the blogging service -- me.

I came home exhausted yesterday evening after my long work day Wednesday and a fairly busy day Thursday, and just couldn't think of anything to post or write. So I blew it off.

In other words, I failed at NaBloPoMo on day 10.

But not to give up. Despite the very modest nature of my posts this month, I have enjoyed going back to this space, and catching up with a few friends from the past, like this other Betty, who have dropped in to comment.

So I will peck away at it. And maybe inspiration will come.

Long day

Due to the length of my work day, there will be no scheduled post today.

Stay tuned for the next edition.

On the road again

Talk about a big day tomorrow!

Rendez-vous in front of my school at 6:45 am to pick up three students and drive off to the Infosup educational fair in Toulouse...a full day of communicating about our business school...however, I must leave by 4pm because at 6pm my 3rd year students are doing their video/buffet evening about their foreign internships...

I congratulate myself for getting a post in this evening! Now off to bed...

No-blog night

I am keeping up with NaBloPoMo -- if only for myself -- but I have decided that, as a rule, if I write a professional blog post in the evening, I won't write a " real" post to this blog.

This is where I have been blogging professionally for over 6 years now...and I can tell you that once I have worked all day and then, in the evening, written a blog post that I am getting paid for, the energy for personal blogging wavers.

Talking shop

My head is spinning today.

At my "advanced age," I am thinking about doing some sort of degree or certificate program that would formalize and solidify my skills and knowledge in my career and my passion: teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Yes, I have a Bachelor's Degree, in English for that matter, from a prestigious American university. But finding creative ways to teach verb tenses doesn't have much to do with Chaucer or Dickens.

And yes, I did a 5th year of university studies that led to my becoming a certified teacher in Washington State. Indeed, I still use some of what I learned during that program in my teaching.

But that was, um, how long ago? And how much of that year do I really remember? And how relevant is what I learned then -- on a non-subject specific course, to boot -- to today's language classrooms?

I have a lot to think about.