Sun, Rain and Other Things of some or no Consequence

On the worst of days, when the heat is visible and you awake to a large oven you call a bedroom, your skin feels as if someone has poured sugar water all over you and let it dry. On these days, be sure that the clouds will roll in completely unexpectedly, the lightning will sharpen the sky and the rain will wash away all the hot day brought and leave a cool sweet-smelling night. The light changes so subtly throughout the day that the overcast sky is always a welcome sight and then afterwards the streets are cool and the people are back at play, filling sidewalk cafes and pubs alike.

It is hard to sleep, each day begins with us waking to the heat of our bedroom after the sun hits the windows, almost as a group, we trickle up to the 7th floor (the ladies are staying on the 5th floor and the guys are on the 6th floor). Almost every day the ladies eat breakfast together and on most days we'll see one or two of the guys come in and eat as well. Afterwards, we all begin our work - Odette and I run out to shoot, Jenna begins her studio work and I'm not really sure what our male counterparts do with the day, but I'm sure they're just as busy as we are. By about midday (if I haven't lost my mind and decided to run around and have heat stroke), we return to visit galleries, museums or get research done. Then again by the evening, before the light is gone, I shoot again and come back to see what my roommates are up to for dinner. Often we bring some snacks to eat in the room. Tonight Jenna and I went for food and were drowned by smoke and heavy cologne scent. Everyone smokes. Smoking may actually be an unofficial national pasttime. J pointed out that perhaps we should carry out cards with Hungarian translations saying something like "It is 2008, much research has been done about smoking and here it is..." I'm in full agreement. The later the night gets, the more we wake up and I find myself out past midnight nearly every day (it is 1am now).

We've also found a few hangouts...Kiado Kocsma - a pub just down the block from our hotel is marvelous, the people are friendly and the food and drink are good (the lemonade especially as it is a bit of an odd mix of lemons, oranges and soda water). Did I mention that this is also our free wi-fi spot, so we all come here (I'm here now) to use the internet and work a bit out of our room. Our two friends who work here are Dane (a painter) and Otto (it could be spelled "Attil" who is active in bike messenger racing)...Also, "John's Bar," a little bar in the lobby of the hotel, where a man named John hangs out. John, originally from England, moved to Hungary some 13+ years ago and now teaches English here. We see him nearly every day in the bar, so we've dubbed it his. He is a wonderfully witty human being and we've all enjoyed his company and friendship. I can highly recommend both of these venues if you ever come to visit Budapest - if you're in John's Bar, you may also run into Gina and Atilla, who are lovely as well. The hotel/apt we're in is aesthetically very simple, but is comfortable and the location is quite wonderful. You can visit the hotel's website: Hotel Medosz