Oh Captain! My Captain! My Toddler Wants Off Your Boat!

On a pretty day in Budapest, a boat ride is a great way to pass the day.

We took Bop on a quick boat ride up and down the Danube last weekend.

A few minutes in, the novelty of the boating trip wore off.

She pretty much just wanted to lie around and eat a giant loaf of bread.

One of my favorite spots on the Danube is Parliament. It is huge.

It looks more like a fortress. Interesting fact on the size... its one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings and is the second largest. Today, only 1/8 of the building is actually used, though. This well illustrates the fact that the Hungarian government was once much larger, back in the days when it controlled much more territory. Claudia was on the look out for ducks, seagulls and fish. We saw none of these things. We spotted St. Matthias Cathedral and Fisherman's Bastion. I can't remember what the church up front on the right is, but it had the deco mosaic tiled roof you see everywhere here. I love those tiles.

Chain Bridge and Buda CastleAnother shot of Buda Castle

Gellert Hotel... this is where the famous Gellert Bath is.

Liberty Bridge and behind it the Church in the Rocks. During the Communist regime, the Soviets concreted the church up. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the church was opened back up.

hmm... this is a ... university? I took a picture because of the mosaic tile roof. Claudia had ripped my guided tour ear piece out, so I'm not certain what this is. more of Buda Castle

Claudia's favorite part of the tour was when it ended. She spent the last fifteen minutes (of the hour long tour) chanting "I want to go home! I want to go home! Let me goooooo!" Once we docked, in a fit of relief, she hugged the first person she could find. She then professed her love for the statue, gushing "you are my best friend... in the world. And I love you." Not joking about any of these quotes. And neither was she. She bear hugged that statue for no less than 15 minutes. This is me trying to subdue Claudia and quash the "I want to go home! I want to go home!" chants. The guy next to me was videotaping the tour. I sensed he was not too pleased with the soundtrack Claudia provided. Oh well. After the boat tour we took Claudia to Gerbeaud. Since 1858, they've been serving the best (and most expensive!) coffee and treats in Budapest. Here's Claudia enjoying the most expensive milk shake I've ever bought. It really is delicious, though. This is something every child in Budapest loves to do... ride on the lion fountain in Vorosmarty Ter. Everytime we hit this spot up, the fountain is crawling with kids, with at least one child riding on each of the four lions. Claudia spent much of this ride trying to stay on the lion while also plugging his spout. Eventually, she was successful.It briefly warmed up in Budapest enough for Claudia to play in her splash pool. Observe this feat of strength.

I'm a little sad that Claudia's cute little toddler tummy is disappearing. Every day she gets a little longer and skinnier. She's definitely taking after her daddy. The thing that made her happiest...

... was dumping water on her head.

... and pouring water out of her ladybug.

Ladybug is actually a sprinkler head, but sadly, it doesn't fit on any of the Hungarian water hoses.

For the record, this is 100% Russell's hair. Russell had this identical head of hair as a child.

Looking at baby pictures, I observe that it got bigger, curlier and pouffier as the years progressed.

Claudia received some care packages from Gram this week. She then decided she would put herself in one of the boxes so that she could send herself back to Gram.

And that's all. Well, one last shot. This is how Claudia likes to read with Daddy. She climbs up on his shoulders and settles in for a good read. Ok, now, that's all!