Cups

What is it about coffee shops and liberals? I'm in Cups--you know, a trendy kind of coffe place with something sounding like Radiohead playing in the background--a place where you bring your laptop or your New York Times and pass the time away sipping some excessively hyphenated named latte with a nice plate of sliced fruit on the side. It's not that I don't like places like this--I do. I mean, they have free wireless, good tasting coffee, and the people, as far as I can tell, are nice. But I can't help but think that these types of places are Meccas for liberals.

"Ha! Major League Baseball is launching a steriods probe. I'll be believe that the day I believe Bush." So says the chap who just sat next to me. I wonder if he realizes that a former Democratic majority leader is heading up the investigation in the baseball probe...

Skylines

Here's someone's list of the top 15 skylines in the world. Obviously this is subjective, but it's still good overview of some beautiful urban landscapes.

The first little bit of the school...

For Thomas and Mollie:

I haven't a lot of time (nor have I the last few days). But before we hit the town this afternoon I wanted to at least post a picture of Vienna Christian School. We took a ton of pictures of just about everything we saw. This picture is what you see when you walk through the front entrance. We arrived just as a class was let out.

Mollie, this is a picture (obviously) of the music room at the school. There was a young couple there named Lance and Mindy. Mindy was sitting at the piano. She reminded me a lot of you--I think because she was sitting at the piano wearing glasses kinda like yours.

I wish I had more time but we have to go. We're going explore Budapest a bit this afternoon and tonight, we're going to a performance of Rachmaninov's Second Concerto. I'm, in a word, ecstatic.

Arrival in Budapest

After two very smooth flights, we've made it to Budapest. Sam has been a great host and guide so far. Getting around would have been a great deal more difficult had he not been here to assist us. Once we arrived at Sam's flat, we set off for lunch in the center of Budapest (Sam lives in the Southeast part of this vast city). A half hour train/metro ride took us to the resturaunt pictured below:
After lunch, we walked through the city a bit and eventually found our way to the castle which overlooks Budapest:

Note the faint outline of the Parliament building in the background of the last photo.

I hope to post a more detailed account of what we did and what we saw, but I'm afraid the thirty plus hours I've gone without sleep has done a number on my brain.

ATL

Spring Break has finally arrived! Tomorrow afternoon we fly out for a week in Budapest. Right now, we're enjoying an evening in Atlanta. I haven't spent much time in Atlanta in the past few years. I'm amazed at how big this city is. I'd like to come back soon when I have time to visit Six Flags and the new aquarium I've read so many good things about.

Critical Mass

National Review Online has a great article about the new admissions policy approved by the faculty at Ole Miss Law School. Please read this.

Hat tip: Lain

My kind of hotel

Despite the fact that most people in the country seem opposed to the UAE port deal, I think it may not be such a bad thing if, for no other reason, the Emerites build hotels like this.

Marching ahead

Time flies. I know February is the shortest month, but good grief! I can't believe it's March. I hope I can blog a bit before spring break next week. We'll be going to see Sam in Budapest. We'll also take a peak at Bratislava and spend a night in Vienna. I'm very much looking forward to the rest. There's something completely satisfying about getting on a plane knowing you're about to fly several thousand miles away from everything you've been dealing with. Breaks are a good thing. And they are even better if spent traveling.