Army of the twelve monkeys?

So what do you do in Budapest on a Monday night? Well, if there is a thunder storm going on like there is tonight, you stay in your hotel room and drink instant coffee while watching NCIS and Numbers in Hungarian. For the record, the voice actors in Numbers are much better than the ones doing NCIS. Hip-hip-hurray for TV2

Good news; my suitcase caught up with me. I guess I jumped the gun a bit buying new clothing yesterday. Although I'm still glad I did, otherwise I never would have bought my new kick ass Euro-punk jacket. It was a steal too at 12,300 Forints (less than ten bucks). I was really glad I got my stuff back though, I blame my troubles all solely on Italy.

I woke up his morning around 6am (midnight back in the states) which was waaaay too early. It seems that even with jet lag and sleep deprivation my bouts of insomnia continue. It turned out to be useful for once though, I got up and went out into the city early. Nothing was open. apparently nothing opens here until around 10ish. It was disappointing; so I went back to the hotel and took a few more photos.

I met up with Derek after that and we went out and got breakfast from this great Italian cafe down the street. The coffee here is amazing. We went to work for the next 8 hours or so... pretty much just like it is in the states except I was working on my lap top. The office looks interesting, very cool. Don't let that fool you - there isn't any air conditioning inside and it gets pretty hot in Budapest.

When work was over Derek, Gerzson, and I went out for drinks. Gerzson took us to the "Negro". A bar right next to St. Stephen's Basilica. Gerzson says that it was named after a famous Hungarian candy that was black and looked like pieces of coal.

Gerzson, the last one in the office

St. Stephen's Basilica

It started to rain after a while and Gerzson had to leave in a hurry. He rides a bike to work everyday and wanted to get home before it started to pour. Derek and I waited for the check and then started to head back to the hotel. On the way we ran into Andrew Burton, another one of our coworkers from the US that had just arrived. As we walked to the hotel we passed a street corner that has a "gentleman's strip club" and a "Szex shop". Now, I'm not certain, because I don't speak more than two words in Hungarian, but I'm pretty sure a girl on that corner asked me if "We wanted to have a good time tonight". I gave her one glance, realized what she was, and sped up walking a little. I have to say; in all of my travels... that is the first time that has happened. It was very surreal.

Derek, Andrew, and I split up and went to our own rooms after talking for a bit. I got back, took off my wet clothing and put on the TV. Now, I'm going to watch Law and Order and then go to bed. I'll write more tomorrow.