Why Do All of My Friends & I Have the Same Name?

Friday, 11:40 PM - I pick up two of my best friends, Alexis & Sasha, at Ferihegy terminal 1. Already the weekend is a success because I wasn't pulled over in transit, and we listen to Better Than Ezra on the ride home. Lex lives in London and recently started a job at the Skoll Center at Oxford's Biz School. Sasha spent the last month studying Russian in St. Petersburg and starts at the Kennedy School in two weeks. My friends are smart. And pretty.

Friday, 11:30 AM - Lex and Sasha's only requirement for the weekend is to spend as much time as possible in the sun - something which apparently is difficult to do in London and St. Petersburg. I give them the walking tour of Budapest, starting with the Basilica and ending at Kertem, a garden bar at the edge of Hero's Square. During our excursion, Alexis receives an email from (iphone-happy) Mrs. Ett and learns that her great grandfather was a cantor in the synagogue in Budapest. We add the synagogue to the weekend to-do list.


Saturday, 9:30 PM - We meet Jackie and Susan at Holdudvar on Margaret Island to celebrate Susan's birthday. Dinner is yummy - nothing like Paprika chicken and bacon dumplings to shore up your stomach for a big night. Susan looks wonderful and tells us she was hit on by a lesbian at her high school reunion in Georgia last weekend. A lesbian who recently was released from jail after serving time for attempted murder. So we also celebrate that Susan made it back to the Pest alive.




Sunday, 12:30 AM - Marcus joins us and suggests we move the party to Rio. I know it is a good decision when this is the first man I see at the club.




Sunday, 3:30 AM - Lex and Sasha meet two Scandanavian guys. One of them has dark hair and eyes. When Lex asks him if he originally is from Sweden, he looks thoughtful for a moment and asks the girls if they ever have heard of a "small country called Syria."


Sunday, 4:02 AM - We head to Piaf, a bar which I later learn from Geza is a good place to meet rolling potatoes. An expressive, 80-year old lounge singer is performing, so we really can't ask for a better way to end the night.






Sunday, 4:42 AM - It is unclear whether Sasha is dancing or reading the menu.


Sunday, 2:10 PM - Instead of recapping the night over brunch, Lexi, Sasha and I gossip in the women's-only thermal bath at Gellert. When in the 'Pest, do as the Budapestians do.