My Flat Part II

I met up with Hobo at 07:00 at the flat. I missed breakfast at the hotel, as it doesn't start until the time I was to meet Hobo, so went for a breakfast burger at MacDonald's in Déak Tér. Although the door was open there were a couple of blokes pushing delivery trolleys about saying "Zarva" or closed. So we did the next best thing and went to the coffee house next door. Bit of a tourist trap along the lines of a Starbucks. The coffee was OK but on the expensive side.

After coffee, we went looking for a paint-shop. Hobo asked some random bloke on the square where on was and he indicated up the street that runs past the Basilica. (Can't remember the name offhand). Well, we went up the street until we got to the square where Nyguti Station was. I suggested the mall there but, when Hobo asked the security guard, there weren't any there. We carried on up the street until we hit Árpad Bridge. While umming and arring what to do next Hobo spotted a painter across the road (at least he had paint spattered overalls on, so probably a painter)

Anyway, the guy was on the phone and then went into a pub so we followed him in. Hobo ordered some beers and then went and talked to the guy. Nope, he didn't know where any paint-shops were either. It was now 08:00 while I'm having my 1st beer of the day. Not started drinking that early since Xmas eve when I worked for Thomas Ness!

Hobo then remembered that his father had a paint-shop on a corner on Nagymeru u. which goes off the street we just walked up. I could see St Annes church down the street and told Hobo that it was on the same street as my flat. We hit Andrassy Avenue and Hobo rung one of his family to ask about paint-shops. Apparently there was one on my flats street but in the 70s or 80s!

We eventually found the shop and Hobo went around getting all the tools he needed and he spotted some paint on sale. His eyes lit up and he wanted two then and there. They were 28L buckets and I thought buying two was asking for trouble so I suggested to hobo buy one today and get the other one later. Good job, they were bloody heavy! We struggled half a block before Hobo needed to rest, conveniently just by a pub. We had a couple of beers before struggling to my flat going in relays with the bucket of paint. (I had visions of it spilling all over the street but thankfully neither of us dropped it!)

Surprisingly, there was someone at the door to meet us. A friend of the tenant who'd been given the task of checking on the work. Quite a nice bloke too. Speaks quite a number of languages and bought us beer!

Helped hobo clear the little rooms and went back to the hotel, being about 6 in the evening by then. I extended my stay to four days and then went to the bar and asked for a beer in my best Hungarian. She said that there was no beer on tap but they had bottles. I was quite pleased as normally, in Budapest, they switch to English as soon as I've finished talking (or, worse, German.) On the other hand, I'm an old hand at asking for beer in Hungarian nowadays!