Here is my itinerary for the European trip:

On the night of June 18th, I fly to Budapest. I will be flying overnight and arriving on the 19th. Then, I think I will be going almost directly to Debrecen. I will spend a week in Debrecen, then fly to London on June 25th, where I will stay with friends. In London I’m going to be spending most of my time doing research, but if you would like to contact me while I’m there, I may have time for coffee or whatever it is one drinks in England. Is it too much of a cliché to meet for tea?

On July 4th, I will return from London to Debrecen, and spend a few days there. But I need to be in Budapest by the 8th, I think, because Catherynne Valente and I have two weeks of writing scheduled. We will be writing and hanging out in cafés. However, if you are in Budapest and want to meet up, let me know. In Budapest, it will definitely be coffee. The apartment where we’ll be staying is close to the Hungarian National Museum, in Pest. It’s within walking distance of Váci Utca, which is the main shopping district.  I remember being able to walk down to the Danube.

There’s one place I know I’m definitely going, which is Gerbaud. This is a slice of Dobos Torte from Gerbaud. It is the definitive Dobos Torte: you can tell because it’s the one featured on Wikipedia.

Gerbaud is only a few blocks from the apartment. Who knows, I may walk there every day simply for exercise! And then, on July 24th, I’ll be flying back from Budapest to Boston. So, this is what it looks like:

June 18th Boston to Budapest to Debrecen
June 25th Debrecen to London
July 4th London to Debrecen
By July 8th Debrecen to Budapest
July 24th Budapest to Boston

And there may be some traveling around Hungary during those two weeks in Budapest. I learned something interesting today. I have a porcelain brooch with a painting of an ancestress of mine on it. What I learned is that there’s a picture of the brooch at Bezerédj Castle, where she lived. And I have the original. Here is a picture of it:

And here is the castle where she lived:

It would be interesting to go visit, don’t you think?

All of this does mean that I won’t be able to go to Readercon this year, for the first time in about seven years, I think. I’m very sorry about that! I know there are people who were looking forward to seeing me there, and I was certainly looking forward to seeing them. I tried to find a way to come back for the convention specifically, but it was just too expensive. And my schedule was constrained by the need to go to London as early in summer as I could, to avoid the Olympics. I’m hoping that in the future, I can find a way to both go to Europe to write during the summer, and make Readercon, which is after all one of my favorite conventions.

So there you have it, that’s my itinerary. If you want to meet up with me at any point along the way, let me know! I may be able to manage it. (But if you offer to buy me anything at Gerbaud, I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll be there.)