Some Ground Rules and other tidbits

We decided to work out some ground rules before setting off on vacation.It helped a great deal and everyone felt crucial, considered and contented.It helped us avoid many a tiff and evade the inevitable arguments. Here's a list of what we came up with:

1. Everybody helps carry/drag a piece of luggage

2. For every meal,the choice of cuisine will come in turns. If Vaibhav chose what to eat for lunch then it was my turn to decide our dinner meal. You could order whatever you wanted but within the cuisine that had been chosen!

3. If it was Margherita pizza(invariably Shriya's choice)...then a side order of salad had to be ordered

4. On the flight, you can ask your parents or the flight attendant only upto 5 times
"How many more minutes before we land?"

5. You can never say 'No' to anything without giving it a fair try (this one was a little dodgy as it bulldozed me into trying many a thing I didn't want to!)


We had to make a couple of journeys during our trip. The first one from Budapest to Vienna was short and hence spent napping and playing word games. The next from Vienna to Prague was a fun surprise for all of us as the bus we took was better than the flight we'd taken. It had personal entertainment systems, an attendant who plied us with snacks and drinks and very comfy seats. We emerged and found each other only after we reached Prague.The trial was the trip between Prague and Budapest. A day train journey that would last 7 hours. An hour went by exploring the different carriages and walking up and down to the dining cart. Another hour was spent eating our delicious, packed Vietnamese fried rice (we were all craving for Oriental food after a week of European/Middle Eastern fare) looking out of the windows as we sped across leaving behind the gorgeous scenery. God, that still left us with 5 hours!! The few books that we had carried were read and re-read. We played the Just-A- Minute talkathon game. Something that I fondly remember playing with my Dad especially during vacations. We had to talk for an entire minute, without pausing, about something that we saw, ate or did in the place we'd just visited.

The ticket collector entertained the two imps by issuing them play tickets and allowing them to use his punching machine.

And then with what ever material we had, we did create some nice art. We used up some old sheets of paper excavated from the Daddy's pocket, used a toothpick like stick the kids were given at some restaurant and poked holes to create nice images. A few butterflies and hearts later, we were at the Budapest railway station!