To continue with Budapest...did I mention how GREAT the weather was? The entire weekend was absolutely beautiful! And we apparently were blessed because the weeks prior to our visit were not so nice weather (snow, very cold temps, ice, etc.) and it takes a turn for the worse later this week!
Saturday morning we met down in the lobby for our first guided tour with our guide, Andrea, who was absolutely amazing! She was a fantastic tour guide and if you find yourself in Budapest, you should spend the money and arrange for a private tour with her! (I can get you her information!)
Our first stop was the Castle District where she shared some of Hungary's history and important events. Buda and Pest were actually two separate cities separated by the Danube River until 1873. We had a spectacular view of the Pest side across the river. We also saw a building that withstood WWII that clearly shows the damage from bombings and gunfire. WOW...!
From there we walked up the street to the area of Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion. Although we were unable to go inside St. Matthias because they were having a service, we did enjoy hearing about the special tile roof and the area just behind known as the Bastion that represents the 7 tribes of Hungarian history. As we walked up, there was a man in period dress with a trained hawk. I took the opportunity to don a huge glove and hold the hawk first with wings closed and then with then spread! How cool!
From here, we headed over to the Pest side to visit St. Stephen's Basilica and Parliament. The inside of St. Stephens is quite unique in its decor and statues for a Catholic church and is truly stunning both inside and out!
The tour inside Parliament was also quite interesting. It is here that the Hungarian crown is housed. Budapest's Parliament House is the 3rd largest in the world - 1st is Bucharest, 2nd is Argentina. Also, if you have ever heard the phrase, "It was worth a Havana," you can thank Hungary for that phrase. It has to do with smoking not being allowed IN the actual hall and cigars would be left in numbered holders outside the doors. On one occasion, a gentleman had left his Havana cigar, but because the speeches were long, but interesting, his comment was, "It was worth a Havana" as his cigar had burned down while he was inside.
Our tour ended at the Covered Market which has a variety of little shops, food, crafts, souvenirs, etc. The group kind of split up depending on what each wanted to do, so I set off with some of the ladies to find food! We wandered up to the various booths to try a dish that Andrea recommended called Langos, which is a deep fried flat bread that can be served with a variety of toppings - I chose cheese - YUM!
After checking out some of the little shops and the market, I set off on foot with Celine (a new friend I made while on the trip) to check out a couple sights that Andrea had mentioned and pointed out. Along the way, we met up with Karla who joined us as we walked down the by the river to an area where there is a very somber remembrance to some of those who were persecuted by the Nazis. This is in the form of a series of sculpted shoes along the river's edge. They represent the people who were told to remove their shoes before being shot and/or drowned in the river. A very sad and touching memorial to say the least.
We then walked over to the Four Seasons hotel to check out the lobby - quite beautiful - and then we walked through town towards St. Stephens where we did a little more souvenir shopping and enjoyed the lovely afternoon. The three of us then enjoyed a rest in a famous and very established coffee house and restaurant called Gerbeaud where Karla and Celine enjoyed lattes while I enjoyed a coke and piece of cheesecake. I also purchased some of their famous chocolates to take home to Spencer. By then it was getting to be time to head back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. Our group of 14 had reservations at Cafe Kor!
Once back at the hotel, we gathered in the lobby for before dinner drinks and conversations about our afternoons and then headed over to the restaurant. We didn't end up there until 8:00PM but the place was hoppin'! Apparently, late dining is the thing in Hungary and still when we left a couple hours later, people were leisurely enjoying their dinner. The menu there was awesome and I ate well! I had a shrimp and avocado starter dish followed by beef tenderloin and let me just say - OH MY IT WAS SO GOOD! Cooked to perfection, melt in your mouth delicious! The only down side...the smoke! Smoking is allowed in restaurants and even the hotel lobby, so that was kind of a bummer, but also very common in Europe.
After dinner, we again hung out in the lobby before turning in with hopes for another great day!
Here are a few pictures...
Also, for those of you on Facebook, I finally broke down and loaded about 30 pictures into an album so you can see even more!
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