Budapest - with Genie and Dinesha
Abracci, in the most romantic of the romance languages, means ‘to embrace’, and an embrace is the most fitting way to describe the 'hug' across the Danube from the romantic parlance of Buda to it's industrialised twin in Pest.
Seven tiring weeks had passed by, whence two weary, yet excited Londoners met along the platform at Clapham Junction. dinesha and I began our journey to the land of princesses (Sissy or Erzebet, wife of Emperor Franz Josef, being of particular interest to Dinesha) via the wilds of Gatwick. Our time at the airport was an interesting one, whence we bumped into a colleague of mine, purchased my first swimsuit for a decade and started the infamous video diary.
The video diary put paid to the first klutz-moment of the weekend. Dinesha and I were on a flat escalator, heading towards the departure gate. My back was to the end of the conveyor belt, and I'd started talking to the camera about what we'd be getting upto. I hadn't noticed the end of the belt was coming up, and before I knew it, I'd tripped over my own foot and landed on my side. dinesha was in hysterics - and the entire incident was a) caught on camera and b) accompanied by my commentary!
Before we knew it, we'd landed in Budapest's Ferihegy International Airport. Life was sweet, since we'd taken our luggage in hand, meaning we were free to buy our travel/museum Budapestkarte's and wait amongst a gaggle of impatient tourists for the airport minibus. Our minibus (we're supposed to have one direct to our hotel) refused to come - so quick thinking prevailed, and we ended up cabbing it with a very knowledgeable rip-off driver to the Zentrum!
The next hour saw dinesha and I making our way to the hotel. We stayed at the decadent Budapest Astoria, a former home to the secret service and Zsa Zsa Gabor!
http://www.danubiushotels.com/astoria
The first room provided, on the third floor, was decrepit beyond belief. A quick scan of the bedlinen and bathroom revealed skin cells and pubic hair on the surface - and a tussle over the telephone took place before a luxury twin room with marble bathroom flooring was sent our way. Plush enough for us to just sink into the beds. *sigh*
Alas, there was no rest for the wicked. Hunger unsatiated by the BA toasted sandwich I'd point-blank refused to finish, took us to the mean streets of the Paris of the East. We headed down Kossuth Lajos Utca to the extremely touristy Vaci Utca where we sampled our first tourist meal, of Goulash, a rich, paprika-flavoured meat soup and deliciously filling Paprika Chicken and potato dumplings.
Dessert consisted of honey-scented Tokaj white wine and Sommelei pancake - filled with whipped cream, an overly sweet sponge and the lamest watery chocolate sauce EVAR. Talk about disappointment from the land of Kaffee and Kuchen!
Thankfully all future meals lived up to the hype. We'd read that Hungary was a bright spot in a culinary blackhole from a number of people, and were relieved to see the Hungarians taking so much pride in their cuisine! All ingredients were fresh, the waiting staff and sommeliers knowledgeable, dishes were beautifully presented and service came with a smile :D
Meals worth mentioning were the goose pate with cherry sauce and brioche buns, served at the Kavehaz Gerbaud, the oldest patisserie in the city; and the Hungarian salami selection served with egg, horseradish and pickle, which came with a selection of rustic breads.
dinesha took some beautiful photos - take a peek..here...
and here..
We followed up the savoury pornography with an apricot-liqueured Sissy-cafe and a piece of Dobos cake, complete with caramel topping. Yum!
A girl can't live without her chocolate cake though...or her almond-flavoured Maria-Theresa coffee!
Our evening meal on Sunday night was equally memorable - set in the grounds of Buda Castle, nestled on a cobbled backstreet close to the House of Hungarian Wine. We ate to the melodies of Bartok and Liszt, enjoying a paprika chicken pancake with sour cream, a pickle selection with a plate of veal stew and dumplings, and a three-steak selection of goose, pork and filet mignon with garlic potatoes. It'd be cruel to leave you without the pictures....or letting you know that we tried to track the ingredients down at the Great Market Hall near Erzebet Bridge...
City breaks are a wonderful, yet painfully brief way to explore a town that interests you. We thought we'd take the opportunity to capture the essence of the prettiest city around.
The architecture is amazing - very baroque in places, gothic and art-nouveau in others.
Highlights
Having a girlie spa morning at Gellert thermal baths, with hot springs, sauna, cold dip and medical massages from knowing Eastern European grannies was an experience worth repeating. Beauty treatments are exceedingly cheap here! And they use waxing-pens! Hungarian Supermarkets - they're so cheap! And kirche-filled chocolate and coconut cake balls for breakfast. Yum lick! Gyros - Hungarian kebabs made with quality beef! Clean, well-organised tube stations and uber-friendly people :D The Hungarian Parliament, the Synagogue, Mattiaskirche and the State Opera House are well worth a look-round, since the artwork and history is so intricate
The Jewish quarter, nr Deak Ter and the walk up Andrassy Ut is also worth seeing, for historical reasons Gellerthegy, with Buda Castle, the Fisherman's Bastion and the Chain Bridge is too romantic to leave alone. Especially with the horse-drawn carriages and stunning cloisters to behold! It's just like a fairy-tale :D Please don't leave without ascending the St Stephen's basilica tower, and the Castle Hill at Moskva Ter for a fantastic view of the city from each side of the river. It's one chance you *won't* regret taking - and one trip you *definitely* won't regret doing
Hope you enjoyed the show :D
Seven tiring weeks had passed by, whence two weary, yet excited Londoners met along the platform at Clapham Junction. dinesha and I began our journey to the land of princesses (Sissy or Erzebet, wife of Emperor Franz Josef, being of particular interest to Dinesha) via the wilds of Gatwick. Our time at the airport was an interesting one, whence we bumped into a colleague of mine, purchased my first swimsuit for a decade and started the infamous video diary.
The video diary put paid to the first klutz-moment of the weekend. Dinesha and I were on a flat escalator, heading towards the departure gate. My back was to the end of the conveyor belt, and I'd started talking to the camera about what we'd be getting upto. I hadn't noticed the end of the belt was coming up, and before I knew it, I'd tripped over my own foot and landed on my side. dinesha was in hysterics - and the entire incident was a) caught on camera and b) accompanied by my commentary!
Before we knew it, we'd landed in Budapest's Ferihegy International Airport. Life was sweet, since we'd taken our luggage in hand, meaning we were free to buy our travel/museum Budapestkarte's and wait amongst a gaggle of impatient tourists for the airport minibus. Our minibus (we're supposed to have one direct to our hotel) refused to come - so quick thinking prevailed, and we ended up cabbing it with a very knowledgeable rip-off driver to the Zentrum!
The next hour saw dinesha and I making our way to the hotel. We stayed at the decadent Budapest Astoria, a former home to the secret service and Zsa Zsa Gabor!
http://www.danubiushotels.com/astoria
The first room provided, on the third floor, was decrepit beyond belief. A quick scan of the bedlinen and bathroom revealed skin cells and pubic hair on the surface - and a tussle over the telephone took place before a luxury twin room with marble bathroom flooring was sent our way. Plush enough for us to just sink into the beds. *sigh*
Alas, there was no rest for the wicked. Hunger unsatiated by the BA toasted sandwich I'd point-blank refused to finish, took us to the mean streets of the Paris of the East. We headed down Kossuth Lajos Utca to the extremely touristy Vaci Utca where we sampled our first tourist meal, of Goulash, a rich, paprika-flavoured meat soup and deliciously filling Paprika Chicken and potato dumplings.
Dessert consisted of honey-scented Tokaj white wine and Sommelei pancake - filled with whipped cream, an overly sweet sponge and the lamest watery chocolate sauce EVAR. Talk about disappointment from the land of Kaffee and Kuchen!
Thankfully all future meals lived up to the hype. We'd read that Hungary was a bright spot in a culinary blackhole from a number of people, and were relieved to see the Hungarians taking so much pride in their cuisine! All ingredients were fresh, the waiting staff and sommeliers knowledgeable, dishes were beautifully presented and service came with a smile :D
Meals worth mentioning were the goose pate with cherry sauce and brioche buns, served at the Kavehaz Gerbaud, the oldest patisserie in the city; and the Hungarian salami selection served with egg, horseradish and pickle, which came with a selection of rustic breads.
dinesha took some beautiful photos - take a peek..here...
and here..
We followed up the savoury pornography with an apricot-liqueured Sissy-cafe and a piece of Dobos cake, complete with caramel topping. Yum!
A girl can't live without her chocolate cake though...or her almond-flavoured Maria-Theresa coffee!
Our evening meal on Sunday night was equally memorable - set in the grounds of Buda Castle, nestled on a cobbled backstreet close to the House of Hungarian Wine. We ate to the melodies of Bartok and Liszt, enjoying a paprika chicken pancake with sour cream, a pickle selection with a plate of veal stew and dumplings, and a three-steak selection of goose, pork and filet mignon with garlic potatoes. It'd be cruel to leave you without the pictures....or letting you know that we tried to track the ingredients down at the Great Market Hall near Erzebet Bridge...
City breaks are a wonderful, yet painfully brief way to explore a town that interests you. We thought we'd take the opportunity to capture the essence of the prettiest city around.
Highlights
Hope you enjoyed the show :D