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Published: April 12th 2007
Dolls
Trinkets in the market After I left the computer yesterday, I went out for a wander along the Vaci Utc. It was a gorgeous day...approx 16 C (Question for my students...what is the Farenheit equivalent?) and I dressed accordingly. Fred had to work, so I grabbed my guidebook, some Florint (Q...where did the Hungarians get the name for their money?), water, and set off for a few hours.
The Vaci Ut. is a somewhat typical pedestrian-only shopping district. Many souvenir shops, clothing/shoe stores, coffee shops, and restaurants. The difference is, you see some interesting buildings in classic styles with a fair number of Soviet-era buildings thrown in.) After wandering the street for an hour, I stopped for lunch at what was advertised to be an Irish pub. In a strange 'twist' this Irish pub had a very Greek menu. I decided to order anyway, because I was hungry. I had a somewhat mediocre bowl of Irish stew and a glass of Bulls Blood (you figure it out, you are the students!)
Once satisfied (?) I went back to the hotel to change as the temperature in the shade, which included most of the street, was colder than I thought it would be. After changing,
Minivan
Mini on VU I set off for the other end of the V.U. walking along the Danube instead in the shopping area. At the end of the V.U. is the Central Market. It is an indoor market, somewhat like the Pike Market, in that it sells fresh food-stuffs and souvenirs. One of the main differences from P.M. is that it sells no fish, but there are a LOT of butcher stalls all selling aromatic meats, both dried and fresh. I wandered for about an hour, enjoying the crafts, trinkets, and smells that represent this area of the world. The building in which the market is housed is quite beautiful. 3-4 story high ceilings with a lot of fancy architectural elements in wrought iron. they have a second floor that is simply a wide 'balcony-like' structure all the way around the building and this is where the crafts and trinkets are sold (the food-market is on the first level.) They also had some lunch counters at which to buy meals.
I headed 'home', scoping out a place for dinner at which a vegetarian (Fred) could eat. BOY was that hard to find! This is a very meat-oriented place. Almost every restaurant, no matter what
VU
Vaci Utca cuisine they offered (Greek, Italian, French...) also had 'hungarian goulash' on the menu. I decided to simply ask at the front desk...at which point I discovered that I had left my key in the room (classic!) Because I do not have the same last name as Fred and do not know the address of his office in Seattle, I could not get a key to my room. Having no way of contacting Fred, I sat in the lobby for over an hour falling asleep from the jet-lag that was beginning to be overwhelming when I had a brilliant idea. It worked, I got a key and all is well. Lesson learned...jet-lag=forgetfulness, double check!
Fred and I ate dinner at a nice, meduim priced restaurant (2,400 HUF-3,400 HUF per plate...Q: What does that equal in American Dollars?) called Ocean, yes, it was seafood and quite delicious...Fred had grilled squid and I a large Ceasar Salad. Bed was calling and I was sound asleep by 8:30pm.
Now on to the castle! Vizsontlatasra!- Eileen
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Cessna152
Jason Smart
Nice blog entry. We were in Budapest back in February and stayed at a hotel on Vaci Utca - the Mercure Budapest. We really enjoyed the city, especially the Buda side and the Citadel. We expected nothing except the big statue, but there's all sorts - shops, cafe, museum. Well worth a visit if you haven't already done so. Oh, and 1000 forints is about 5 and half US Dollars.