Advertisement
Published: July 19th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Rather than try to fit everything from the last few weeks into one blog, I’m going to split them up between the different cities I visited; however, I will try to entertain you with stories and experiences rather than just recounts of where I visited, as the latter will force me to actually remember all of the names of places I visited and all of you are more than capable of reading guidebooks and travel magazines that will do these places more justice than I could ever hope.
I left Nice on July 1st, but, before I left, I was lucky enough to get a chance to celebrate Canada Day with a fellow Canadian—my friend Tammy from Doha was on a Mediterranean cruise, which stopped in Nice for a day. After a very interesting breakfast where Tammy and I witnessed firsthand that, unfortunately, cultural stereotypes can sometimes be true (i.e. rude French waiters), we walked around the Old Town and did some last minute tourist shopping (leave it to me to wait until the last possible day!).
After sending Tammy off to catch her cruise ship, I headed to the airport to catch my flight to Budapest.
I’m
not quite sure why I chose to go to Budapest, but I think I wanted a chance to see Eastern Europe, as the other European countries I have yet to visit seem to me to be places that I’ll most likely go on “vacation” to in the future; whereas, I just don’t see myself going on a vacation to Budapest or Krakow, for example. Plus, these places are a heck of a lot cheaper than Germany, Spain, Belgium, etc., which, for the poor and unemployed, works out very well.
Okay, so on to Budapest. Actually, I quickly discovered that we say Budapest incorrectly…it’s actually pronounced “Budapesh”. So, now I know that it’s “Edinburra” and “Budapesh”. I’m so worldly 😉
Another quick fact: the city is divided by the Danube and one side is called “Buda” and the other side is called “Pest”. I have no idea which side is which, so I’ll just call it all the same name when making references to it. In my head, it would make sense that the western side is Buda and the eastern side is Pest, or else when you look at a map (which always has N at the top….well,
unless you’re a map of Doha, which is another story), that could be very confusing if it was the other way around.
Okay, but really, I should get on with it. Overall, I really liked Budapest. The weather wasn’t very nice to me though, as it was incredibly overcast and rainy both days I was there. Knowing that I had to make the most of the little time I had there, I ignored the rain and tromped across the city by foot. I would like to say that I decided to explore the city (actually, all of the cities I visited) by foot to get a better feel for the city and to burn off extra calories, but, in actuality, the foot transportation was due to my slightly cheaper side that wanted to save on public transportation costs. Yup, I admit it, I’m cheap. I’m the one who will scoff at the already pretty cheap cost of bottled water in the city centre of these Eastern European cities and proceed to walk an extra half hour to find a grocery store that will save me a whole 25 or 50 cents! However, I’m also the same one who will
spot a snack at the grocery store and end up spending twice as much buying something else that I hadn’t planned on buying in the first place. Oh yes, the constant clash of my cheap and indulgent split personalities 😉
I didn’t really do a ton in Budapest besides just walk around and enjoy the beautiful buildings and sculptures, which I’ve included a few sample photos. Oh yeah, before I forget, I have to give credit to Tammy for my ability to post photos on these blogs. Tammy oh-so-generously lent her brand new digital camera to me for this trip! YAY! As digitals were at least twice as expensive in Europe as in Canada, I decided to delay the purchase of a new camera until my return to the province with no PST and the newly instated 6%!G(MISSING)ST. Anyway, back to the beautiful buildings. At the time, I did enjoy the marvel of these buildings in Budapest, but I do have to say that the beauty of these buildings did improve with each city I visited, but you’ll hear more about that later.
Highlights of Budapest:
* I went to one of the famous Budapest spas and
inquired about the services; however, I didn’t have my swimsuit with me and the prudish Canadian came out in me (as well as shuddering flashbacks from my Turkish bath experience), so I decided to pass on the opportunity. However, the interior of this spa was gorgeous—marble, paintings and sculptures—basically nicer than any historic building we have back home
* I’m not sure if I was there during a special weekend or something or if it’s common throughout the summer, but the pedestrian bridge that joins Buda and Pest was filled with performers including actors and dancers in traditional Hungarian costumes. I’m all over free entertainment.
* McDonald’s new McCafes…I’m so embarrassed to be writing that, but as much as I avoid McDonald’s food, the poor man’s Starbucks offers tea for a fraction of the cost of local coffee shops.
Lowlights
*Experiencing a crazy intense allergy attack or cold for the whole time I was in Hungary…it’s never fun to be sick when you’re alone. Now, add traveling to the mix. Not fun at all.
* Getting yelled at by a crazy Hungarian train company employee who thought that the more she yelled at me in Hungarian the more likely
I was to understand her….kinda like when you think increasing your loudness when talking to a deaf person who reads lips will help them understand what you’re saying.
* Not having a conversation with anyone for four days (aside from the games of charades I played with Hungarians to find out where to catch the bus and where to get groceries from). Even if you are excellent at talking to yourself, it really is tough to entertain yourself for that long and not bore yourself to tears…definitely makes you realize the importance of social contact!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.164s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 20; qc: 97; dbt: 0.0867s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb