Jó estét Budapest

I'm often surprised by other (seemingly) solo travellers. Breakfast this morning at a cafe down the street, and the man on the next table was alone, reading a guide book. I'd say English or American, mid 20's, good looking (think Jack Whitehall), smelled really nice, went for the healthy breakfast option while I had a ham omelette... The sort I'd expect to be surrounded by cool mates and/or gorgeous girls. Perhaps he was just up earlier than said mates and girls - I didn't think so though. Perhaps I'm doing him a dis-service - he might just like travelling alone, or maybe he's the cultured one of his friends. And perhaps I should examine my prejudices - can you be prejudiced against a group you're part of??

Bought a red bus ticket, which lasts for 2 days and was around 15 quid - bargain! I do love those sightseeing buses, they take you all over the place and you can see loads in a day! So today I've been to Heroes' Square, where I had an iced coffee by the lake. The statuary is amazing, and green. Doesn't that mean they're made of bronze, or am I just making that up? One of the statues was a naked man and a woman in a sheet and it was on top of a huge column - I did have the certainly disrespectful and quite possibly sacrilegious thought that if his willy fell off and hit someone on the head from that height, it could kill them. Could you imagine those phonecalls - "So how did she die?" "Well...". Hee hee.

Back on the bus then, and onto the hard plastic seats on the open top deck. I didn't sit at the back - I've never been a back of the bus kind of girl... I'd been on the bus for quite a while by the time we reached the Cittadella, and it's been a blue sky scorcher of a day. Which meant - and look away now if you think this might be a TMI moment - that the whole back of my cropped trousers were soaked in sweat. I had to stand with my back to the sun for ages, pretending to admire the view (and it was quite a view) until they dried out! Honestly, if I were a Tena Lady user, I might've thought something had gone drastically wrong.

Had a little wander round up there - and got shouted at for starting to walk up a slope you had to pay for - then back on the bus!

I'll digress for a minute here. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed with Budapest. I know I've only seen a small part of it, but what I have seen is nothing special. I suppose though, it has to be contextualised within my wider travel over the past four weeks. Perhaps if I had come here first, or only come here, it might've been to me the magical place it is to others. That's not to say I don't like it, it's just a destination that will be ticked off my bucket list (by the way, I've twigged today why it's called that - things to do before you kick the... - clever!) rather than being ticked off and re-added!

My final stop today was St Stephen's Basilica. Even more imposing in daylight than at night, and just as extraordinary inside. I nearly didn't get in though! It was 200 Forints (about 75p) but I only had a 1000 Forint note (heh, get me, splashing the cash around) and the man on the door just said "No change" and glowered at me. Well, I was at the front of a massive scrum of people, so I put on my most insouciant look, did my best Gallic shrug, and turned to walk away. He called me back and nodded me through with a sort of twisted grimace which might have passed for a smile. This, though, most definitely did not go down well with the battleaxe brigade behind me! Every time I turned around, this one grey haired woman and her mate were there, giving me the evils. Though if Bananamuffin's mother is to be believed, and I'm thinking she is, the women will have been Hungarian and that will have been just their usual facial expression!

A bitof a lie down (i could get used to this late afternoon kip you know!) and I'm in a cafe on the end if the street waiting for dinner and a cheeky drink and watching all the street traffic. It's still really warm, and I forgot to put on deodorant before I came out, but I'm hoping the perfume will mask any nasty niffs for long enough. Of course, it's competing with the smell of germolene (my parents used to use it when I was a child with a scraped knee or some such, and I find the smell quite comforting). Look away now if you're squeamish - I have a small lump on the right side of the bridge of my nose, which I assumed was a big spot so I tried to squeeze it - disgusting, I know, I can't believe I'm telling you this. Anyway, it's not a spot, and now it's just a sore lump! Hence the germolene... Because it fixes anything!

On to nicer things! My drink has arrived - an aperol spritz, which I've seen all over Europe and I've only just figured out what it is - looks like tizer, served in a large wine glass with ice cubes and slices of orange, and is truly yummy!

Egészségetekre x