Thoughts on Budapest

So M and I spent a lovely four day weekend in Budapest, and having been back for almost a week now, I thought it was time to present my thoughts on the trip. No pictures though bc I still need to download a driver for my digi-cam, as it's a crappy kodak that wants me to install it's crappy software to replace my awesome software, which I refuse to do.

Thought One:
On the Thursday night, M and I went out for supper at what was advertised as 'traditional Hungarian food' in the restaurant guide. We were provided directions by our concierage and showed up hungary (hehe) after a long day of wandering the streets of buda and pest. We were asked whether we wanted to sit in the conservatory or in the room with music. We chose the room with music. We were then directed to a table in a beautifully decorated room with white table cloths for a silver service experience with a classical five string group playing next to us. We were in our clothes from the flight - jeans and t-shirts. We felt like asses. However the food was lovely and so too was the wine - for once I actually felt like I knew what to expect from what I ordered! At one point the band came up to us and asked if we wanted a song and we refused politely but they pressed us so we agreed. They played and then walked away - at which point I asked, were we supposed to tip them, and how much? M said no just as I watched a nicely dressed man who clearly felt at home press some bills into the violinist's hand. I have come to the conclusion that one cannot learn all their etiquette manners from watching Pretty Woman....

Thought Two:
It's always a good idea to check out the cultural 'whats ups' when visiting a country...M and I were chuffed as we had gotten tickets for the opera 'Cosse fan tutti' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cos%C3%AC_fan_tutte) for a total price of less than $10 Canadian. Of course the seats were crappy but hey, we were going to the opera. I've been to one opera in the past (in Prague) and while I wasn't the biggest fan, I figured I'd give it another shot. We had settled nicely into our last row seats with a partial view of the stage and were ready to listen to the beautiful music. However I began to feel unwell and so I leaned back into my chair and shut my eyes in the hopes of feeling better in a bit. M noticed my discomfort and was concerned over my well-being - I was feeling faint and clamy and gross. I felt like this throughout the entire opera and didn't get to watch it - nor did M really. M was quite concerned and he later told me that at one point he had been watching the show and heard a strange snoring/gargling noise. He was quite upset over this blatant disrespect for the show and turned to see who was being the rude person. Turns out it was me, passed on the the guy sitting next to me...Damn my hypoglycemia! It gets me at the worst of times. The mortification of having passed out on a stranger during the opera has faded, although the disappointment at not seeing the ladies discover their fiance's plots has not...Therefore I have concluded that I do not want to pass out at an opera again.

3. One of the things that Budapest is well known for is its natural spring spas. I had been advised by my boss (who had visited Budapest in December) that this one spa was reasonably priced and an excellent experience. So I was quite excited to go. M and I had decided it would be a final day thing as it was halfway to the airport, and that we could leave from there. I had had difficulty finding the spa on the map but using the symbol guides and the general discription of where the spa was in the tour book had located it. M and I hopped on the very cool subway and headed out. We arrived at the last stop of the line and walked out into Budapestian suburbia....lovely. But hey, this was where we were supposed to be. We wandered for a bit and the unmarked spa finally made itself known to us. We walked in to the quite uninviting building and were greated by a non-English speaking woman (strange for a touristy destination). We tried to tell her we needed towels and she assured us we'd get them. We paid and walked in. As M and I were swimming in the community centre pool we agreed that I had f'd up and that this was not where we were supposed to be. Oh well, the swim was nice.

So those are my thoughts on Budapest. It was a lovely city although as a veggie I struggled with the food - fried cheese was the only option most of the time and while delicious, it gets tedious. The coffee was AMAZING and we had a wonderful time...now we get to plan our next adventure...I'll post some highlight pics at some point in the future