Budapest

Saturday, 24th September

Today is our final full day on tour, which means breakfast tomorrow will be the last amazing buffet before it is back to reality! The Royal Corinthia Grand Hotel at Budapest has certainly lived up to the standard set by our previous hotels.

The day started with a lecture on what it was like to live in Hungary during the communist regime - unfortunately only one of us made it to the lecture as the other was too busy talking on Skype, the most wonderful programme! Then it was into the bus was a drive through Budapest (amazingly, all the rubbish had disappeared overnight) before our first stop at Fishermen's Bastion and St Matthias Church in Buda. We were most fortunate that only one million tourists were visiting at the same time as us! And we didn't have to go into this church! The views of Budapest were great and the Danube was actually blue today. This probably had more to do with the clear skies - a lovely, warm day which was most enjoyable. The shorts actually had their first airing since Vienna. Our drive continued, with another photo stop somewhere with the same tourists as the previous halt.

After a short break back at the hotel, it was on to the Market Place for lunch. This large building was really just full of food stalls, mainly meats (fresh and dried), fruit and vegetables, plus the dreaded capsicum which the Hungarians put in ALL their food! We found a nice little bakery/pastry stall and quickly found a seat in the square to enjoy our lunch and watch the pigeons. We even had time for a bit of souvenir shopping and someone in Launceston will be glad to learn that the Hungarians dry their dishes!

The afternoon included a tour of Parliament House - quite an experience! Not only did we have our local guide with the group, but also a parliamentary guide and a guard the size of a weightlifter! No one smiles in Eastern Europe unless absolutely necessary, especially guards. We certainly did as we were told!!! Then we joined the one millions tourists from this morning, plus all their friends, to visit St Stephens Church and have a look at his hand, ensconsed in a glass case. Very exciting!

Tonight it our farewell dinner and Cat has been especially invited.