Parisienne delights!
Every which way one turns, the avenues are wide, often tree-lined, and with the most magnificent residences. Admittedly, some are crumbling but the overall effect is so much like Paris its jaw dropping.
We don't leave the boat officially until 11:30 so we finish packing (that would be the Royal We) and then head over the river to Pest and check out the national theatre and nearby museum, and go up the oddly shaped ‘walnut whip’ which affords an elevated view of them. Both are dark, but it's interesting to look at the exteriors before following the Danube back into town, past the Whale, an extension of one of the old market halls which is also closed, we then go into the actually open market proper which is impressive looking. We use the Freedom Bridge to cross back to Buda, look round the church in the rock (built into Gellert Hill) and then take a peek into the Gellert Hotel, both the bath side and the hotel side. It all looks rather faded-glory but of course we didn't go very far with our explorations.
Then we head back past the university complex, the main building is impressive and notably has lists of famous alumni scattered all around, before wandering through a few colleges on our way back to the boat for the last time. We shook hands with our favourite staff, and jumped on the provided coach to take all 37 passengers who are staying on in Budapest to the Marriot.
Once we’d checked in and unpacked again, we got a quick sandwich then headed back to the river, to do a few bits we’d not previously done and also to scope out the location of our two chosen eateries in advance. I know that with Google Maps on phones this is largly unnecessary nowadays, but old habits die hard! Anyway it’s all part of my exquisitely crafted tour and we get to see places others would hesitate to tread in the course of the afternoon’s walk. By the end we’ve done over 20 miles.
We cover a good few sights, including St Gellert’s statue, the foot of the Fishermen’s Bastion, some very plain but interesting suburbs on the Buda side, the ONS (National Statistics Office) and the Margaret Bridge and island, which of course returns us to Pest.
First up is the incredible Parliament building, fabulously intricate and imposing. Just further along is the monument constructed simply of shoes on the riverbank, to commemorate the lives of the three thousand who were shot at that place on 08/01/45 and who’s bodies we allowed to just fall into the Danube and be washed away.
We then head inland, through the Jewish Quarter and into the ‘posh’ bit to identify Onyx, site of tonight’s culinary delight, and then head back to the hotel for a while.
We’ve seen a significant amount of vagrancy since arriving in Budapest, much more that anywhere else, indeed only on a level with San Francisco a few years ago. It’s very upsetting but there’s nothing much one can do about it, however we decide not to take the big camera out in the evenings just to be sensible.
Onyx turns out to be sublime - exceptional food, impeccable service, every bit as fabulous as the best we’ve experienced in any city. Rather than choosing an international eight course option, we go for the traditional Hungarian menu, it’s only six courses (although that always means more anyway) and every one is a delight, with paired local wines as good as any other region can offer!
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