Budapest

This morning we left the boat. It was very sad saying goodbye to our waiter, Gabriel, and our Cruise Director, Marion.

Marion had booked a car to take us to our hotel at 9:30 am, but he was there an hour early and we realised that he had our luggage in the car and was prepared to wait for us till the allotted time! Marion helped us talk with him, and we paid the 20 Euro that had been arranged and he took our luggage to the hotel and checked it in for us, and we instead took the free shuttle ferry across the river to the Pest side and spent the morning looking around the shops. They didn't open till 10 am, so we had to fill in a bit of time first.

We went our separate ways, but met up around 12:30 pm for a cool drink, not needing lunch after the big breakfast we'd had on the boat. David and Steve shared a gorgeous-looking club sandwich. Then we slowly made our way to the hotel on foot, with Steve doing the navigating as I was exhausted. It was a sweltering hot day, around 28, we think. My ankle (that I'd broken before Christmas) has been very swollen and quite sore at times, and my achilles tendon has been incredibly sore sometimes too. So, walking to the hotel in all that heat after walking around all morning was taking its toll. I've been making good use of my walking pole, especially where there are cobblestones or steps, and it gives good support. We arrived to find our bags were already in our spacious rooms in the elegant and up-market Corinthia Hotel that is the number 2 rated hotel on Trip Advisor for Budapest.

After an hour's rest, we wandered a little way along the street. The guys sat and had some lovely and very cheap beers in a sidewalk bar, and Jan and I headed to a coffee shop. Then we headed back to the hotel for a wonderful swim in their lovely 15 metre indoor pool in their luxurious spa area, followed by an amazing 20 minutes in a jacuzzi that gave my feet an incredible massage from its powerful jets of water.
















We headed out for dinner in an outside area of an adjoining restaurant. We were lucky to get a booking. The evening was perfect - warm, and no wind at all. The food was absolutely amazing, and very reasonable, and the service was outstanding. They were excellent in their understanding of gluten-free, too. The only thing to spoil it a little, was the woman at the adjacent table, who lit up a cigarette a few times. We certainly notice the huge number of smokers in Europe.

Tomorrow we catch the train for a 7.5 hour journey to Prague, where we will be staying 3 nights. We really love Budapest as a city.