Back to London!

Hi Anna :D

What a treat to hear from you again! I was expecting a delay in your blogs because you've been busy. Instead I'm the one who hasn't been blogging. Last night I was up until 11.30pm trying to blog but it wouldn't allow me to publish it so currently I am typing it up all again.

I missed  home a lot after your blog on Alicia's hen's. I can't believe she's getting married in about 2 weeks time! Wishing I was there to celebrate it :( Looked like heaps of fun having girly sleepover and games. Also warming to see familiar faces and you with your new hair do! Looking gorgeous :)

Lovely photos taken around Perth too! As usual, as much as I love these photos, they make me miss Perth. How embarrassing that I honestly cannot in my mind figure out where the location of the Government house is. I swear I've never seen the building before. Maybe it looks different from the view you've taken it from. Or maybe I need to explore Perth more before I decide to get out of it :p

Of course I remember Lawrence and Joce too :) ah Barcelona! The food from Lawrence's restaurant is visually stunning! It definitely looks fresh and artistically presented to the point that I'd probably take a billion photos from every angle before eating it. How exciting it must be to run your own restaurant! I've always wanted to run a little cupcake and sweets cafe. But then again I've had various aspirations including an Egyptologist and more recently an explorer in the Amazon. They might have to wait until my next life time.

For now, it's back to reality. It's been a rushed transition from Budapest back to London. Yesterday morning I almost slept in because my phone was in pm and the alarm was set on am so it would've been 12 hours late for me when the alarm eventually went off! It was a real struggle for the last couple of mornings. I miss Budapest already and will miss it more when I look through my photos and upload them on FB.


It's starting to get dark early and when I was heading home at about 6pm yesterday I saw lots of children. parents AND their dogs dressed in Halloween costumes. I'm surprised that Halloween is really popular here. They go all out on costumes and the children have cute little plastic pumpkin trick or treat baskets for their candy. Some of the houses have also been decorated. It all made me feel deprived that I've never gone trick or treating.

A few photos that I thought you might like. One of the things that really made me laugh when I was in Budapest were the modern exhibitions in the art gallery. This was my favourite one of all and I absolutely love it for the idea and message behind it, being the nature and environment enthusiast I am.

The bear soap dish rotates around whilst all the toys tied onto firewood watch on.

I was fascinated over the collection of cuddly toys! I loved how they had Po the red Teletubbie in there. Some of you may know that I had a serious Teletubbie obsession when I was in high school. Thank goodness it didn't go beyond that.

Which is your favourite toy?

At the end of the gallery they had a room with blank walls and coloured pencils on shelves on each side. The idea was for YOU to be the artist.

I wished I had spent some time drawing on it but I didn't leave a single mark there. I wish I wrote or drew something but I couldn't think of anything on the spot. In hindsight I would've drawn some trees or leaves inspired by the season and the parks that I've visited in Budapest.

What would you have drawn if you came across a blank wall in an art gallery?

I want to draw again but I'm finding that I don't have the time or the right mood.

Hungry for Hungary

One of the things I love about travelling is the FOOD!! There is not a single country that I've been to where I've disliked the food.

I honestly had no idea what Hungarian food tasted like until I came here and it's not hard to quickly become a fan of their food!  I've noticed that they are heavy on their salt but their dishes are still divine. You just need to make sure you quench up afterwards.

Let me show you everything Hungarian that I've had.

Today

Sesame bread filled with jam. Pastry filled with brocolli and cauliflower

This was DELICIOUS!! I'm not sure if they are the labels for it, but I call it the Hungarian cabbage lasagne! It was layered with sauerkraut, rice and minced meat and served with a dollop of sour cream. 

This is how it looks when the lady scooped it out. Polishing the whole plate was an easy task!

Then I decided I wasn't full and it struck me that I've only got a short time left to sample as many things as I can so I had  crepes! It was filled with chocolate sauce, crushed walnuts, rum soaked raisins and the man sprayed on more rum. I am salivating thinking about it.

Unbelievably good! Heavily dusted with icing sugar and huge puffs of whipped cream. Heart attack in a bite!

Tuesday

Forget the name of this but it was chocolate and crushed biscuit layers

Flodni- the middle part is a dense layer of poppy seeds. Never had that much poppy seeds in one go.

Langos- stretched dough fried and brushed with garlic oil and sprinkled with salt

  Wednesday

One of these savoury scones. Think tomato, paprika, pizza all rolled into the soft bun, sprinkling of cheese on the outside and lightly fried.  These were to die for!

Fish soup. One spoonful of this and I immediately  thought of  mum's asam laksa.  Remember the laksa that you tried a few times you've been over?  I certainly found it amusing (and so would my mum and anyone else who knows the taste of asam laksa) that this traditional Hungarian soup tastes just like the Malaysian noodle soup dish

Apart from the food, the sights have been impressive. The highlight today was walking up Gellert Hill. I loved walking up the steps and admiring the vibrant yellow colours of the leaves. It made me that happy, I think I skipped a little on the way up. I wished there was someone to share the experience with. I sat for ages on a bench looking out into the city soaking it all in so that I never forget that exact moment.

This video is just for you :D Sometimes when you're alone you just have to amuse yourself.

I hope you like these photos too. I already know that when I look at these they will bring up the fondest memories of Budapest.

Parliament and Szechenyi Bridge

Szechenyi Bridge and St Stephen's Basilica

Fisherman's Bastion

A leafy trail up Gellert Hill

I've walked the city ten times over and I think I've got the map of Budapest embedded in my head. Tomorrow one of the things I will definitely be doing is revisiting the thermal baths again. It will be my last full day in Budapest then Saturday late afternoon I will make my way back to London. Sigh.

Thermal baths, a castle and home cooked Hungarian meal

Hi Anna!

I still can't believe I'm in Budapest! I woke up this morning not feeling the best. It was a slow start to the day and because it was a public holiday, I really didn't know what to do with myself. I read a little bit more on Budapest and then decided to ask the receptionist what he thought and he suggested visiting a thermal bath. I'm not sure if you're aware but Budapest is famous for its thermal baths. Off I went to Szechenyi bath and it was really easy getting there. I love the public system here because it feels safe and is not crowded at all.

Szechenyi bath house

OK so imagine me at the bottom right of the pic :)

I spent about 4 hours at the bath house and my fingers and toes ended up white and withered.and currently my nail tips have gone from white to a grey transparent colour. There are suppose to be up to 20 baths in the place but I ended up alternating between an indoor bath of 38C, the sauna room and the huge outdoor bath. I didn't take photos so you'll have to imagine me somewhere in these photos I 'borrowed' online.

I spent a lot of the time sitting outside because they had water massages and a whirlpool and it was a novelty for me to to be in bathers immersed in warm water and watching the steam rise up into the cold. Almost a mysterious experience. I have no idea what the outside temperature was, maybe about 10C? It was freezing when I got up to get back into the building. The last time I wore bathers was with you in Ibiza so you can imagine what a totally different situation to be in.

It was very crowded and several times I ended up being wedged in between people. Worst was being next to couples that were making out. There were plenty of people young and old and it was fun  people watching and also laughing with an older couple at the ones that were caught in the whirlpool and couldn't get out.It was also good for some reflection time and evaluating life as you do..I was a little hesitant about being solo but as usual I ended up loving it and enjoying my own company.

You can see how huge this place is.but I only stayed within a small part of it- the right side of the outdoor bath because I was too lazy to explore around. It also didn't help that there were no English signs at all and the whole place was like a maze with baths, sauna and massage rooms in every corner.

I felt really tired after all that and when I thought my fingers could not shrivel up any more than they were, it was time to get out.. It was strange to be putting on layers again. I decided to walk around the area aimlessly and leisurely and I came upon a sign that pointed to Vajdahunyad Castle so I decided to check it out. Absolutely beautiful of course!!! I loved being rugged up and walking around in the cold here. I think it is a less miserable cold compared to London. It helps with  beautiful scenery, plenty of  wide open spaces and hardly anyone around.

The castle

 Part of the castle was copied from one in Transylvania but I'm not sure if the bust is but when I first saw this I thought of Count Dracula.

After that I headed back to the hostel because the owners said the were cooking us a free dinner and no way was I going to miss a home cooked meal! It was my first taste of Hungarian and I loved it!! Perfect for the weather. The spice from the Hungarian salami and the paprika was wonderful. I haven't had the chance to talk to the people here but during dinner I found that a few of them were here because there was an international tango event and you dance until you're tired, come back and sleep, then dance again because it's on for 24 hours over the weekend. Talk about intense!

Paprikas krumpli -paprika-based stew with spicy sausage and potatoes. I took a pic of the recipe and will definitely be making this when I get back to London. All I need now is to buy some paprika, one of the most commonly used spice in Hungarian cooking.

Gabora with his head lowered is one of the owners, the other is Francis,  the one standing up and he cooked us the meal

Hope this post took you right to where I am :) Tomorrow I will plan to visit the Central Hall Market, the largest market in Hungary. I can't wait to sample some of their pastries and cakes!!! Reminds me of our market visits in Valencia and Barcelona :)