I just had to put these photos at the beginning...to start off Budapest Part Two (even though I already had these in part one. They are just TOTALLY awesome :-D)
So, without further ado...part two of our trip.
All of the above photos were Somayeh and I just exploring Budapest for an hour or so, before our evening boat cruise down the river was set to depart on Sunday night at 7pm.
This is Budapest's parliament building. Somayeh and I were enchanted by this. We both agreed it was hands down, one of the most gorgeous buildings either of us had ever seen. It blazed as if on fire by night, the contrast between the black river and inky sky with the golden color was just fantastic.
As you can see....we took a lot of photos during the boat cruise. We had great fun with this!! Initially, Somayeh exclaimed how excited she was to sit inside by the window and enjoy the sites, from within the warmth inside the boat. I agreed. However once the boat departed, I realized the views to really be seen and photographed were outside, not stuck behind the glass.
I raced outside to snap photos, numerous times throughout the trip. Afterwards I would find myself running back inside and calling to Somayeh excitedly that she had to come and see everything outside. So, as you can see, we got a lot of photos :-D
After receiving our second free drink of the night aboard the boat cruise (I chose champagne), I pulled out a Turo Rudi from my purse, exclaiming what an exciting combination. One of the Hungarian chocolate and sweet cheese bars-with which I had fallen in love, paired with champagne. YUM! Somayeh thought this was pretty funny and whipped out her camera ;-)
It was SO cold and windy when we took those two photos, the wind was absolutely whipping around us. This resulted in lots of laughing, hair was flying, both of us shivering and giggling.
Another BOMB meal in Budapest. The menu described this as "gnocchi with sheep's cheese." I was slightly hesitant about the sheep's cheese...as I have never tried this before, but decided to be daring. Boy, was it a good call. Delicious. The onion and cream on the top paired awesomely with the comforting, tasty gnocchi.
Somayeh ate duck, which she said was delicious, and I concurred upon taking a bite.
Chain Bridge by night. Absolutely stunning. Reminded me a bit of the Champ Elysees in Paris by night.
This was the stairwell/entrance to our apartment which we stayed in. If you look closely, you can see Somayeh, attempting to unlock our door ;-)
And now, lots of photos of lovely, charming, architecturally stunning Budapest...
The Central Market!!!! Incredibly famous, gigantic, vast, chalk full of any and all sorts of Hungarian specialties one can possibly wish to sample. We wandered around in here for a couple of hours, including taking a break to try another delicious Hungarian traditional dish...
Langos!!!! Another must-try Hungarian dish. This is a piece of circular fried bread, with a slight crispiness to the outside but yielding and soft on the inside, totally delicious. We topped ours with a sour cream dill sauce, chicken breast, tomatoes, onions, cheese and arugula. DELICIOUS, we both agreed enthusiatically.
Somayeh purchasing paprika-themed goods, as this is another one of the world-famous, super traditional Hungarian foods. She fell in love with it while we were there ;-p
Eyeing the Hungarian sweets... ;-p obviously.
Those eggplants were HUGE!!!! Somayeh couldn't get over it ha-ha, saying she had never seen eggplants that big before, so we snapped a pic!
The afternoon was rainy and cold, so we stopped in a little cafe/Italian restaurant for tea. And we just LOVED the presentation of our teas, wow, so charming and sweet!!! And guess what it cost?? For a POT of tea? 1.80 euro. SOOOOO cheap in Budapest!!!! AWESOME.
And, we split another Hungarian sponge cake. The stuff that dreams are made of. Sweet, spongy (true to its name), light, just incredibly tasty.
The rainy streets of Budapest. We wandered the shops for an hour or so together before heading off to our final and much anticipated last meal out in the city.
"Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go to Budapest." ;-))
Our final meal in Budapest was at a restaurant called Paprika. This place has pretty rave reviews, both online and a review I received from my friend Meghan. It didnt disapoint. We attempted to go there on Saturday night, our first evening in the city, after spending all day at the Budapest Baths but they were booked solid so we made a reservation to come back on Monday evening. And just, wow. Another awesome meal. I also fell equally in love with the decor and charming interior.
Goulash soup with sides of bread and what else, paprika sauce :-D
Chicken and cheese sauce with croquettes. Really, really yummy.
Somayeh got some kind of Hungarian game stew (I believe with deer in it!!) with a blueberry sauce on the side and croquettes.
I bought this little Hungarian specialty cake at the Central Market that afternoon. Its a vanilla and chocolate cake, topped with chocolate ganache and filled with some apricot jam. It was REALLY good.
Forgot to share this gem in my previous entry. Yikes. This was on our way TO Budapest. Airport security made me wear these weird stand-ins for shoes...in addition to also giving me the pat down. Lovely. Somayeh nearly died laughing, but not so much that she couldnt snap a photo.
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