Budapest

So last weekend I was in Budapest, Hungary. It was great, one because we were the only three tourists I saw the whole time and two because we were staying with Andrea (an old friend) and she made it very easy and comfortable to be there.

The first night we got in a little later so we just went back to her apartment, had some dinner, and hung out.
The next day Andrea was able to take us out and see some sights which included: the Basilica, palace,Fishermen's Bastion, Parliament, and a number of other things. We also went for cake and coffee at this little cafe which was the location of the first pharmacy in Hungary (actually one of the first ones in Europe) and it still has all of the original woodwork. Andrea had a wealth of information about everything so she was the perfect tour guide. That evening we went to an opera, my first. We got seven dollar tickets to the Barber of Seville. Even though our seats were in the last row and I didn't understand a word of what they were saying, I still enjoyed it. First opera in Budapest...no complaints.
The next day we took a day trip to a little village in the hills called Szentandre. It was pretty, full of churches, and a tourist trap, but still enjoyable. I had fun starting random conversations with the shop keepers. That evening we went to an international theatre and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was ok but a bit long.
Our last day in Budapest was probably my favorite, our flight did not take off until five so we had some time to kill. We did this by going to the baths. It was awesome! It was in this building that looked like a palace. Outside in the 'courtyard' there were three big baths, which are actually just pools, and then inside there were probably 20 different temperature and mineral baths along with saunas and showers. It was sweet because it was snowing outside and we were running around from pool to pool in our swimming suits. I loved it. Too many men in speedos but when in Europe I guess that is the norm. And, there were old duded playing chess in one of the pools. No joke! The sat by the edge, in the water, and played chess.

Here are just a few photos, I did not get a chance to put all of them on facebook before coming back to school so those may take a while but here are a few.