Budapest

A car we saw on the street that we had to take a photo of! Looks as though this guy was living in his car as he had absolutely everything piled in and on top of it :)








Well there was definitely no sign of winter during our weekend in Budapest. I think we all underestimated how hot it would be in Hungary! Was about 25 degrees every day.

We left London Gatwick on Friday evening after work, and flew Malev Hungarian Airlines into Budapest to meet our fine young friend Simon Dixie. I must say, Malev was one hell of a step up from our usual EasyJet :)

Arrived in Budapest to find out we didn't really know how to get into the city. The bus we thought we had to catch wasn't anywhere to be seen... So, I asked "English?" to a few people, and we got more directions about where to go. Then one of the guys I asked which bus to catch, came up to Simon and asked if we wanted a lift in his car to the city. So, we thought, "yeah, why not". Well, what a ride that ended up to be! Hopping into strange peoples cars in the middle of Hungary probably isn't something I'd recommend to everyone. There were five of us that jumped into this little two-door car. Driving into the city was my first time seeing real poverty. The streets were run-down, the houses not finished and just general poor-ness to be seen. Turns out, our driver was a security officer for the United Nations and was currently working in Kosovo. He had plenty of disturbing stories to tell no doubt....

Overall Budapest was an amazingly peaceful city. We felt safe walking everywhere at any time of day. And... I have never been to a city where they leave the tables and chairs from a restaurant out over night. But they do, because no-one steals them! Never felt like anyone was eyeing up my bag and the people were very friendly. Budapest reminded me a lot of Prague, but without the tourism and English stag do's. So, if you are ever deciding between Prague or Budapest, take Budapest!

Budapest Parliament

Of course you have all heard of the protests (and riots) that were going on in Budapest recently... so Simon had to go straight to the action. These are a few shots of the people that were outside Parliament. Although there had been civil un-rest reported in the news worldwide, as a result of the Prime Minister telling his people that he had lied to them at "breakfast, lunch and dinner", the protests we saw were pretty peaceful.

The last shot is of a few Hungarian police men just around the corner from Parliament... looked as though they were expecting some carnage.

The city of Paprika

Budapest is known for it's paprika, so we had to make the most of it. We found this wonderful market on the Saturday morning. Mum... you have some of this coming your way :)

Sangria and Tapas

We took Simon's parents to Barcelona for Eunice's 70th birthday. We left on Wednesday night and came back late Saturday. Damn EasyJet was a few hours delayed so we didn't end up flying out of Barcelona until 1am on the Saturday, but the more time in Barcelona for me, the better. Absolutely loved it!

The most significant difference compared to other parts of Europe is the siestas. Everything, and I mean everything closes at 1.30 - 2pm for a few hours, while everyone goes home for lunch and a wee nap. Then the city comes alive at around 5pm again. Awesome shopping and sensational food and drink. The shots above are over a few hours of drinking Sangria and wine and eating tapas in a little bar somewhere in the streets of old town Barcelona.

Nat's on Spanish TV

The annual celebration of a Patron Saint in Barcelona - my opportunity for fame! I got in there when this fine young man was talking about the news.... heheheheh

An evening of fireworks as well!

The waterfront of Barcelona

We started the afternoon with tapas and wine... ummm yumm! Then we came across a fun fair and Simon and me couldn't help ourselves. We love those rides... Gen, don't you agree? Simon tried to chicken out at the end, but he came through :) We got a really good view from the top :)

Sights of Barcelona

We'll have to get back to you about what this actually is... we saw it, and thought we'd go up and take a few photos. Sensational view from the top :)

Construction continues...

One of the sights of Barcelona that you must see! Sagrada Familia has been in the making since the 1800's. Gaudi designed and oversaw the building of this church until he died in 1926. He actually died when he crossed the road to see his church close-up.... How ironic?

Construction is estimated to be finished in 30 years time.

Barcelona Markets

The best markets in the world! Forever fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, live crab, sweets, herbs, salami's... anything you could eat, you could get here.

We were staying in an apartment very close to the markets, so coming here to get our fruit became a daily thing. All good!

La Rambla!

The most vibrant part of Barcelona full of tourists, buskers, live animal markets and pick pocketers! The La Rambla is about 2km long, which goes right down to the sea near the new Olympic area.

I couldn't understand all of the live animals on show. For a couple of Euro you could buy yourself a new chicken, fish, mouse and other animals that I couldn't even recognise. There is obviously a market for live animals, so maybe this is where the real Spanyons get their pets :) The La Rambla was full of character all day and night! Never a dull moment walking down there... but be careful as pick pocketers are everywhere. We never actually saw one in action, but we were warned by nearly everyone. Apparently they are very slick and you can't even feel a thing.

Greenwich Meantime

The day after Mr. and Mrs. Elston arrived we walked to the Greenwich observatory and stood on the zero meridian. The view from the top is of Canary Wharf... for those of you who don't know, Canary Wharf is the new London where most of the investment banks have their business - not Goldman Sachs though.