We awoke to a very warm apartment and a sunny day. Breakfast was enjoyed in a cafe downstairs which boasted the best in town. The cafe had a strange display of Baileys that looked like a shrine to the sweet bevvy.

  
   
   
Then it was off to shop and get our hair done. It took Michele and Teresa nearly an hour of walking just to find a hair salon (which incidentally happened to be just around the corner from our apartment…..typical). Finally the hair was done and Michele and Teresa were relieved that they were salon-ready once again!

  
At $20 each it was also a bargain! 

Scott went shopping and bought some clothes. Michele also bought a pair of long black boots and Teresa bought a beanie.

We then went back to the Stonesoup cafe for lunch for more traditional Hungarian food. There inside the restaurant we met Rozie, the hungry Hungarian puppy (10 years old) who befriended us in the hope for food. Teresa of course couldn’t help sneaking some food to her. 

  

    
Then it was time for sight seeing. As we walked we noticed police tape cordoning off sections of the road and police on every corner. We just thought that was normal here.

So we walked across the Chain bridge and worked our way up to the Palace. 

   
    
    
 

   
    That’s when we noticed that the Chain Bridge side of the palace was out-of-bounds. Helicopters were buzzing overhead and police sirens were heard. A local then informed us that Chain bridge was closing for traffic because David Cameron, the British Prime Minister was arriving for a meeting at the Palace. 

The views up there were spectacular and we admired the scenery as we made our way back down the other side of the Palace. 

   
   

   
    

 It was a unique experience to walk back into the centre of Budapest without any traffic but with police everywhere. People were taking advantage of photographing the bridge without traffic. A rare occasion!

   
    
    
    
 
   
    
 
  
   
    
    
    
    
  
  
We then found a fairyland of Christmas lights in the heart of the city. It was time to have a drink so we stopped in an arcade of bars and drank a round of sour cherry beers. Cold brew “nitro” coffee is a new way of serving coffee and we wanted to find the shop that served this. We found them just before closing and stopped in to taste the wares. The coffee is poured as a draft through nitrogen. This causes it to have a foam top and a less bitter taste. We definitely think Australia needs this product!

   
 Dinner was in a small delightful restaurant called Blue Rose. It was near the synagogue so the food was quite traditional. Michele found her chilli fix in the form of a paprika spread served with bread. The soup and meat dishes, plus salad, were washed down with plum brandy, red wine and vodka. 

   
    
   
There is so much more to see in Budapest than what we have, we definitely could have spent a couple of more days exploring this beautiful city. But that will have to wait until next time. Tomorrow we drive to Slovakia! Jó éjszakát 😘