I was up at 7am this morning so I could get to Parliament House by 8am to queue up for a ticket for the English tour (recommendation from friend of Mum's). I made it. Once I had got my ticket for the 10am tour, I got a coffee (my daily luxury), then sat in a park in the sunshine (and wind), for 1.5 hours writing postcards to my munchkins, listening to my ipod and watching Hungarian people go about their early morning business.
The tour at 10am was worth it! We had the same level of security to get in the building as we do at airports. The tour guide had excellent english and a great sense of humour. The Parliamentary Building was designed by the person who won a competition - 2nd and 3rd place getters were able to design other buildings in Budapest. It was styled on Westminster and completed in 1902. I was really pleased to hear that predominantly local building material was used to create the buildings, eg not using marble as Hungary don't have it but creating a material that looks like marble. One story was fascinating...after joining the EU the Hungarian parliamentarians stopped smoking cigars in Parliament...or so people thought. Then, a journalist with a hidden camera sprung them smoking in the chambers...journalists were then banned from taking any sort of camera equipment at all into the chambers instead of being more vigilant on the no smoking rule! Says a lot about the Europeans and their love of smoking.
Anyway, here are some photos of the building:
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After the tour I then wandered around the streets for awhile, as there are so many parks and areas of the city that I have not yet seen, and that are really lovely. I found this one fountain in the square and it was brilliant watching the reaction of the tourists as they tried to work it out - appeared to be sensors so when people walked close to a section, it closed down. Wish I could show you - just take my word for it....
I visited this huge market, that is located in a building that looks like a railway station. The quality of the fruit and vegetables was great - I bought a punnet of raspberries and they were so sweet. The upper level of the market sold tourist items eg lace, trinkets etc but also had cafes selling everything from goulash to beer to other Hungarian specialties. I had lunch here as the food looked really fresh and smelt lovely. I had a pork and sausage goulash/caserole with rice that was excellent, and I am so excited re the prices, only about $10.00 for a big meal compared to a piddly little quiche in Zurich!
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By the early afternoon I was tired and just wanted to crash out and have a rest. I went to the hotel and spend the rest of the afternoon watching Wimbledon, downloading photos and booking accommodation in Ljubljana for Al and I as we can't stay with Warren (communication mix up as to what month we were coming).
Dinner, I am sorry to admit, was beer and potato chips. I went for a walk to withdraw money to pay for my accommodation as they weren't accepting credit card, and after the third go found a place that sold COLD beer - the rest sold it luke warm! I also stocked up on supermarket supplies.
Do you know how hard it is to leave a country without having too much or too little of a currency? It really is a juggling act - if too much I then stock up on toiletries that are running low, if not enough, I limit what I eat.
Photos are all backed up now on an msn website!! It is such a relief in case anything happens to my computer. It has taken hours, but is so worth it.
The tour at 10am was worth it! We had the same level of security to get in the building as we do at airports. The tour guide had excellent english and a great sense of humour. The Parliamentary Building was designed by the person who won a competition - 2nd and 3rd place getters were able to design other buildings in Budapest. It was styled on Westminster and completed in 1902. I was really pleased to hear that predominantly local building material was used to create the buildings, eg not using marble as Hungary don't have it but creating a material that looks like marble. One story was fascinating...after joining the EU the Hungarian parliamentarians stopped smoking cigars in Parliament...or so people thought. Then, a journalist with a hidden camera sprung them smoking in the chambers...journalists were then banned from taking any sort of camera equipment at all into the chambers instead of being more vigilant on the no smoking rule! Says a lot about the Europeans and their love of smoking.
Anyway, here are some photos of the building:
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| Section of it from the outside |
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| Guards watching the crown jewels |
I visited this huge market, that is located in a building that looks like a railway station. The quality of the fruit and vegetables was great - I bought a punnet of raspberries and they were so sweet. The upper level of the market sold tourist items eg lace, trinkets etc but also had cafes selling everything from goulash to beer to other Hungarian specialties. I had lunch here as the food looked really fresh and smelt lovely. I had a pork and sausage goulash/caserole with rice that was excellent, and I am so excited re the prices, only about $10.00 for a big meal compared to a piddly little quiche in Zurich!
By the early afternoon I was tired and just wanted to crash out and have a rest. I went to the hotel and spend the rest of the afternoon watching Wimbledon, downloading photos and booking accommodation in Ljubljana for Al and I as we can't stay with Warren (communication mix up as to what month we were coming).
Dinner, I am sorry to admit, was beer and potato chips. I went for a walk to withdraw money to pay for my accommodation as they weren't accepting credit card, and after the third go found a place that sold COLD beer - the rest sold it luke warm! I also stocked up on supermarket supplies.
Do you know how hard it is to leave a country without having too much or too little of a currency? It really is a juggling act - if too much I then stock up on toiletries that are running low, if not enough, I limit what I eat.
Photos are all backed up now on an msn website!! It is such a relief in case anything happens to my computer. It has taken hours, but is so worth it.
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