Castle Hill

Hello Everyone! 

It's our final day exploring Budapest and it seems like we saved the best for last. Today we hopped over the river again to explore Castle Hill, which is a World Heritage Site. This is the oldest part of the capital from 1247 onwards, except during occupation. Even today the State's Presidential Office is still here, along with the National Gallery and Buda Castlee.

First, we went to Matthias Church, which was the second largest church of medieval Buda and even briefly became a mosque during the Ottoman empire occupation. Matthias Corvinus was a military king, and he seemed to be the star of the show in this district. Often we'd find sculptures of ravens holding rings that represented him. Apparently there's a famous legend that Matthais' mother sent a raven with a ring when he became king. The raven flew nonstop from Translyvania to Prague to notify him. Afterwards the symbol of a raven with a ring then became their family crest and Matthais was crowned King of the Ravens. It became a fun game to try and find the ravens around the district. 

Mom and I really enjoyed walking around the entire district, even the government buildings like the ones below were beautiful. If I basically went to a castle every day for work I just might work a government job too lol.

Then we stopped for some coffee and cake. My barista even made a bird (possibly a raven?) in my cappuccino. The cake was another traditional Hungarian torte, but this time it was spiced, almost like a Christmas cake but not quite. 

We had panoramic views of the city for most of our walk which was amazing. Unfortunately we couldn't take any photos inside the National Gallery, so you'll just have to view the outside. But, if you ever look up their art, you'll see that their paintings are particularly dark. I thought it was because it was exposed to too much smoke, but actually, artists painted the canvases black before even beginning their painting. Hundreds of years later and the black has mixed in with the pigment on top of it making the colors very dull and dark, so now the portraits and landscapes all look quite sad and dreary. 

We then stopped for a quick snack but could only eat two things on the menu, fries and langos. Langos is fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese, it was interesting to try but not my favorite. Also, their sauce on the side was basically thousand island dressing! Isn't it so strange how cultures and communities can be so different and yet exactly the same?

Since the stables is no longer functioning the guards transport their horses onto the hill with a trailer. Then they proceed with the changing of the guard ceremony in front of the President's office, and then transport the horses back to the stables in a trailer. The horses have the easiest job ever!

We also passed by King Matthias' fountain on our way back to the church for our concert! 

Every morning mom and I have really been enjoying the artists that come and play at breakfast. So, after a quick google search I found out there was a small concert in Matthias Church that night. Mom and I bought tickets that morning and the show ended up being phenomenal. These musicians have traveled all around the world and the soloist has won multiple awards for his skills. They played pieces of almost twenty different famous classical songs. After having spent so many years listening to classical music with mom and playing classical instruments during my childhood, it was a new experience to listen to these pieces live knowing their background and history. The church was beautiful and the acoustics were great. Mom and I couldn't stop smiling the entire way home!

Tomorrow we'll be traveling to Vienna, I can't wait to update you then!

Lots of love, 
Carolyn

A bit of Buda and a bit of Pest

Hi Everyone!

Today we got to explore a little bit of both sides of the Danube river, aka Buda and Pest. Did you know that Budapest was originally two independent cities (Buda and Pest). Buda on the west is known for being more hilly and aristocratic, with the royal capital and castle district. While Pest on the east side is known for being more artsy, urban, and commercial. It wasn't until 1873, when both sides were unified, that this city became what we now know of today as Budapest. 

After crossing the Erzsebet bridge we got to the other side and were greeted by this beautiful green hill, aptly named Gellert Hill. The statute at the top is the Hungarian statue of liberty. and to get to it you have to take a million stairs and pass by this waterfall. Mom and I enjoyed the views quite contently from the park below whilst we ate our snacks. 

Then we crossed the bridge back to the Pest side and explored the Palace District. The buildings all around us were quite fancy and palatial but were basically apartments, boutique shops, and restaurants. I really wanted to go check out the library but they were closed for the entire  month of July! Europeans and their holidays. So instead we stopped for some coffee and cake and just enjoyed our surroundings. I even found a really cute watercolor for mom and a pink and purple pen print of the parliament for myself. 

Mom and I then stopped by the National Hungarian Museum to check out their gardens and have a little picnic. It was so peaceful and breezy we spent quite a bit of time on the bench before we realized it was already 4:30 pm! Since it was much later than we intended, we decided to head back into the upper part of town to do some shopping and maybe go to a concert. instead of going into the museum like we had originally planned 

The buildings here are quite spectacular and fantastical. Our walks always take us longer than the gps says because I keep stopping to admire all the artwork on them. They are also usually full of random creatures, like this satyr holding the street lights. 

As we walked home this restaurant called Vak Varyu cuaght my eye. Thankfully it was a bit early for dinner for Europeans so we were able to walk right in and snag a table. And by early I mean 6 pm, I was starving! I have no clue how people here don’t eat dinner until 9 pm or so. I’m so glad we took a chance walking into a random place because this was seriously the most amazing dinner we've had in town. The whole restaurant is farm to table and we ordered dishes that were 100% from Hungarian farms. Mom said these were the best tomatoes she's ever had. We left the restaurant totally satisfied and headed home for the night. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's updates on Castle Hill. 

Sending lots of love, 

Carolyn

Budapest

Hello Everyone!

Mom and I successfully made it to Budapest and pretty much crashed as soon as we made it to our hotel. However, we made up for it the next morning by having breakfast in the famous New York Cafe. Back in 1894 the New York Life Insurance company built this Italian Renaissance styled wonder because they wanted to include a coffee house inside their European headquarters. While it might have an American name, the menu actually has a lot of Hungarian dishes. The most American thing you can get is pancakes for breakfast and even those aren't popular here because the locals find them too sweet. Our waiter told us that when you have dessert in Hungary, the best compliment you can give is saying that it wasn't too sweet. I think the lack of sugar in most pastries and jams is why there were so many options available at breakfast. You can give whatever reason you want, but if it means I get to eat pistachio eclairs and cherry pies for breakfast then I'm in! (After having a hearty helping of protein and veggies of course). They also played live music during breakfast, so we got to listen to a pianist playing a mix of Hungarian compositions and old crooners jazz, before a small string quartet took over and stole the show! Mom and I enjoyed ourselves so much we sat there for two hours chatting away and were reluctant to leave, but I'm glad we did because Budapest did not disappoint!  

We made our way to the Hungarian State Opera House built in 1875. This is the second largest opera house in Hungary. These buildings and their architecture are amazing on their own, but I've quickly come to learn that all these places are even more opulent on the inside. Back then buildings truly were a work of art, I had a really hard time narrowing down the photos for you all. 

We then made our way to St. Stephen's Basilica, built in the late 1890s, the church was dedicated to the first Hungarian King Saint Stephen who ruled from 997 to 1038. The work inside the basilica was made only by Hungarian sculptures and painters. The organ and alter were impressive, and they had a rather macabre relic in one of the alcoves, Saint Stephan's hand. Yup, you read that right, there's a right hand, in a glass case, in it's own very special box, fully on display with special track lighting and all. Not only is it proudly displayed here at the basilica, but historically it was guarded and protected by other countries, like Romania, during the various wars before it came it it's final resting place here. This guy must have made a lasting impression for his hand to be respected and treasured throughout all these years! 

One of my favorite things about being in Europe is having coffee and cake as a literal meal of the day. However it was wildly hot so I wanted just a lemonade to enjoy with my dobos torta (a traditional Hungarian sponge cake layered with buttercream and topped with caramel). The waiter asked if we'd like a cappuccino with our cake, to which mom replied sure but I said no thank you. He made a face, walked away, and then returned asking if I had said yes to the cappuccino because he couldn't remember, but he thought I said I wanted coffee with my cake. I finally caught on and agreed to have a cappuccino, and I hate to admit that he was right, the cake tasted the best with coffee! It was hilarious how many times he asked leading questions until I gave him the answer he wanted. Apparently in Hungary, you simply cannot have cake and lemonade, cake must be enjoyed with espresso. Oops! Either way I very much enjoyed our afternoon respite. 

We then made our way to the parliament building. At this point we had walked quite far, so mom and I took a rest in the plaza and played lots of brain games. Highly recommend worldle and statele if you haven't played it yet. Thank you Jes for our new breaktime game! The 

We decided to take the scenic route home along the Danube river. Did you know that Budapest originally wanted their Grand Boulevard to be a canal like Venice? But it was going to cost 15 million HUF in the 19th century, so they decided against the plans. At least they still have this river that separates Buda and Pest, so there's some water to enjoy, plus the city is probably much more efficient with cars than it would've been with canals. Mom and I really enjoyed all the various boats and river cruises we passed by, this one was our favortie!

By the time mom and I made it back we were too tired to even think about going out again for dinner so we ordered room service and had a quiet night in. Is this what getting older is like? Twenty-year-old me would have never spent a night in while traveling a new city! Times have definitely changed but I can't even complain because our food was delicious and the best part was getting to eat dinner in pjs lol. 

Anyways, can't wait to update you all tomorrow. 

Love, 
Carolyn

Monday Blues in Jersey

Hello Everybody! 

Today was a bittersweet one, the one where you know you only have hours together instead of days but still smile and fit any conversation in about everything and nothing while sneaking extra tight hugs here and there instead of crying. Jes is the very best long distance bestie, one who has been here on this blog from its very start. We’ve said goodbye for now many times and it still never gets easier, but thankfully over the years we’ve perfected the art of the last day.

This morning Jes and I headed off to the town early to do some shopping along the way to our nail appointment, it was a very fitting day for a little extra pampering. Jersey is full of these really cute boutique stores and art shops, I had to constantly check the time, otherwise I could have browsed forever! Something peculiar about the city center is that there’s a giant toad on a column on which different crimes and their punishments are listed. Apparently the bailiff created an injunction which stated that all children were ordered to watch the public executions. Can you imagine how well behaved those classrooms must’ve been? 

Jes picked my nail color and I’m obsessed with this summery hot coral pink! We took our manicures to the beach and swam in the sea. It was definitely colder than it looks! However, a granny went in after us and jumped right in. Not to be outshone, we jumped in after her, had momentary regret, and then immediately started swimming around to try and warm up. Lido was actually really cool because they walled off some of the beach so it felt like you were swimming in a giant pool but actually it was the ocean. 

Pete cycled to us on his lunch break and we had yummy sandwiches with an ocean view. Honestly it’s hard to go anywhere without an ocean view on this island! Don’t get me wrong, my view at home is pretty great but it’s nothing compared to constantly being minutes from the beach…maybe island life could be for me after all? 

You may have noticed my outfit change, and that’s because on our way back Jes noticed a huge hole in my shorts in the seam! We started cracking up and she immediately lent me her jacket and we had to make a pit stop at the apartment before carrying on to the ice cream cart. I wanted to have a Jersey ice cream cone before I left and they did not disappoint! The portion sizes were so generous for $4!! It was a supersized single, I really enjoyed my honey toffee while Jes had the classic strawberries and cream. We walked the entire harbor before we finished our cones! Just like the soft serve, Jersey ice cream is extra smooth and creamy, I wish I could’ve brought some home to you all. It really is something different and delicious! 

We also got to admire all the murals along the way. This was our favorite and it was painted as a group project by a bunch of seniors from the art high school! I was super impressed, I can’t even paint like that on a good day, and definitely couldn’t cooperate enough with others in art to make such a seamless mural. 

We moseyed home for another afternoon of crafting, which included Jes sewing up my romper, and me turning my jersey ring dish into a shell magnet because many of my shells didn’t stick to the air dried clay. Thankfully Jes and Pete’s projects turned out beautifully. 

And just like that the day was over. 

The next morning I lingered as long as possible with Jes in the airport, which is easy to do in an airport with only 2 working gates at a time. There wasn’t any security line and I got to enjoy one last coffee and chat with my bestie. I’m sad to say goodbye, but I also can’t wait to find out where our next reunion will be. Not going to lie, Mongolia is a strong contender, I guess only time will tell. 

Now onto London to pick up mom and head on over to Budapest! 

Sending you lots of love! 

Carolyn