Day 21 - HOT Budapest

Our hotel is beautiful, but staff is a little aloof!  Breakfast was amazing with more than 5 stations of food.  Will post mainly pictures today with some explanations.  We walked and walked and walked!  Rode the hop on/hop off some just to get to a couple of areas but mainly we walked.

We went in St Stephen's Basilica which seats 8,500 (this is the one where they have a statue of St Stephen on the altar rather than Jesus Christ). We went back for an organ concert at 5 p.m. which was wonderful -- a few Bach, Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninoff .   Violoncello accompanied on some of the pieces.

Another place was the coffee shop at Alexandra's bookstore which also sold wine!  Will post at least one photo of that.  It looked like a small Barnes and Noble!

We spent a hour chilling off at the New York Cafe -- the #1 coffee house in Europe.  We will share lots of photos of that.  Totally amazing.  New York life used to own the building.  I had one limeade with slices of limes, oranges, ice and club soda. It was really tasty.  Then the waiter was teasing me asking if I wanted another so I ordered the strawberry, lime slices, mint, ice and club soda.  Then he asked if I wanted a third one. I declined. Soon they brought some peanuts  and cookies (time for tea which we did not have) but John enjoyed the cookies -- mainly sugar, butter and chocolate/chocolate chips with very little flour.  They also had a fantastic pianist playing some Frank Sinatra era selections.  Our bill was more than our dinner bill tonight.

We decided that one could spend at least a week here and still not see everything.  It truly is a wonderful place!

Tonight when we got back to the hotel was an all male  chorus fromHarvard performing by the grand lobby.  They had been touring the world and this was their first time ever in Budapest.  They were wonderful.

We walked to the rain station also today and decided we'd use a taxi in the a.m. -- first time on this trip!

Elevator

Atrium of hotel

Lobby

Grand staircase

Sitting area

From staircase

 

Alexandra's book store coffee shop

Same

Too hot to tour in one of these

 

Parliament and construction

Same

 Wonderful park between Parliament and St Stephen's

MTV television building

 Fountain near MTV

 Kids playing in fountain

  Stucco relief near fountain

Yellow snow - Japanese acacia trees

  St Stephen's Basilica

  Floor in Basilica

  Large square in front of Basilica

  One of the domes

Another

St Stephen - note apostolic cross

  Pipe organ

  Dome

  Near opera house

Beer party bus - must peddle to keep it moving

 Opera house

In front of operetta - I'm telling him "let me tell you how hot it is" and he's saying "I know, I know!"

  New York Café

Same

 

Same

Harvard Men's chorale in hotel