Week 3: Athens and Budapest

So I'm a bit of a loser because I changed the computer to English and now the keyboard doesn't correspond because it's a Spanish keyboard, so this will really test my touch typing skills :)

GREECE - ATHENS
I arrived in Greece on a Friday by myself... got my luggage and headed to the bus stop to hop on the express to Syntagma Square, where we were staying. First of all, the Greek women in particular are so rude in the city, I was putting my suitcase on the bus, which by now I think weighs nearly as much as me (well that's what it feels like) and they literally shove me out of the way saying all this stuff in Greek thinking I can't understand them. Fine, I let that pass but then, I realised that their idea of an express bus is somewhat different to ours, their's makes stops along the way. Ok... no problem, but when the bus decides to end it's voyage mid-route, I was starting to get frustrated! I had no idea where to go. Fortunately I Somalian man living in Greece helped me and another tourist get on the metro and to where we needed to go. So I made it in to the hotel in one piece, fortunately.

I was a bit disheveled at this point and didn't really feel like exploring much. So had a good rant with mum and just stuck out the night until Chris arrived.

Chris's plane of course was delayed - re-routed to some island, but anyway, he finally arrived! Things seemed much easier from that point on. We went back to the hotel and rest for a little and then headed to the terrible Omonia Sq to visit the National Archaeological Museum. After having a bite to eat, they informed us that they weren't letting anyone else in! Grrr! So we just took it easy for the rest of the day, visited the Roman Stadium, which was pretty cool and the National Gardens, which were beautiful.

On day 2 we made our way to teh Acropolis, which is about a 5 minute walk from our hotel, but we took the most round about way! Anyway, we got their quite early and the people selling tickets were late so we were let in for free. I loved the Acropolis, particularly the Parthenon, but I was somewhat disappointed because there was scaffolding everywhere... and the temple of athena nike and the propolayia were closed. Nonetheless, it was still amazing and overlooked the entire city. The views were amazing! It was then that we realised how close we were staying. The museum was also very interesting. The afternoon was spent having lunch at a local taverna, visiting Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which was the largest of its kind boasting 104 pillars, now less than 15 remain. That night we found a little noodle bar (asian I know, but oh well) and had some dinner.

Day 3 - we hopped on a bus (well a couple) to get to Ancient Corinth. First we visited (well attempted to vist) the tourist information office, which we found did not exist. So we hopped on the metro to go to another one and they informed us that it was at a different address. Anyway! After much effort we found ourselves on a coah en route to Corinth... we did make it but then we were stuck... no idea where we were or how to get to Ancient Corinth... and my Greek not strong enough with the locals' English also not strong enough, we made a decision to head back to Athens - not very adventurous I know, but it was extremely overwhelming. So we also decided that the 3 hour journey both ways to Delphi, would have to wait until the next time we are in Greece. By the time we got back to Athens, it was dinner time, so we found a fabulous local taverna! It was amazing - the food was ahhhh melt in your mouth!!!! and the little men were so cute and the atmosphere just beautiful - this was really the Greece I wanted to see... it was so close to our place too... we found some local markets and walked through them and then walked close to the Acropolis and got an amazing view of the Parthenon in the night, lit up just beautifully. I in fact prefer it at night... so peaceful.

Day 4 saw us back at Omonia Sq to visit the museum again... it was amazing with such spectacular artifacts... truly a must see when in Athens! It amazed me that these sculptures and statues were created so many years ago and with such primitive tools... phenomenal. There were some very excellent pieces that really stood out to me - a GIGANTIC Zeus - ok well we only saw his head and arm but his heard would have been the length of my legs! Pretty amazing. There was also a statue of Poseidon and a bronze statue of a boy riding a horse... really beautiful. We did however spend about 4.5 hours there, so I was a little tired. We headed back to teh Plaka for lunch at another taverna and then to the markets again to get some token Greece souvenirs. It was really good, a very nice day. That night we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Greece, with Cocktails too... that was cool.

Day 5 was our last day so we took it pretty easy. We had breakkie at the hotel, then walked through the markets again. Came back to the hotel picked up our bags and headed off to the airport early. Luckily we did also because there was a strike, so there was reduced security, so it took us AGES to get through! But we did and our flight to Berlin for the overnight stay en route to Budapest was good. And it was so nice to stay in a nice hotel for a night. We had dinner in the hotel (which was crap) and went to bed quite early.

HUNGARY - BUDAPEST
Up early to get the shuttle to the airport for our flight to Budapest - again, we were there early. So a bite to eat and then checked-in. The narky idiot at the check in charged me for a couple of lousy kilos - loser! Anyway! We made it to Budapest in one piece, although the flight was about 15 minutes late. Chris's Godmother, Marta met us at the airport and had a taxi ready to take us back to her place, and she took us on a nice round about way through the city so we could see some sites. We arrived back to Marta's apartment, where we were met by Marta's mum Elizabeth, who cooked us a delicious feast! It was very very very yummy. No time to rest - straight out the door! We first trekked up this massive mountain on the Buda sie of the Danude. Now I think it is Gallierd Hill... I don't think that's how you spell it though. At the top stood a Citadella and their Statue of Liberty, which stood 14m tall and can be seen from all points in Budapest. It was very nice. We got some amazing photos up there too. Such spectacular views. The sun was setting, so it made a nice backdrop. Down the hill again. We had a quick poke in some very lavish thermal baths and were off again. We checked out the Great Market Hall, and then we spent some time walking through the streets. There were some Christmas markets being set up and I was a little sad, but oh well. We also got to see a little statue called the Little Princess, which sits on the boulevard of the Danube - Prince Charles loved this statue so much that he invited the sculptor to exhibit his works in London! Then we headed to Roosevalt Sq and saw the amazing 4 seasons hotel, the entrance is exactly aligned with the Chain Bridge - I think this has to be one iof the most elaborate hotels I have ever seen! We then had a very traditional Hungarian dinner at a lovely restaurant, a little more walking and then called it a night.

Sorry there isn't much detail here but I'm trying to get through this as quickly as possible.

Our second day in Budapest started with a tour of Parliament - very grand! It houses St Stephens Crown, Sceptor and Orb and houses the largest chandellier in Budapest I think... it is also the 3rd largest in the world, after Romania and Argentina, and it beats London by 2 metres. But uit is spectacular inside! Then we headed up to the castle region. We saw the changing of the guards which was pretty cook and then walked around the grounds of the castle. Again, very beautiful. We also visited Fisherman's Bastion and the Mattihus Church. Both superb and some lovely views again. Headed back home for a quick rest and then got ready for a night out at a Hungarian musical - very funny!

We finally got to sleep in a little today - we started with a trip to St Stephen's Basillica. It is simply superb and we got to see his right hand, which was a little freaky but it is preserved because he did such wonderful things with his right hand. We headed home for a bit while Chris set up a webcam for Marta and then off to Heroes' Sq, which has some fabulous statues, especially the one of the Archangel Gabriel, whcih stands so high above them all. All the kings and Saints of Hungary and there I think... then we also got to see this awesome time wheel and a 1956 memorial - both very cool and very modern, yet they fit in really nicely with the old style of Budapest. A quick walk through City Park and then Chris and I were able to relax for a couple of hours at the thermal baths... very nice. The night was spent at the Opera - in Hungarian - Mozart's Magic Flute. A great night out! And that's it, the next day we were off to Berlin again for another night's stay en route to Madrid.

It would have been nice to see more of Budapest - it is an amazing city.