Days 7 & 8 - The Pearl of the Danube

Sailing into Budapest is one of those experiences that stay with you.  Spread on both sides of the Danube, Buda (the hilly side) and Pest (the flat side) offer amazing, inspired views that keep on coming. We had signed up for "Budapest in a Nutshell", a four hour tour which took us from Heroes Square and the main city park, replete with gracious structures and bronze statuary, to the other side of the Danube to magnificent Matthias Church, built in the gothic style in the late 14th century.

An afternoon discovering the city centre on foot was rewarded with some successful shoe shopping therapy. Wide, graceful pedestrian streets lined with restaurants and shops, beautiful architecture and friendly people.

In the evening we went to one of the special events put on by Crystal, dinner at a Michelin star restaurant of our choice.  We had picked Winekitchen and were part of a group of ten or twelve guests.  The five course dinner was amazing as were the paired wines, all Hungarian of excellent quality.  Following dinner we were taken for a nightlights tour of Budapest which revealed magnificently lit buildings and monuments together with large, happy crowds of people enjoying a warm summer evening out.

The following morning we went on a tour of the Parliament Building, the most splendid, over the top sumptuous and gilded government building I've ever seen.  Next was the Great Market Hall, which CNN has named the most amazing market in Europe. It was fun to shop for some of the ingredients for what will be my first Hungarian Goulash!

Budapest stole my heart with all its beauty and grace, it goes on the list of places to visit again one day.  Sail away was glorious and we were soon on our way to Vienna.