Beautiful Budapest!

While in London, UK I was surprised by my daughter and her husband with a trip to Budapest, Hungary. My heritage on my father's side is Hungarian so this was a trip I had always wanted to make and it was made all the more special to make it with my daughter. We all know and hear how gorgeous Paris and many European cities are but Budapest was a delightful surprise as it is so unique and fabulous. The Danube River divides the city in half and years ago one side was Buda and the other Pest. It is now one city with Pest being very flat and Buda being very hilly and the more expensive side of the river to live. My daughter had also arrange for a cooking class while we were there to cook some of my grandmother's favorite recipes and mine as well. Agnes who conducted the classes met us at the large market that has been there for over 100 years and gave us a guided tour of the foods and traditions. We later went to her flat and cooked and had dinner with her and her husband and discussed life in Hungary today. It was a fabulous experience.
The photographs going from the top down are the Parliament Buildings on the Danube on the Pest side, similar in design to the the British Parliament Buildings in London. The Gellert Bath and Spa has outdoor pools and indoor pools feed from underground hot springs. It has been recorded that these waters have exceptional healing powers as early as the 15th century. This violinist was at the Central Market where we went shopping but you will find violinist on many streets playing the Hungarian Rhapsody and much more. Hungary is also know for the making of some of the worlds' finest porcelain like Herend, which is named after the town it is produced in. The last photo is of a church built into the stone on the Buda side of the Danube River.
We came home with lots of Hungarian paprika and a trunk full of memories!
If you are planning to go to Budapest you will find that it is a bargain compared with Paris and other European cities. The cruise ships you see in the photo's go up the Danube to other countries and capital cities. Here is the contact info for Agnes to do a cooking class.....agnes.barath@culinaryhungary.com.