Elisa: Beautiful Pest, Lovely Buda

Budapest has been deathly hot but very wonderful so far. Yesterday, despite having walked for hours the day before and being still tired and sore, we decided to walk the hour walk to the main park by Hero Square, which commemorates the heros of Hungarian history. In the park is a famous bath house with a grand swimming pool in the courtyard and a beautiful tiled dome that can be seen anywhere in the park. It also has a multitude of saunas and hot water pools through a labyrinth of corridors and impressive rooms with high ceilings. We loved laying out and tanning, relaxing from our strenous days of walking and carrying heavy backpacks, and we jumped into the pool, kept at a perfect not-too-cold temperature, every time we got too hot. Then last night, we had a great time hanging out with people from our hostel and went out to an outdoor bar with literally every one who is staying here- 18 people, including the staff. It was a drunken blast which ended, for some with bacon and eggs, others with falafel, others grilled cheese sandwich...Hungry in Hungary. Cheesy, I know.

Today was another scorching hot day, but we still hadnt seen Buda. Budapest used to be two cities, Buda and Pest, and we have been staying on the Pest side until today. As the more industrial and commercial part of the city, we have enjoyed the sprawling boulevards lined with run down buildings who retain their majestic grandeur despite the black tinge of soot and age on their walls. Today, however, we braved the heat and went to explore the castled walls and cobblestone streets of the Buda side with two friendly guests from our hostel. After crossing the Danube, we climbed up to the fortress walls and walked around inside, catching glimpses of the gorgeous views of the city below. We particularly loved the cathedral, which truly contained very Middle Eastern architectural elements with dome like towers which almost looked Mosque like and sandstone colored stones. After we could no longer stand the heat, we went to Spar, the supermarket, and bought some groceries to make dinner for some friends we met at our hostel, particularly Jess, who is turning 25 tonight! Pasta bolognese and flourless chocolate cake- hope it is good. We are going out for kareokee tonight and are very excited!