We first did a drive by of the National Academy of Sciences where we had dinner last night, then of the magnificent Parliament Building, part of which is under renovation. The bus then drove down Andrassy Avenue which has been recognized as a World Heritage Site known as Fashion Street. The driving tour stopped at the Budapest Opera House.
We were greeted by a darling young woman who was very enthusiastic about her job and made the tour of the ornate and beautiful building interesting and fun. We saw one of the private boxes, she described the Royal Box, and took us up to an elaborate level where the Royal families viewed operas from their special section. The light fixtures, ceilings, and carved wood work were lovely. While we were there, we were surprised by several opera stars who performed for us from the balcony!
After we left the opera house we drove to Heroes Square which is situated in front of the City Park at the end of Andrassy Avenue and is another World Heritage Site. The site was built in 1896 to celebrate the centennial of the Hungarians arriving in this area and is decorated with statues of famous people in Hungarian History. We then continued on our driving tour past the Great Synagogue and on to the Great Market Hall. Since we had visited this area yesterday, we didn't spend much time in the market except to buy a few pastries that looked like the Ruguleh that my aunt made when I was a child....they didn't taste anything like those I remembered...a disappointment
We then walked the full length of Vaci Utca - the main shopping drag from the Market back to the hotel. Finally found a US type drug store where I could buy a few things that I needed.
We decided to eat light tonight - met another couple from our tour group who had found an Italian restaurant close to the hotel that had free WiFi so we went with them to have a glass of wine (computer in hand). Unfortunately the sun setting reflected on my screen and I couldn't see what I was writing, but we did enjoy sharing a pizza and a couple of glasses of wine with Don and Carol who were celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary.
After dinner we walked to one of the famous dessert restaurants (Gerbaud House) and splurged on fancy Hungarian pastry desserts and coffee (overpriced and not as good as I expected :))
We're ready for tomorrow to come...tour of Buda on the other side of the Danube and then we'll be boarding the Swiss Jewel for our long awaited River Cruise.
Pictures First tour day in Budapest
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