Escape from Reality

My original plan for the day was to get up before dawn and watch the sunrise from Fisherman's Bastion. But early mornings are a struggle for me and that did not happen. I was still up pretty early and when I looked out the window at the surrounding fog, I was glad I hadn't bothered to get up even earlier. I did want to make it there before the crowds so I was out of the hotel around 8a.

FIsherman's Bastion sits atop the Castle Hill across the Danube on the Buda side. It's a fortress built around 1900 and named after the fishermen who used to guard this portion of the castle walls in medieval times. It's now mostly used as a viewpoint by tourists for the panoramic views over the Danube, Parliament, and Budapest. There are three ways to reach the top - a funicular (the usual tourist way to reach the top), a bunch of stairs (the hiker's way to reach the top), or a bus (the fastest way to reach the top). I opted for the bus so I took the metro from my hotel to the main station and caught the city bus, mostly filled with locals headed to work.

The fog was still pretty intense when I arrived at Holy Trinity Square just before 9a.

Statue of St. Stephen, the first King of Hungary.

It was so foggy, you couldn't even see the Danube.

The fog provided an almost spooky feel that made for some cool pictures.

It was also wonderfully uncrowded.

I walked over to a little strudel shop for some breakfast.

Hot chocolate, chocolate roll, and apple strudel...breakfast of champions.

After fueling up on chocolate and sugar, I headed to St. Matthias Church, part of the FIsherman's Bastion complex.

A Catholic church originally established in 1015, the current building was rebuilt in the 13th century after having been destroyed by the Mongols.

Historically, the cononations of Hungary's kings took place in this church.

The medieval-style pulpit.

The details of the decor were unique.

The organ

Communion chalices dating back to the late 1700s

Coat of arms of the Hungarian Knights

From the balcony above

After spending time inside the church, the fog lifted considerably.

The Christmas market had opened up as well.

From there I walked down the hill a bit to Hospital in the Rock where I did a one hour guided tour.

Built in the 1930s, Hospital in the Rock was just that....a secret hospital built in the side of the hill/underground. It was used during WWII and was fully functional including surgeries. It was designed to treat 60-70 patients but at times treated as many as 600 wounded. They ran out of food and supplies as the war continued and staff had to recycle supplies from cadavers. It was closed once the war ended and reopened years later during the Cold War as a nuclear bunker. The museum does a great job of conveying what life was like underground by using wax figures and original medical and anti-radiation equipment. It was a fascinating tour but unfortunately no pictures were allowed.

I caught the bus again and rode down the hill to get off just before the bridge at the funicular entrance. It was crowded with people waiting to catch a ride.

Just above the funicular is the Buda Castle complex. I didn't have time to visit this complex but would love to on a return visit.

I walked across the Chain Bridge, the first permanent bridge in Budapest, built in 1849 to connect Buda and Pest across the Danube.

A river cruise ship. Can't escape the cruise ships even in landlocked Hungary.

It was about 1p by now and I was getting hungry again with all this walking. After walking across the bridge, I caught the bus again and headed to the Jewish Ghetto for lunch at Getto Gulyas.

I started with some bone marrow.

And also some venison and mushroom stew.

Both were very good, warm, and filling. After lunch, I was scheduled to do a walking tour of the Jewish Ghetto but the jetlag, lunch, and a glass of wine kicked in and I was suddenly very tired. Instead, I opted to walk back to the hotel and rest in my room the remainder of the day.

Feeling refreshed, I ventured back outside to dinner. My hotel at night.

The yellow trams near my hotel.

Just down from my hotel, I had dinner at Borkonyha Winekitchen, a Michelin-star restaurant that modernizes traditional Hungarian dishes.

It started with complimentary bread and sauces.

First course

Artichoke soup

Mangalica pork, cabbage, and polenta

Hazelnut and chocolate "forest" themed dessert

Treats with the check

Dinner was amazing as all meals had been so far. I waddled back to my hotel and climbed into bed to be ready for whatever the next day might bring.

It was 10p local time when I arrived in Budapest. Passport control and luggage retrieval went smoothly and I was picked up by a driver arranged by my hotel. We arrived at Hotel Oktogon, a boutique hotel near Oktogon Square. The hotel was originally a palace built in the 1880s for Henrik Haggenmacher, a wealthy brewer. It still looked a bit like a palace on the inside.

I had reserved a room on the top floor.

I realized pretty quickly that I would need to open a window in order to sleep at night. I'd heard that European hotels keep the heat pretty high but I wasn't prepared for the reality. I did have a thermostat but wasn't able to adjust it. Thankfully I was on the 5th floor so I felt safe opening the window to sleep.

I snuggled into bed with my London Scotch egg from The Ginger Pig.

I slept surprisingly well given my nap in the lounge earlier in the day and was up early to get cash and figure out the metro before my 10a food tour. I had some technical difficulties buying the online metro pass but finally was successful connecting with my debit card. Just outside my hotel on the square were several ATMs at local banks which was convenient to get Hungarian forint.

Also conveniently right outside my hotel was the Oktogon metro stop.

The metro system in Budapest is the oldest in continental Europe (with London's being the oldest in all of Europe). London's underground has been modernized/upgraded. Budapest's still looked original.

I rode the metro to the Opera stop (only one stop away) and met the guide and other people on the tour. Outside of a large family, there was a couple from Lubbock (we talked football) and a single American woman in Budapest on business. Since we met in front of the opera house, the guide let us walk in to see the inside. I would be coming back that night for a show but just walking in to take a peak took my breath away.

It was also packed with tour groups so we didn't stay long, walked around the outside, and headed to our first food stop.

View of St. Stephen's Basilica thru the buildings.

Our guide Zorro with the group

First stop was Strudel Garden

Strudel is very popular in Budapest and we were given a selection of several flavors to choose from.

I tried the poppyseed (most popular) and the apple. I thought the poppyseed was dry but I enjoyed the apple. I had some amazing WHITE hot chocolate to go with it.

We needed to be at our next stop by 11a sharp since the guide couldn't make a reservation. We arrived at Retro Langos right on time.

We tried the classic langos which is a fried dough covered in sour cream and cheese. The dough was kind of like a pizza crust and it was brushed with butter and garlic. I was skeptical of this dish at first but it was amazing. It was so garlicky and good.

From there it was on to a family-run restaurant to try goulash.

The goulash was very tasty and not thick like I was expecting. The guide told us to add some of the spicy paprika paste.

Our last stop of the day was a speakeasy-type place with an unmarked door.

Here we learned how to make our own carbonated soda which is a surprising piece of Hungarian history. Apparently in the 1800s, city water wasn't healthy so a local scientist developed a way to carbonate it. This helped spark a soda industry and carbonating your own soda became a part of Hungarian culture.

We were served some local meats and cheeses to go with our soda, including Hungarian paprika sausage and various deer sausages.

We also got a taste of the local hooch. Palinka is a fruit brandy with no sugar added. It's 40-50% alcohol and tastes like it.

And tried some local wines.

We spent a considerable amount of time at this stop and once again, I was hot. Above our table was the heater and I realized why I was so hot inside everywhere.

30 degrees celsius = 86 degrees fahrenheit!

Our last snack of the day was a Hungarian childhood favorite. It's a sweet curd cheese covered in chocolate. I was expecting more of a marshmallow flavor but it definitely wasn't that.

This was the first time I've ever done a food tour like this and I really enjoyed it, especially on the first day of the trip. Zorro gave us lots of recommendations and pointers and I was able to try lots of different Hungarian foods without ordering full servings at various restaurants.

I had a little over an hour until my next timed event which was a tour of Parliament. I walked down towards the riverfront. On the way, I passed thru Liberty Square.

And came across a statue of George H.W. Bush. What??? Apparently he is considered instrumental in helping Hungary transition from communism to democracy in the late 1980s. Who would have thought?

The Danube riverfront was beautiful. A river cruiseship was going by as I arrived.

Unfortunately the beauty of the area is marred by what happened here at the end of WWII. Thousands of Jews were rounded up and forced to stand on the riverbank and remove their shoes. They were then shot so their bodies would fall into the river. The shoes were valuable so those were kept. Budapest erected a 60-shoe memorial along the edge of the riverbank to commemorate those who died. The memorial reflects men's, women's, and children's shoes.

Parliament was a short walk away so I made may way there to give myself enough time to find my tour.

I had to go to the bathroom at this point and this is where I ran into my first public bathroom issue. In the US, public bathrooms are plentiful and free. Not so in much of Europe. I walked around and around trying to find a place where I could go and finally found a coffee shop across from Parliament that charged a few forint for the bathroom. That done now I needed to find my tour. I walked around and around again trying to find the entrance. I finally had to ask one of the security officers standing around and she pointed me in the right direction. In my defense, it was slightly underground which is why I couldn't find it.

Once inside, I stood in line for the 3p tour then went thru security. Although we had a "guide" on the tour, he was really just an escort and we were given audio guides for the tour itself. The Parliament building was completed in 1904 and still houses the Hungarian government today. It was modeled after London's Parliament which I visited on my 2013 trip.

The grand entrance where important persons are allowed to enter the building.

This leads into the ceremonial dome hall where the crown jewels are located.

Two armed guards walk in a circle around them at all times.

One wing of the ceremonial dome honors Hungary's economic, cultural, and societal achievements by its display of statues on the pillars representing various trades such as agriculture, law, arts, etc.

Our next stop was the chamber where Parliament government sessions are conducted.

Outside the door of the chamber are cigar holders. Previously many government members smoked cigars and would place them in these numbered trays to smoke on breaks.

Our tour ended as we walked the long hallway back to the entrance. There was a view thru the window panes of the other side of the Danube.

In addition to the metro, my ticket allowed me to ride the trams that run across the city. I caught the tram just outside and rode it all the way back to Oktogon Square.

Just off the square was a grocery store so I stopped there to get some Cokes and water for my room. I had just enough time to rest my feet for a few minutes and change clothes before heading out for my last event of the day, the Nutcracker ballet. The square was a busy area at night.

Once again, I took the metro to the Opera stop. The Opera House was even more magnificent at night.

The opera house was built in 1884 and has capacity of about 1,200. I had tickets for one of the back rows at orchestra level and it was a perfect vantage point for the stage and to marvel at everything around me.

I went back and forth on getting tickets to the Nutcracker. On the one hand, I don't consider myself a ballet fan at all. On the other hand, I love the Nutcracker and I'd read over and over online that attending a show at the opera house was a must-do experience. I knew I would be tired on my first day and I had a lot of plans so I thought I'd go and then if I'm bored or tired, I could just leave at intermission. Well.....I was so wrong. I was enthralled. It was breathtaking and gorgeous and turned out to be my favorite activity of the entire trip.

Nutcrackers at the Nutcracker

The ballet ended about 830p and I was finally hungry after all the eating I did on the food tour earlier in the day. I walked a block or two to a cozy little restaurant called Ket Szerecsen.

They were full to the brim but made a small table for me by the door. I ordered a cuba libre which they brought with my favorite Havana Club cuban rum. For a starter, I got the pork ribs.

And for the main I ordered chicken paprikash with a side of cucumber salad.

Dinner was wonderful. The paprika sauce on the chicken was delicious. I loved the atmosphere of the place and the staff were so nice. I walked the quick few blocks back to my hotel while talking to Alex on the phone.

What an amazing day it had been and again I went to bed so excited for the next.

I feel like I've come to a travel crossroads in my life. My travel partner of the last 30 years is no longer able to travel. Most people in my life who I would be able to travel with without losing my mind are unable to afford the trip or the time off or are generally uninterested in some of the travel I want to do. I am on the wrong side of 50 now and I have a long bucket list. So I decided to venture out on my own. I've traveled a lot solo in the US (mainly for business trips) but I've never traveled extensively internationally by myself. Until now.

I've been wanting to visit the European Christmas markets for a couple of years now, basically as soon as I found out that was even a thing. I did exhaustive research to plan out my route and all the details. When I realized that American was routing me to Budapest thru London, I decided to plan in a 12-hour layover on purpose so that I could re-visit one of my favorite cities.

Alex dropped me at the airport around noon. We kissed goodbye and I was off on my solo adventure! I splurged (for me) on premium economy tickets which allowed me entry to AA's Flagship Lounge.

We boarded the flight to London and were off.

I got some decent sleep on the plane. PE made a huge difference in the amount of space and peacefulness of the flight. We arrived on time in London around 7a. I was feeling a little nervous but excited. I found my way to the Elizabeth Line for the hourlong tube ride into London proper.

On my first trip to London in 2013, I got a Tshirt that said "Mind the Gap" which they repeat over and over as you get on the Underground. I laughed when I saw the familiar saying.

I arrived at Borough Market about 30 minutes before opening.

In 2013 when Mike and I visited London, we stayed in an apartment near Borough Market and I just loved the place. There was so much to eat and see and buy. For this trip, I did a bunch of research on the best places to grab food. I was hungry and ready to eat. But since it wasn't quite opening time, I found a bench to sit on while I watched all the early morning comings and goings.

At 9a sharp, I headed to my first stop, The Ginger Pig.

And the first drawback of traveling solo rears its ugly head. The Ginger Pig is known for its sausage rolls but they're reportedly huge and packed with sausage. Without having someone to split things with, I could only buy what I could eat. So instead I got one of their Scotch eggs because I love those and never get them at home. They're also packed with the same yummy sausage but not as big. My plan was to save it for later since it keeps well so I tucked it in my backpack and made my way around.

The Ginger Pig also had a butcher shop section.

Around the corner were some huge oysters.

The famous paella. I would love to try this as well but it came in huge portions which wouldn't have allowed me to eat anything else.

Then I came to the chocolate strawberries. Who says you can't have chocolate strawberries for breakfast?

They were SO GOOD.

Next I made a stop at The Black Pig and ordered "the best one" which is a pulled pork sandwich with honey truffle parm mayo, fennel apple slaw, salsa verde, pepperoncini, and fresh grated parmesan on top.

They didn't have regular Coke so they sold me the local equivalent.

I made my way to the nearby seating area.

And had to fend off the pigeons.

This little guy was such a good boy.

I ate most of the sandwich but it was pretty rich and I wanted to save room to try more things. But then it hit. My recurring stomach issues started acting up and I had to hang out near the bathroom for a while. I decided to keep with the plan in hopes I would feel better. I found the truffle mushroom risotto place. They were handing out free samples so I got a little taste without having to buy a big bowl. I'm glad I did, too, because I honestly didn't care for it.

Then on to Bread Ahead which I really wanted to try. But by the time I got there, I didn't think I should eat anymore for a while. I was kicking myself afterwards though as I wish I had gotten their olive breadsticks and a donut to try later. They are famous for their creme brulee donuts.

Similarly kicked myself for not getting some of the fudge. It was mix and match with many flavors.

Since I decided I couldn't eat anymore, I thought I'd continue on from Borough Market with the rest of my day.

I passed by Southwark Cathedral, a 7th century Anglican church located at the oldest crossing-point of the River Thames. It was for many centuries the only entrance to the City of London situated across the river.

I was looking for the "entrance" to the Queen's Walk, which is like a pathway that runs along the River Thames. Google maps was confusing and I had trouble finding it but finally was able to figure out where I needed to go. I walked along the river.

Along the way there were some Christmas markets and winter activities set up.

The Royal Navy's HMS Belfast.

And finally Tower Bridge! I love this bridge for some reason. For me, it's the iconic symbol of London.

With the Tower of London just across the bridge on the other side.

I made it to the Vault, a little pub just underneath Tower Bridge where Mike and I discovered mulled wine for the first time on our previous trip. I stopped in for a pint of cider. I knew I would get plenty of mulled wine on the rest of the trip.

I only made it about halfway thru the cider and I just wasn't feeling well. I don't know if it was the stomach issues. Maybe it was jetlag. It was unbelievably hot inside the Vault. Maybe it was my nerves from revisiting this specific place or being on my own. I have no idea but I thought I should start making my way back towards the airport instead of lingering around. The thought of relaxing in the lounge was starting to sound like a great idea.

I left the Vault and walked across Tower Bridge.

View of the Shard from the bridge

Then I walked by the Tower of London. I did an extensive tour there in 2013 and loved it.

I arrived at the Tower underground stop and caught the tube back to Heathrow. By now it was around 2p and my flight wasn't until 630p. I settled in for a little nap inside the Cathay Pacific lounge.

Afterwards, I felt so much better. I called my mom and talked to her a bit and also talked to Alex. I think my nerves calmed down and my stomach did as well. The lounge had a fantastic Asian noodle bar. I ate some fried rice and soup and felt like a new person.

The lounge experiences combined with PE seating was worth every penny. By the time I boarded my flight to Budapest, I was feeling good and excited about what lay ahead.

I asked Alex what he wanted to do for summer vacation and after some thought, he suggested a fishing trip. I've been fishing a lot in my life from catfishing in the Trinity River with my dad to bass fishing on Lake Texoma with my ex-husband to offshore fishing on vacation trips. Alex has only been fishing once, when I took him to Hot Springs on our first trip together. So we asked our friends if they wanted to go for a long weekend to Rockport and they agreed.

Alex and I decided to break up the drive to Rockport by stopping off for the night in Austin. The last time we were there, we had such a great time, I thought it would be fun to do it again. We stayed right off 6th Street at the Westin.

When we got there, we walked down 6th Street and stopped off at an Irish pub for a drink and a snack. I was excited to see Scotch eggs on the menu. I love these and never see them anywhere in the US.

One of the reasons we like staying here is because of the food trucks everywhere. There was a group next door to our hotel and we walked a couple of blocks down to another group where we had some of the best tacos we've ever had. You could see how close we were to the Westin.

After eating, we hung out in a few places and ended up at this little bar with some live music.

They had a 3D printed Connect Four game sitting on the bar and we liked it so much they sold it to us for $10.

We also discovered that one of the guys in the band was from Alex's hometown in Mississippi. They were of similar age and knew some of the same people.

The next morning we headed on down to Rockport and checked into our bayside house. It was a really cute little house with a pool, outdoor bathroom, and a tiki bar.

Conrad and Beverly arrived a little later and we went to dinner at Paradise Key.

That evening we relaxed in the "very cold for South Texas in June" pool.

We had planned to go flounder gigging one evening but the boat captain called and suggested due to weather that we move that trip up to Saturday night. This was fine other than we also had a fishing trip planned for early Sunday morning. We were in for a long night!

Alex wanted to hit a couple of stores in Corpus Christi so he and I spent a few hours there while Conrad and Beverly hung out at the house. We went out for an early dinner and then met up with our flounder gigging guide for the evening tour. This fellow fisherman wished us luck.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset on the way to the fishing grounds.

We made it to the grounds just before dark and started hunting.

Flounder gigging turned out to be....violent. I guess I didn't realize how hard you'd have to stab them with the pitchfork-like thing and then get their wriggling pancake bodies off the end of that into the ice chest. Combined with the fact that I couldn't see them in the muddy waters, I hung back and let the guys do the majority of the gigging. They seemed perfectly happy to stab flounders. The guide perched himself on top of the railing like this for what seemed like hours. I don't know how he had the strength.

At some point, a dolphin showed up to join the hunt.

At the end of the night, we made a pretty good haul of flounder.

We finished up about midnight and had to be at the dock for bay fishing very early in the morning. We headed home, got a couple of hours sleep then were up again packing lunches for the next trip. We met our guide and enjoyed a few hours catching black drum and speckled trout. The boys had almost no luck catching any fish so they gave up and Beverly and I caught basically the entire haul. I think we had the magic touch. Unfortunately, the guide started filleting all the fish before we were able to get a picture.

All the birds showed up for their share.

We were pretty exhausted afterwards so spent the rest of the day napping and hanging out in the cold a/c. Conrad wanted to go back to Paradise Key for dinner then we hit up the Sugar Shack for some live music before calling it a night.

On Monday, Beverly had to leave to go back to work so after a morning kayak in front of the house, the three of us decided to drive down to Port Aransas and check out Mustang Island. It started raining on the way and we were only able to stay a few minutes before security made everyone pack up and leave.

We grabbed some lunch then spent the rest of the day at the house. Conrad left the next day after lunch and I enjoyed an afternoon of souvenir shopping on our last day before Alex and I drove back to Dallas on Wednesday.

We returned to Puerto Plata around 11p on Friday night and had to be off the boat by 7a-8a on Saturday morning. Needless to say we did not get a lot of sleep as the journey back was much rougher than the journey there. We all said our goodbyes and while some people went straight to the airport, others were continuing on to other destinations in the DR. My flight home was not until 415p so I had a full day to explore the city. I booked Salvador Taxi who came highly recommended on Trip Advisor forums.

Salvador picked me up on time in a nice, air conditioned van but as soon as we exited the marina, it all went to hell. He asked me if I would mind if a couple joined us. Why yes, I would mind since I booked a private tour. He gave me some sob story that it was supposed to be his son's tour and his son's car broke down so he asked if we could help out by letting them come along with us. Ugh. I didn't want to be too difficult so I agreed. But I was not happy about it.

We picked the couple up at one of the all inclusive hotels. They were from Canada. They were older and one of them had an injured foot. This was not going to be fun for me.

We started off doing a little shopping as I wanted to hit a jewelry store or two as well as find some souvenirs and my usual Christmas ornament. It became apparent right away that they weren't very interested in this plan. I felt a little bad because I don't think they knew they were infringing on my private tour. I think Salvador booked a private tour with me and a non-private tour with them and gave me a nonsense story about it. Either way, they had to sit for about 30 minutes while I was in the jewelry store making up my mind.

The favor was somewhat returned I guess because they wanted to stop off at the cigar factory which I had no interest in. So I had to wait for them while they piddled around in there. This is why I booked a private tour.

We then walked over to Parque Central Independencia in the City Center. In true IG fashion, Salvador liked to take lots of posed pics.

They were setting up for a Carnival celebration.

We stopped off to visit St. Philip the Apostle Cathedral. This Roman Catholic Church was originally built in the 14th century but burned down during the Restoration War of 1863. It took them almost 100 years to finish the building that sits there now atop the ashes of the original structure.

We left the church and headed down the colorful road opposite.

We visited an amber "museum" which was basically a five minute walk-thru of some amber exhibits and then a store.

We took the obligatory tourist pictures on Umbrella Street and Pink Street.

Then I dragged them through a few more shops looking for a decent Christmas ornament. I finally found one and just in time as we also had to visit the pharmacy for my tour mates.

It was starting to get a bit warm so we decided to do a rum tasting at Macorix House of Rum. This was about a 15 minute tour of the 'factory" and then tasting 5-6 types of rum. At least it was air conditioned! I had not heard of this rum so I was surprised that it tasted as good as it did. I even bought a bottle to bring home.

By now it's getting close to 1p and I'm just over the whole situation. I'm annoyed that I have tour mates. I'm annoyed by Salvador's overly friendly, fake persona where he constantly calls me "his family." I'm kind of put off by the whole town. Everything there is to do is centered around the cruise ship and all inclusive industry and the whole day just cemented why I'm not a fan of either. It was one big tourist trap after another with everyone trying to sell you something. They were now talking about going a couple other places and I'm supposed to be heading to the airport. So he drops this poor couple off at an American fast food place while he takes me to the airport. I was so mad at him at this point that I'm barely being polite. We finally arrive at the airport and I can't get away fast enough. Almost so fast that I forgot to pay him and he had to ask me for the money. Now normally I would feel badly about that but not in this situation. I gave him what we agreed to but not a penny more as a tip.

I was so relieved to get away from him and relax at the airport which is crazy because nothing about the airport is relaxing. Once I arrived, practically the whole boat was there, including the boat captain. We all said our goodbyes again and I hung out with the New Mexico doctor for a bit before our flights and then flew back through Miami with no issues.