Goodbye AmaSerena

I sleep in as much as I can and we leave the room at 9:00 when we have to. I go the lounge for a quick breakfast and to wake up. The large bun is cheese and apricot served warm. It's an interesting combination.

10:00 am rolls around and I awake. We get in our cab and arrive at our hotel. I'm not expecting the rooms to be ready and they are not. We find out the market is closed today for Good Friday but it opens at 6:00 am tomorrow so we will get our paprika then. We drop our luggage and head out to sightsee. The "Shoes on the Danube" is a little over a mile from our hotel. The front desk tells us we can take the tram from the square a block away. We buy our tickets and hop on. I think we are supposed to validate these in a machine but no one who gets on does anything. We have to go down two bridges. We get off on the second stop which is before we need to. Oh well, a little more walking.

We eventually make it to the Parliament building but I will post pictures of that later as we are so close it's hard to get a good view of the building from here. We pass by another bride.

We head to the chain bridge so we can take funicular up the Buda Castle. There are lion sculptures on either side of the bridge. 

 Parliament building from the bridge.

There is a big line at the funicular but we decide to wait it out. It takes a little over 30 minutes but we finally find ourselves on top. It drops us by some colour guards.

 Aparna likes this crow with a ring. I'm sure there some story behind it.

By this time, I'm ready for lunch. We wander and try to get off the main streets to find a slightly less touristy place to eat. We pass a couple of places but nothing interesting like a sandwich shop. We see a crowded patio with umbrellas. That's usually a good sign.

Well so much for a less touristy place but we have never eat his food before so we try it.

We split a carbonara and a mushroom pizza. I really like the pasta but some may find it heavily seasoned and too al dente but it fine for me. The pizza is good but the crust is floppy. I think the plate below has trapped moisture and made the crust soft. It's cooked with a great color so that all I can think. Some places the crust holds up nicely. Even with 3 wines and service charge the bill is reasonable.

Matthias Church is just up the road so we head there. Ugh, it's Good Friday so the church is closed for tours. The tower is still open but the tour isn't until 4:00 pm and that's over an hour away. 

We decide to wander around up here and check out the views.

 Now you can see the whole Parliament building.

 Probably won't get an uncrowded picture like this in the summer time.

 Check out this sweet patio.

We decide not to do the tour we head back towards the funicular. There are some nice views from side as well.

As we head towards the funicular we hear the changing of the guard. We just catch the end of it.

We head down and go to our hotel. We pass and wine and coffee bar that is closed.

Who are they keeping out? Or what are they keeping in? We check in. After the ship, this room seems big. You can only get to the bed from the one side.

We take a quick nap then head out. There is a big shopping street a block away. Surprise! Another church. 

It's a nice street that has several sections that are pedestrian only. We see a KFC, so we pop in to see if the chicken looks like it did on the ship. It's hard to tell but I think it's normal KFC.

As we wander down, we find a spring market with live music.

My friend after passing several stalls breaks down and finally buys a potato cake. I think he's been craving one since Prague. It's huge and very garlicky. It's the way he likes it.

There are a lot food vendors here. It looks like a paella dish but it's roast pork, ham, and onions. Another potato cake vendor but these are deep fried. I can't convince my buddy to get another one.

 Salmon and pretzels.

I don't think I can bring back horse meat sausage.

We finally get a chimney cake. Sorry the picture isn't better. It's rolled in sugar and in this case cinnamon. It's what you expect. Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. I can't imagine getting one filled with chocolate and ice cream. 

We decide to get off the main street and find a place to grab a drink. We find a British pub with a guy playing guitar. The place isn't terribly busy and we find a table in the back where it is quieter and we can talk. The beers all come in their glass with matching coasters.

The bartender/manager asks where we are from. We say Seattle. He says he a Seahawks fan. I'm sure he's just trying to be friendly. After a while, we notice this sign on the wall.

Oh, maybe he's not kidding. Apparently everyone else has left the bar but us. The guitar player gets us to move to the front so he can play for us. I need to snack more. Drinking on an empty stomach isn't good for me. We order some chips.

I'm not sure how the conversation picked up again but this bartender is going to get married soon. He's going to Hawaii and stopping for a Seahawk game on the way back. He's also been to a Seahawk/Colts game. Then the ultimate happens.

Apparently his fiancée did the artwork for the tattoo! That's a serious fan. I'm happily buzzed and more tired than hungry so I call it a night. Plus, I have to go to the market at 6:00 am.