Farewell to Budapest, Hungary

After our full month of glorious travel, we returned to Budapest for our flight home. We got in at 6pm Saturday and our plane left on Monday morning. We needed to repack everything and say goodbye to Budapest, a city we had been to often and grown to love. Of all the European cities, it is the one we feel the most comfortable in. I’m sure the reason is that we know it the best. We know how to get around and feel safe here.

I did some last shopping for gifts despite the fact that our suitcases were straining. Tom returned our rental car. We had no one to say goodbye to at this point. We just needed to bid Hungary goodbye. We walked along the Danube at night and strolled the streets and squares one last time. But mainly we ate.

Yes, we made reservations at Bock Bistro for Saturday night. Although we had eaten often at Bock Bistro in Villanyi, we had never eaten at their new restaurant in Budapest; it was wonderful. The interior looks exactly like a French bistro, or I was reminded of New Orleans. Tile floors, wooden tables with white linen, shelves stocked with wine, and a man in the corner playing the accordion. Nothing overly formal. I was excited to be back to Hungarian wine and behaved accordingly.

Notice the clean platters and chewed over lamb bones. And the smile of contentment.

As if one night of gluttony wasn’t enough, we went for two. Our final night we returned to our favorite Budapest restaurant, Borsso Bistro, one we took all of our visitors to.

Tom and I sat outside on a warm evening and both ate monumentally good duck with Thai spring-roll ravioli and ginger mash potatoes. We just looked at one another in disbelief. How did we get to be so lucky?

We have had quite the journey through Central Europe and most of all Hungary, a country with a whole lotta soul.

Somehow the next morning we got all of our luggage to the airport and back to San Luis Obispo

And we are delighted to have returned to our family, friends, and our little Dilsey dog.