Well we started out our second and last full day in Budapest. We both have been
so exhausted from all the traveling that we slept in pretty late around 10:30am.

We didn't have much planned for the day. Only to go to the spring baths and
then to dinner and walk around and see the city lite up at night. So our late
start really wasn't a big deal at all.

The most annoying part of traveling in Budapest is that there are only three
metro lines, and none of them meet. They are actually all parallel to each
other. But there are buses and trams that connect them above ground, however
when you buy a transportation ticket it is only good for either the metro, the
tram or the bus. So unless you are are at the exact metro spot you will have to
buy multiple tickets. So Meredith and I decided that we would walk to the metro
and then take the metro to the spa baths.

Since we were in a rush yesterday getting on the bus and making sure we were at
the right stop we never validated those tickets. So we were planning on using
them for the metro. However our plan didn't really work out when Meredith and I
entered the wrong metro and validated our cards only to realize we were still a
block away from the metro line we wanted. And like I said before there is no
connections underground :(

So that was a waste, usually in a city if you get on the wrong metro you can
just transfer to the correct one. But no ... not in Budapest. So we cut our
losses and headed to the correct metro line. On our way we started see all the
coffee shops and I could no longer resist :) So Meredith and I went to Coffee
Heaven where I got an Americano (espresso and hot water) and a blueberry muffin,
and Meredith got a salad (not the most typical cafe food) ...

Then we headed out, found the correct metro station and made it to the Spas.
When we read about the spas there were a lot of different options of things to
do like mud baths and hot springs and steam rooms. We were really interested in
doing the mud packing, but when we asked the ticket people they acted like they
had no idea what we were talking about even though it was listed right on the
board! Haha, but whatever. We just bought the weekend springs ticket with a
locker.

All of the lockers were in use when we first got there so we had to wait about
10 minutes. After we got in to the changing rooms we got our lockers and tried
to figure out what way to the pools. Meredith and I honestly walked around the
locker rooms at least three times, and eventually we found them. It honestly
reminded me of the old Roman pools in Rome. There were lots of rooms and the
pools were small and labeled by temperature. The pools are typical pools, but
(we believe) they hold the natural spring water. We sat in the pools (more like
giant hot tubs) for a while and then we decided to try out the sauna :)

The saunas were definitely my favorite part, and after the first sauna we tried
out the steam room. I also really like the steam room because it had like a
eucalyptus aroma to it. And boy did you sweat! I honestly looked like I had ran
about 400 miles, but it was actually really relaxing.

We alternated between the different pools and the steam room for the next hour
or so. And then we decided to venture into the other rooms. In one room we
found a whirl pool! And not like a hot tub with jets, but an actual whirl pool
that you made when you were little in pools. Everyone was running around in a
circle ... So of course Meredith and I had to join in, and there was actually a
really strong current especially around the corners!

Then the next corner we went around opened up to nothing other than HUGE outside
pools. Meredith especially has been dying to go swimming and it has been so hot
out lately we had been tempted to just jump into the rivers. The pools were
beautiful and not really that packed. We went to the center pool, which was warm
but definitely not heated. It was about 6 feet deep but with stairs on all
sides to sit on. We swam a little but then just opted to lay out in the water
on the stairs.

It was absolutely fantastic.

We then decided to go into one of the side pools (a little smaller and
shallower) thinking that it would be warmer due to the depth. And to our
liking, the pool felt like a hot tub. It was great and we hung around in there
for a while as well.

We eventually had to leave the pools, so we showered off and then laid out for
20 minutes to let our bathing suits dry. We jumped on the metro and started
walking back to our hostel. It was around 4pm now, and we hadn't had anything
to eat other than the muffin and salad. So we decided to stop at a Subway on
our way back (yes, how typical American of us) ... But we have been eating so
much pizza and heavy foods that it felt so nice to have vegetables!

The markets are also closed on Sundays, so that is why we had to eat out versus
making our own sandwiches.

We got back to the hostel, and were exhausted. We have been doing so much
walking and then sun drains you. So we decided to catch up on our Chuck :) The
whole season is downloaded now (finally) ... and it is a great way to relax.
Even though both of us have been slacking on our blogs and journaling.

Well bottom line we watched about 3 episodes of Chuck. I know it might seems
like we are wasting our limited time in Budapest watching shows. But Meredith
and I have been on the go so much, that without our relaxing breaks it makes
traveling miserable and more of a chore than a pleasure.

We also helped ourselves to some Nutella, which has become a new favorite :)

Andrew (the hostel owner) had left in the afternoon to go home, and we were
unsure about how to get to the Goolash resturant. And since I couldn't eat
Goodlah anyways we opted out of dinner. And just walked around the river to see
everything lite up. It was absolutely beautiful.

It was hard to get good pictures at night. Because using flash shadows
everything, but when flash is turned off the shutter is so slow that any
movement causes the picture to blur. I definitely needed a tri-pod. The next
time I travel I think I will bring a beanbag or something to serve as a
make-shift tri-pod.

Oh I also need to say that I downloaded the last two episodes of Glee that I
have missed since being overseas! And to my fellow Gleeks I must say that I
loved that they finished on a Journey Mash but I was a little disappointed too.
I thought they did a better show at sectionals :)

Okay, well tomorrow we are hoping to get to Margret Island and then on an
afternoon train to Vienna!

-brooke.