30 September - Budapest

Last night was our last night on the Monarch Baroness. Lots of festivities and farewells and speeches and a Captain's cocktail party. After a two week stint sailing and touring with a group of people it is a bit nostalgic to be finally saying goodbye and all going our own way. We were treated to a local operetta company performing some great operetta pieces for us and then it was time to retire for our final night on board. I briefly went on deck to admire a night time view of this incredible city and to snap this photo.

I must say the shipping line had arranged things beautifully. We had to vacate our cabins at 8:30 and leave our bags outside the cabin doors with our name and our intended departure time. The ship's receptionist handled all the taxis and transfers. After breakfast we killed some time in the lounge, and right on our nominated departure time of 10:30 we are called and our taxi driver was in the foyer waiting to take us to our mini van. A couple of burly seamen to help with the luggage and we were soon on our way. Shortly after a bit of confusion (Hungarian is quite difficult to read) we arrived at our destination, a beautiful apartment with two bedrooms and bathrooms to share. Our accommodation is 5 star. Went for a walk this afternoon through the popular shopping areas before sitting down for coffees/beers just outside our accommodation. A couple of hours ( and a couple of gin and tonics) later we were ready to find somewhere to eat dinner and found a very cosy looking Hungarian restaurant right on our front door. A signature dish here is beef goulash, a wonderfully rich beef stew and it went down well with a bottle of the excellent local red wine. A great meal and a wonderful memory. Altogether another fruitful and tiring day and tonight we are having an early night to prepare for another big day tomorrow.