A unique view of wales, and how to avoid them in the sea.

It has just occurred to me that I have not written an update in a very long time!

Well after Budapest I have been swamped with work, and spent about 15 hours in the library in the past 4 days!!

Anyway the first weekend of Easter break I went on a horse riding holiday with the Riding Club at Southampton University. It was absolutely amazing-- beyond words. We stayed at a B&B at Cwmfforest Riding Center, Trans Wales Trails, in Breacon. We got there and had an amazing roast dinner and a lemon pot for dessert, and chatted with the owner about ourselves so he had an idea of which horses to give us.

Next morning woke up to the lovely sound of Wales in Spring time i.e. baby lambs. Got geared up, went to eat breakfast and then to get our horses. My horse was names Jonah and he was a black cob with a strip on his face-- was adorable and a very easy ride! Here are some pictures:

We did about 20 miles on horseback with pub lunches every day. It was absolutely amazing. I wish the pictures did this trip justice.  On the last day we jumped over these ditches which looked a lot bigger when you were in them than they did from a distance!! It would have been a lot of fun if I could have felt my legs, because at that point we had done 8 miles and I could no longer feel my knees so was basically gripping to Jonah's mane and holding on for dear life so I did not end up in the mud. I cannot express how amazing this trip and scenery was-- I am tempted to go back in the summer-- though it is not quite in my budget. 

This past week I had a week lone "field course" that basically involved becoming certified for First aid and CPR and Sea survival. Essentially how to avoid death via hypothermia, sharks, debris, when your shipwrecked or floating in the sea. I also got to drive a RIB and to be honest I drove that boat like a pro! I really enjoyed it and this course got me really excited to spend the rest of my life at sea! 

Also my friend Sam is backpacking her way through Europe raising awareness for awful wasteful practice of Shark finning  and asking for donations for the Rob Stewart Foundation. Please check it out and if able to-- any size donation will be greatly appreciated!! (Even if it is just $1!)
SAVE THE SHARKS CLICK HERE

It is going to be a fabulous blog!

Sara

Budapest: The Final Chapter

I guess I should finish my posts on Budapest before I go to Wales this afternoon.


On our final day of traveling in this amazing city we decided to take a more "relaxing approach." And by that, I mean it was a full day of going back and forth across many trams, undergrounds, buses and rivers in order to finish everything we wanted to do. We started the day stopping at a little stand for some breakfast and ordered two things that we had no idea what they were or how they were going to turn out. George ended up with a french pizza like thing with some bacon or ham in it. And I ended up with a very heavy piece of bread with bacon, onions, potato, and sour cream and possibly some other things that I have no idea what they were-- but it was delicious!!
    We wanted to go to "the island" for sake of a better name; oh well I guess a better name is what it is called "Margaret Island" and for my father's information, since I know he will be anxious to go look it up, is where the Dominican Convent once stood. Margaret, daughter of Bela IV of Hungary, lived at the convent. The ruins are quite spectacular though I wonder what it would have been like if it was still standing. While walking around the island a small creature took my attention for about 20 minutes. The allusive red squirrel! Which looked like a miniature fox. I was WAY too excited about this and left George with Flat Stanley next to a statue somewhere in the park to go chase after this squirrel. I have yet to see one in England but seeing one in Budapest kinda made my day!

The island is made up of a few hotels, a water park, pool, and many many many parks and statues etc. And again to my animal lover's delight a little ZOO! There were tons of birds, a few peacocks which all displayed their gorgeous feathers. Some deer like creatures and little horses. I wanted to play with them but George wouldn't let me-- probably for the best. 

We then made our way to the Funicular Railway which George had been so eager to ride. We somehow navigated our way there via numerous Mickey D trips to use their Wi-Fi to orientate ourselves. George proceeded to tell me all about cogwheel rails and how they are used to climb up mountains and hills that are too steep for normal rail. The wheels are cut like gears and match one of the rails, so the wheels fit in to the cuts in the rail and then is able to pull the tram/ train up the mountain. I hope that explained it well enough. All I know is that we were on the tram for about 20 minutes going up hill-- George trying to contain his little boy excitement :-D. When we got to the top there was a very overpriced restaurant and a few over-looks of Budapest which were not able to find too easily. But the most exciting part of the top was finding FUNNEL CAKE. And no, not the kind you get at fairs or carnivals that are deep fried and covered in powdered sugar. It is is cinnamon sweet dough wrapped around a wooden stick and rotated over coals for a while. It ends up (pictured below) in a literal funnel shape. It was absolutely DELICIOUS! Sugary and crispy on the outside and soft and cinnamony on the inside. PERFECT snack/ pick-me-up on a cold day. 

We walked by heros square while trying to find somewhere to eat. We went back down far far away from the Turkish thermal baths that we were planning on going to that evening. We found this nice little restaurant on the iPad app and decided to try it. There ended up being another couple who were American. We were sitting at different tables but they were next to each other, and the woman started asking us questions since she heard us speak English. We ended up talking with them the WHOLE evening, they were from Virginia near D.C. which was really cool. And they were just really awesome to chat with and hear about American life for a while. She did a really good Sarah Palin impression and decided that, *pardon my French,* the Brit's insistence for calling it "Fillet Mignon" (Rather than filet) was because they hated the French but did not want to look like idiots so they were really saying "Fuck-you-Mignon" Which frankly, I thought was hilarious. We eventually had to leave their company to head back to the baths. 

 The baths were absolutely amazing. The outside temperature was quite chilling at that time of night but we suited up and joined the crowds of night bathers. There were lots of tourists as well as the local Hungarian people who just wanted a relaxing Sunday evening. I must say soaking in those waters was the absolute perfect end to a very tiring and exciting trip. Relieved all my foot and back pains from carrying bags and walking up lots and lots of stairs. I highly recommend doing the baths on the last day you are in Budapest because it will just be the cherry on top of a perfect trip!

Next morning got on our flight to head back to the UK, at the pleasant  time of 5AM. 

I am off to Wales for a Horse back riding Holiday! So keep posted in the next couple weeks about that trip!!!

Sara

Budapest: Day 2- Flat Stanley comes out to play.

. . . The next day it was time to travel like the 21st century adults that we are; with an iPad. This made getting around a million times easier because anytime we got ourselves sufficiently lost (which happened quite often) we were always able to find a wi-fi spot or use his "Budapest City" App, to get ourselves back on track.

My main goal was to get to the Great Synagogue, which is one of the most impressive, and largest synagogues in Europe and was constructed in 1859. George and I spotted some domes and towers over the skyline and determined that was the way to go. When we arrived there was a large plaza with an even larger building which was absolutely amazing. However, on closer inspection i decided to tell George that there was "way too much Jesus" on the building to be a synagogue. So we popped in to the nearest "California Coffee Co." and looked up what the huge church was.

It was St. Stephen's Basilica-- which they claim to hold a relic of his mummified hand. Stephen was the First King of Hungary. This is probably the most beautiful church I have ever been in. It is incredibly different than the Gothic style churches of France and England. For one, the inside was completely constructed of marble and granite-- or other polished stones as opposed to the rough stones that Gothic is made up of. Anyway-- it is definitely a MUST see when ever you make it to Budapest. But thus, my search for the equally impressive Dohany Street Synagogue continued. 

I guess it is about time that I introduce you to my new travelling partner. Flat Stanley who is an Alien. 

As a school project for a friend of mine's son, we were instructed to take Stanley around and photograph him with landmarks. 

When we finally found the way to the synagogue, through the Jewish Quarter-- which I assume looked shut because it was Shabbat. I was immediately in awe of the building it was absolutely gorgeous, and all I wanted to do was go to services there-- but we were a little late to get to morning service-- and because it was Shabbat entrance was shut to the temple so I was very disappointed. None-the-less, the outside of it was gorgeous enough to satisfy me. Its size is only second in the world to Temple Emanuel in New York. 

As we were up ridiculously early to get a start on the day, we got a lot of stuff done, and after we saw the temple and wandered around the area, it was time to again cross the bridge into Buda and make our way up the "Funicular Rail" on to Castle Hill-- or so we thought. We made it to the foot of Castle Hill and went to the Funicular rail-- which was a fake cogwheel rail which made george very upset. Not only that but they charged an arm and a leg for a 2 minute journey up the hill-- we decided to walk. It was a VERY long walk up lots and lot and lots of stairs-- on a very empty stomach. Though I complained (again) I do not regret it a single bit because the view on the way up was spectacular.

On the hill there were lots of little stands selling overpriced touristy things which did not seem to interest me too much. Especially when there was a palace to explore, as well as an entire town on the hill! We went into the Castle to warm up and relax. It is now inhabited by many museums. We took a walk to the town and went to Matthais Church which again was a very beautiful church. 

But by this time of the day we were absolutely starving so going for a walk around inside was not on highest priority. We hopped a bus back down the hill and went to walk about the Parliament Building. One thing about Budapest is their absolutely fantastically ornate architecture-- such as all the buildings I have described thus far and Parliament.

Now was time for the real fun. Eating authentic Hungarian lunch. George read up on this local place that is tucked away and very small. Portions were huge and prices were small and taste was -- to be a little cheesy-- out of this world. I had Chicken Goulash-- not the stew version, but on a bed of potato noodles. Oh-my-gosh it was heaven. It was true, hungarian, home-cooking. The waitress did not even speak English.
I believe after that lunch we went back to the Hotel and crashed-- all those stairs are very tiring. We decided to go out that night for a nice drink and some dessert. We read about this artsy little cafe with funky furniture and decided that was the place for us. We got there and decided we were not hungry for dinner, so just decided to order a slice of cake-- the waiter was definitely NOT pleased and said he could only offer the table for 10 minutes because it was a Saturday night and they were busy-- there were plenty of tables open and it was not a fine dining establishment.
So we were planning on getting a quick 15 minute bite and then going to the bar we went to last night for drinks. However, 10 minutes became 30 minutes, became almost 45minutes to get our food, eat, pay, etc. And literally two seconds after we got our change and were getting up to leave another waitress comes up and begs for the table (How rude!). Anyway, because they took so long to let us pay we were no longer able to get drinks after because we would not make in time to get back on the metro and tram to our hotel. Overall disappointed with that particular cafe-- though their food looked very good.

Hope this is not too much to read! Tomorrow is the finale of my ventures in Budapest!
Sara

Budapest: Day 1- The Great Journey

Hi Everyone,

This is my first official post for Budapest! As stated below at 8am in the morning Gatwick Airport Duty Free shops were giving out free alcohol-- such typical England behaviour. The flight was a grand 1 hour and 35 minutes, ironically the same amount of time it takes me to train from Southampton to London.

First thing out of the Airport is to take out some cash and buy a 3 day unlimited travel card. which cost approximately 3,350 HUF (Forints). The Exchange rate is about 200:1 in Dollars and 350:1 in £s. This ended up being a great investment since we used the buses, trams, and metros consistently!! Their public transportation is incredibly efficient-- even if it hasn't been updated since the Soviet Era.

We finally made it to our hotel after getting lost on the tram system a few times. We developed a general plan of getting into the City and just doing-- old school. Meaning we only used paper maps and did not bring the iPad with us.  We walked around looking at the cool suspension bridges and the chain bridges. Ate really cheap food for lunch. Walked through a park and found an awesome tree with random Michael Jackson pictures and poetry and letters with candle memorials around it.

We then walked down to the Bridges and the river front and George geeked out at figuring out why it is called the Chain Bridge. Apparently it has something to do with chainlinks on a bike :-D. But the city of Pest and Buda from either side of the river is absolutely gorgeous-- even in cloudy weather! 

Then we found this awesome hill called Gellert Hill. Which has something to do with a saint. We had a hard time figuring out what everything was since hungarian is not the easiest language to read or understand. (Though by the end of the trip we definitely picked some up!) Anyway so this hill side had all these stairs going UP. (Well duh) -- but I mean really really up. So of course we had to climb them to get to the cool statue at the top. (And of course I complained about all the stairs! ). 

One thing I noticed about Budapest is all the graffiti. I am usually a graffiti pro-ponent, however the fact that people vandalized such beautiful architecture just made me sad. That being said, the city overall felt very safe to me (besides of course pick-pockets that you get in every city). Walking around at night, even in sketchier areas, I did not feel in any danger-- and I noticed that there were lots of young women walking alone at night as well. 

Anyway, back to my point. The view point from "the top"-- we were really only half way-- was absolutely spectacular! 

So as it was getting late and we were getting hungry it was time to venture out to find some classic hungarian cuisine. Let me just say: We failed. The area we decided to go to was aparently the only place in Hungary that was not lined with restaurants. We ended up sitting in a little cafe, ordered .5L of beer-- Local of course for under a £. And it was very good!!!. We then asked the owner if he would mind if we walked up the street, got a gyro and came back to order more beer. Which we then did. And then we got a slice of what I thought was going to be chocolate cake-- it wasn't. Still have no idea what was in it but it was delicious!

Overall first AMAZING day!!

Sorry if it droned on a bit. But there are TWO more days of blogging to come! So keep your eye on it.

(Almost 500 views!! Thank you so much for reading my blog!)

Sara

Hungary? Why yes, I am!

Started my day with a shot of free vodka at the airport at 8am this morning, finished with a pint of 1£ beer. This tripq is already at a great start!!

Day at the Races! with pictures

Hi everyone.

I had one of the most amazing days yesterday. George's parents took us to .... Garthorpe-- The Melton Hunt Club.

The place was filled of hundreds of people, dogs, and 43 horses, for a good ol'fashion "point to point." It was really good fun! On the second race, George and I placed a small bet on two different horses. We should have bet to place not to win because one of them came in third :( . A common feature in a steeplechase is horses or riders falling over the jumps. So as expected one of the horses threw off the rider and no one thought much of it. In fact the announcer got a lot of enjoyment from making fun of the fact that after the rider was off, the horse still ran the race. Not only ran it, but jumped the jumps, at one point jumping in front of all the other horses, and then almost winning the race, entirely without a rider. 

   One of my goals while I was here was to go to a fancy hat horse race, or really just a race in general. So that has been almost completed-- as there were no fancy hats yesterday! I must admit there was nothing I wanted to do more than jump on one of those horses and race with the other numerous woman jockeys. (Which was something I was not used to, jockeys that weighed over 95lbs and were over 5' tall, in addition to being on quite small horses-- 15 hands mostly, I would say. But the ground was not very level so I could be mistaken!) Also the race was VERY long!! It was over 2 miles, possibly closer to 3. 

Weather seems to be behaving itself ;) 

Update more later ! 

Sara

Surprise pt deux: Bubbles, Tinkerbell, and the Tube

Hi everyone!

        So I never made it to Oxford the other day, but I definitely plan on going while I am here.
The girls in Riding Club are all really nice and had a great time eating really good chinese food which I was absolutely CRAVING.
       Wednesday Night the girls and I went to the University run "I <3 College" Foam party night at "The Cube" One of the many bars ON CAMPUS. It is half dance club half American Frat Party themed ...club, with beer pong and sorts. We started chatting to the American Football team who were playing beer pong, and they were all very nice. I got into an argument over Redskins vs. Eagles.... Of course I WON. Because being a home team kinda girl... and American... I just win. They all decided to head to another club downtown but we were not thinking of paying for entry to another club so we stayed. We headed to the dance floor which was covered in foam!! My favourite!

Before

After

So we then had to walk back sopping wet in the freezing cold! I don't know how we did it. 

I then decided to come up to George's Parents house for the weekend to get him back for last weekend. He had absolutely NO idea that I was heading up here and I must say was quite a successful surprise :-D

It was Fabulous! Anywhere that is where I am now, andddd over and out!

Much love,
Sara