All posts tagged: europe

Yamas!

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My last day in Athens was sadly spent solo, and what remained was to hit up the rest of the tourist sights and do everything left on the list. First up, however, was to get a couple of boxes of that amazing baklava from our first full day. Gesturing again like a mad woman inside the pan-pastry bakery, speaking in English slowly but receiving only Greek replies, I left with about a kilogram of sugary treats in my bag and probably a couple of cavities in my teeth. I attempted to wait for the sun to creep our behind the thick white clouds, the weather having dramatically changed toward the end of the holiday, so I found a nearby cafe and sat outside with an iced coffee and a few pieces of ice-cream baklava. The Chelsea Hotel was the cafe I visited, located just opposite the bakery on a street corner. Inside, there’s a bar, serving up hot drinks in the day and cocktails in the evening, being clearly a great hit with local young …

Second Day, Part 1 ~ Wes Anderson’s Day Out

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After sleepy syrup filled breakfast, we travelled across the river early in the morning to a foggy Buda. Traffic lights peeked through the mist, yellow trams zoomed into view and the majestic Gellért hotel stood defiantly in the white smoke. Located right next to Gellért hill, overlooking the Danube on the riverside, Hotel Gellért rose to life in 1916, animated by it’s Art Nouveau style and it’s where Wes Anderson stayed and was inspired to create ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’. And if you’re familiar with Anderson’s fictional structure, you can spot the resemblance from miles away. It’s not difficult to see why Anderson was so taken by the hotel; Gellért boasts high glass cupolas and wrought iron decorations, its coloured peaks elegant and attractive from even across the river. Inside, pillars and arches bow above you, artistic mosaics and intricate stain-glass windows ornately decorating the floors and walls. And for any visitor, a trip to Gellért’s thermal baths is compulsory. Known to help cure various illnesses and diseases, the thermal baths are like bathing in …

Moodapest

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When snow turns to slush, it’s a sad sad day. The drizzly weather and dark grey fog overcast Budapest, the misery of the dirty snow, turned icy mess, proliferated. We spent the afternoon walking from Corvin to the Great Market Hall, winding up and down roads and alleys, arriving at a wall of fog at Liberty bridge; the white clouds engulfed the bridge, leaving just a little in sight for cars and trams to drive on to. Still unfamiliar with the city, it was impossible to tell where we were from looking out across the river – there was nothing to be seen, just a wall of white swallowing the landscape. My hair dampened as I took photos, walking up and down the river around the bridge entrance to catch the light of Budapest’s yellow trams snaking through the fog. Clearly, about thirty others had the same idea, photographers and iPhone-bearers swarming around the area promptly. Night began to fall and the spookiness of the fog grew, and we dawdled away down to Vaci street …