Saturday 27, Sunday 28, Monday 29, Tuesday 30 April 2024

Roger is waiting for us on the pavement when our taxi pulls up from the boat on Saturday morning. He lives on the Champs Elysees of Budapest, a short stroll from the Opera House. His apartment is superb, and of course beautifully designed by this world admired, Tony Award winning designer.

The weather is just glorious and we waste no time getting out and about. Roger takes us on the underground train to a square and then leaves us to our own devices. The underground here is the second oldest in the world, next only to London, and the wonderful thing is that all public transport is free for people over 65. Just carry ID to prove date of birth and you can move around the city freely, literally. Both Cherrie and I are insulted when we are not asked for our ID.

First stop, first of many beautiful wide open spaces, is Heroes Square, with the National Gallery to one side

We determine to return here to the Gallery either on Tuesday and walk over to the adjoining City Park

Which is seething with families and frivolity. This fellow was playing I’d Rather Have a Hammer Than a Nail. Of course he was

And then found ourselves in the middle of an enormous fete, or fair. Not sure the difference. Let’s call it the Fair of Disaster Management

Uncharacteristically, we managed to get through without a disaster, and found the Museum of Ethnography

An amazing building which curves out of the ground. We climbed to the top

And admired the views

We walked back to Roger’s, admiring the amazing architecture of this beautiful city

Roger had made a dinner booking at a local restaurant and we enjoyed shared plates and a lovely local wine. Followed by a cocktail opposite the Opera House

On Sunday we headed off early to explore the local area.

All the buildings in this beautiful city are spectacular

Just like my mother, I’ll chat to anyone who’ll listen

And as we walked past the theatre, renowned for Shakespeare, we found this statue. The photos are not as clear as I’d like, but the skull is holding the head. Alas poor Hamlet, I knew him

There are lots of statues in this beautiful city

Today we take Roger to lunch by the Danube. Both Cherrie and I feel we are coming down with colds, so rather than the long post lunch walk we had planned, we return to the apartment to rest.

That part of the blog was written on Sunday. Since then I have developed bronchitis and Cherrie a razor blade throat. We did half a day on Monday, I was in bed all day Tuesday and on Wednesday we flew to Istanbul, where we have rested far too much. Still not great, but soldiering on. Fortunately, I had bought antibiotics with me.

Here follow photos of Budapest. No commentary, sorry.

The only real explanation need to be the bathroom atomiser. Back in the ‘90s Roger designed sets and costumes for a wonderful Australian musical by the late, great Nick Enright and Terence Clarke called SUMMER RAIN.

We did fit in a tour of the splendid Opera House

We flew out of Budapest on Wednesday morning. But, we’ll be back. We missed too much and there is so much to see. And our world renowned, Tony Award winning, designer friend says we are welcome!

Next stop, Istanbul