Hungary

Budapest

August 23-26th 2007

This picture was taken form the top of the Citadella. On the left is Buda, river Danube, then on the right is Pest. Budapest is a hidden wonder, I highly recommend visiting.

Day 1
I arrived in Budapest, without much sleep, but with all my luggage at around 1pm! I took a cab to the apartment that I was staying at (I found it on Craigslist, got really lucky that it was nice!). I took a shower and awaited Ivana's arrival. After she arrived, we ate at a small resturant down Ulloi Utc, with authentic Hungarian food, and then walked around the city. We saw at a distance almost every main monument along the Danube river, including the Karoly Korut, Nemzeti Muzeum, Dohany Synagogue, and Gellert. We went back to the apartment and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Day 2
Ivana and I woke up later than we wanted to! We walked around the city, staying on the Pest side. We wondered down Vaci Utca, which is like Newburry St. in Boston, or 5th Ave in New York! There are so many tourist along that street, we fit right in! We had Ice cream and drinks outside a famous restaurant on "new" Vaci street. We walked down Ulloi uta and went to the Holacoust Meusum, it was really nice but depressing. We ate a restaurant on Baross utca, I cannot remember the name, but it was excellent. I had boiled catfish with potato puffs, and Ivana had Gnocchi, both amazing! We went back to the apartment to wait for Ivana's Cousin and his friend. They arrived at like 1pm and they wanted to go out so we got dressed and walked around Budapest some more! At like 2:50am we went to eat at this restaurant that was just like Texas Roadhouse!!! With peanuts that you can throw on the ground but with Hungarian food!!





Day 3
Today we mainly stayed on the Buda side. We drove over to Castle Hill, parked and headed to Buda palace. For some reason, there happen to be a huge celebration taking place in the palace. We went were the crowed wasn't and took in the view. We had drinks at a small restaurant in the palace, then headed for the Citadella. On the way down to our car we stopped at a labyrinth, and we dared to discover the maze! It was amazing, dark, cold, and confusing!!! At the Citadella we had the most amazing view of Budapest, and after taking many photos we headed back to the apartment. There we showered, changed and headed out for our cruise along the Danube! I highly suggest you do that it was fun, and ours included campaign, and another beverage of your choice! After the Cruise we went to the Buda Bar, which is right along the river, opposite the Gellert baths, we had a lot of fun! Got home around 4am!!






Day 4
The last day in Budapest was probably the best. The weather was perfect! We drove around most of the day. We went to KFC for lunch, then we drove to Margit-szigt (Margret's Island) and spent an hour there. We then drove past the Opera House to Heroes square, were we spent a few hours. Alex (Ivana's friend) bought us balloons, and we made wishes, tied the balloons together and let our wishes fly! It was cute! We drove back to the apartment, and had dinner on Vaci Utca, at a small restaurant. My meal there was excellent, pancakes (dough!) with meat and sauce (similar to an enchilada)! Then we left to go to the Keleti Palyavdvar, where I validated my Eu rail pass and we drive around to kill time before my train departed. We saw the stadium, and Arena were the soccer team plays, then headed back to the train station. I boarded the train with Ivana, Vlada, Alex and a Porter's help!! Ivana and friends waited until the train was pulling away before they ran next to the train and then left!

BUDAPEST was 4 stars, but my time there with Ivana and Friends was a 10!

All the places and things we saw: Bazilika, Buapesti Torteneti Muzeum, Dohany Synagogue, Gellert Hegy, Hosok Tere, Karoly Korut, Magyar Allami Operahaz, Margit-sziget, Nemzeti Galeria, Nemzeti Muzeum, Parliament, Szechenyi Baths, Szechenyi Lanchid, Szepmuveszeti Mezeum, Varosliget, Vidam Park, Stadium and arena, Four Seasons Hotel, Nyugati Palyaudvar, Keleti Palyaudvar, and the Holocaust Museum.

Portugal

Porto

March 30, 2007

My sister and I did this Portugal trip in between Madrid and Barcelona.

Day 3
My sister and I flew in from Madrid to Porto, a small town on the north shore of Portugal. We stayed in a hostel called Pensao Estoril**, which was located right in the center of town. After dropping our stuff off, we went exploring. We walked down to where a tram was, got on it and let it take us to its end. When the end came we walked around some exploring the shore, however, since it was rainy we decided to head back early to the tram. We probably got on the wrong tram like 4 times before we got the right one to take us back to the hostel! After getting back we were kind of tired so we decided to call it an early night. I watched some American TV!!! So exciting!! Nina made a phone call, which ended up being a total disaster. The hostel was trying to charge her $30 for making the call. They yelled, we hid in our room, and made a hasty retreat the next morning to the train station!!!!

Lisbon

March 31-April 1 2007

Lisbon was probably my most favorite town, I could have actually stayed there and lived.

Day 4

My sister and I took a train from Porto to Lisbon. We slept most of the 2.5hrs, but I was a little worried about our luggage for a lot of the trip! When we arrived in Lisbon we were a little lost, but with some help we found the bus that would take us to our hostel Pensao Praca De Fiqueria***. Which was situated right in the middle of a famous area, we got lucky on that one! After our total loss and confusion of finding the hostel, we dropped our stuff off and ate in the square. Then walked up to Castelo Sao Jorge, and stayed there almost till sunset!! That night we ate at a cute little bistro just off the square.





Day 5

Today was one of the most amazing days of my life. I cannot tell you how amazing Lisbon is. We woke early and went to: Alfama, Belem to Torre De Belem, Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos, Museu De Arte Popular, Se de Lisboa, and Avenida Palace. We took trolleys, buses and walked almost everywhere around Lisbon. We had bought a one day bus and trolley pass unlimited, so we took advantage of it. We got lost a couple of times, which was the best thing that could have happened, because we saw many different sides of Lisbon. We made it down to the harbor, where there is a huge mall, and a suspended ride that goes along the coast. So fantastic! Later that night we headed back to our hostel and went to dinner. Bad Idea!! We ate at this restaurant that charged us for bread, butter and cheese that we did not ask for and they set on the table. My sister argued with them for like 30 min in Spanish, they threatened to call the police, so we paid in full and left! Wonderful trip!!

Lisbon is one of the most picturesque places I have ever been too. I fell in love with that wonderful place in only two days. I would suggest that trip to anyone, and would go back there in a second. I give it 5 stars.

Spain

Madrid

March 28-29

During this trip my sister and I went to Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Porto.

Day 1

Arrived in Madrid after a connection flight in Amsterdam. Nina (sister) met me in the airport and we took the metro to meet my friend John. We ate lunch at this little place (can't remember the name) by John's work. Then headed back to John's were I took a nap and watched bad Spanish Television!

Day 2

My sister and I woke up early and walked around Madrid for most of the morning into the afternoon. We went to: Mueso Del Prado, Parque Del Retrio, and Real Jardin Botanico. We ate in the Parque, Nina played the instruments with locals and we walked back home. It was really nice weather.

Barcelona

April 2-4th

Right before I went to Barcelona I read The Shadow of the Wind, and I suggest you do the same!

Day 6
We work up early from our hostel in Portugal and caught a flight to Barcelona. We took a bus to our "apartment" just off La Rambla. Two German girls were living in the apartment and they rented out the room on a per night basis. It was really nice, cute. We ate at a local restaurant and then watched TV.

Day 7
We ate breakfast at the apartment and then set out for the days events. We went to: Cathedral De Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia, and all the way to the top of Tibado, to the Amusement park and Cathedral. It was amazing, the weather was kind of crappy but we still had a good time in the rain! One our way back my sister and I stop at this theater and bought tickets for a Opera y Flamanco ($30 second row!) the next night.



Day 8
This was the day I had to myself. My sister went back to pick up her laptop in Mardrid (long story). I went to: Montjuic, Passeig De Gracias and saw Casa Battlo and La Perdera. It was all so amazing. I walked down La Rambla in a feble attempt to find the Barri Gothic Quarter. It is one of those places that doesn't have a distinct sign or indication that you found it!!! But eventually I realized that I had been walking through it the whole time. Later that night we ate out, we souvenir shopping, and went to see the Opera y Flamanco. I cannot even begin to explain how amazing that was. It was memorizing, fantastic, brilliant, and absolutely worth every minute!

Costa Rica

Costa Rica- March 2-11th 2007

San Jose, La Fortuna Arenal, Monteverde, Jaco, and Manuel Antonio National Park

Spring Break 2007 with Shannon, Chris, Brian, Reed, Larissa, Pat, and Myself!

Day 1
Arrived in Costa Rica from JFK airport on TACA airlines. Our shuttle was waiting for us when we arrived, and took us to our hostel Mi Casa*. We dropped off our bags and then went to eat at El RostiPollo. We went to bed early for an early departure to La Fortuna Arenal.

Day 2
We work up and took a 4 hour bus ride to La Fortuna Arenal. When we arrived at our hotel Arenal Rossi***, we dropped off our stuff and ate lunch at the hotel. We made our plans for the next day and then took a walk into town. We laid by the pool, and that night we went to the Baldi Hot Springs. It was amazing, we could see lava spewing from the Volcano. I would highly suggest going to Baldi Springs.

Day 3
Woke up early and went repelling down waterfalls. Reed couldn't come so he went walking through the rainforest on suspended bridges. The first waterfall we went down was about 250ft, the tallest and then 150, 90 and so on. There were about 5 waterfalls in all to repell down. It lasted 4 hours at about $85 including lunch!! Amazing deal!! After that we went back to the hostel for our trip to Monteverde on a Jeep-boat-Jeep ride. We had a crazy Jeep ride for about 1.5hrs to our hostel Casa Tranquillo***. We ate dinner, explored monteverde, and made plans for the next day.

Day 4
Had breakfest at the hostel and then went Ziplining.There were 11 zips in all and the tallest was about 20 stories high and half mile long. So, so awesome. After the ziplining we had dinner and played drinking games.

Day 5 We hired a private driver and drove to Jaco Beach. The drive was about 2 hours long and we saw some crocs along the way!! We arrived at our Hostel Kangaroo* at about noon. We put our stuff down and walked along the beach to town. Later that night I went horse back riding by myself, I wouldn't really suggest doing that at all alone!! But It was fun.

Day 6

We took a cab and went down to La Playa Hermosa Beach and stayed there most of the day.

Day 7 & 8
We rented a car and drove up to Manuel Antonio National Park. We saw monkies, lots of jungle and beautiful beaches. We stayed there most of the day. We drove back to San Jose to go home.

Costa Rica was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I actually did not want to leave. I give it 5 stars!