Our last day in Vienna! Today we began by taking a quick peek at Naschmarket, a pleasant food market that happens to be just two blocks from our hotel. It's located in one long strip of pavement between rows of houses, so you can enter from one end of the street and just make your… Continue reading Naschmarkt, Schönbrunn Gardens, Spittelberg
Year: 2014
The History Museum, Albertina, Neubau
The culture is coming out of my ears! Today, for the very first time these holidays, the weather was cold and rainy, so we took refuge in the History Museum, which is located in the same building as the Nationalbibliothek and the Ethnographic Museum (now called the Weld Museum). The building itself is grandiose and… Continue reading The History Museum, Albertina, Neubau
Leopold Museum, Nationalbibliothek, Prater
I'm exhausted! This was just our first full day in Vienna and it already feels like we've done three tours of the city. After so many days of walking, I get tired sooner every day...For our first visit today we went to the Museumsquartier, a complex off Heldenplatz that houses several museums and galleries. We… Continue reading Leopold Museum, Nationalbibliothek, Prater
Arriving in Vienna
Last night we bid farewell to Budapest in style, by having dinne at the New York Café, this gorgeous classical café where everything is gilded and basically just exactly the same as it was back when it was the meeting point of Budapest's literary elite. They even had a pianist at the hotel lobby that… Continue reading Arriving in Vienna
The Synagogue, Vajdahunyad Castle, the Opera
Today's our last day in Budapest, and as such we spent most of the time tying up loose ends and checking items off our to-do list.Our first stop was the Great Synagogue, apparently the second biggest in the world (after New York's), a short walk away from our hotel. As luck would have it, we… Continue reading The Synagogue, Vajdahunyad Castle, the Opera
The train station, St Stephen’s, The Parliament
Okay, so very quickly: last night we discovered this little gem called Ladó Café, a small restaurant right next door to the hotel with live jazz music every night. We had a great dinner for 10€ each and the singer was great.Today our first item on the agenda was to book our train tickets to… Continue reading The train station, St Stephen’s, The Parliament
Buda Castle, the Danube
Here we go! Today the plan was to start from the top and visit Buda Castle! But only after a magnificent breakfast at the hotel, which offers a full breakfast buffet, a bit of a rarity nowadays.We began by taking the metro, which is cleaner and looks newer than many Paris Metro's trains and stations,… Continue reading Buda Castle, the Danube
Arriving in Budapest
It's travel time again! This time I'm taking up the blog again sooner than expected. I'm going to spend the week seeing Budapest and Vienna!It's strike season in France, so getting from Versailles to Charles de Gaulle airport took over two and a half hours -longer than getting from Paris to Budapest. Trains to Paris… Continue reading Arriving in Budapest
The Archaeology Museum, Üsküdar
My last day in Istanbul was a day for tying up loose ends. I had already visited all the "greatest hits" on my list, so to speak, and looking at what else to do there were four options: the Museum of Islamic Arts, the Kariye Museum, the Archaeology Museum and a visit to Üsküdar.The Museum… Continue reading The Archaeology Museum, Üsküdar
Dolmabahçe, Istiklal, Galata
My entire stay so far had been confined to the same landmass, so today it was time for a change! I hopped on the tram and crossed the Golden Horn, via the Galata Bridge, up to the district of Beyoglu, the modern, cool quarter of Istanbul.But first I went to the palace of Dolmabahçe, which… Continue reading Dolmabahçe, Istiklal, Galata