COLOURFULWORLD

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Last day in Budapest - Dubai - Perth - day 16 and 17

After sleeping for about 6 hours without being interrupted by coughing, I woke up feeling a little better. 
Friday 13th of April, was our last day in Budapest, and we got busy packing our bags.
By 10am we left our luggage at the reception of the Avantegarde Apartments, and walked a couple of blocks to join the family for a late breakfast.
My daughter had bought some more anti-histamine and gave me a few tablets and I took another one with breakfast as they had helped with the cough the previous night. I certainly didn't want to be coughing during my flight to Dubai and then the long flight to Perth, so during one of the flights when I started coughing again I took another tablet and it helped!

Blue Bird Cafe - right next to the Sissy mural

The family sat around chatting , until it was time to return to the apartment and collect our 
bags from Reception.
We waited in front of the building for a short while and soon the Taxi that we ordered for 12,30 pm was there to pick us up, and we bade farewell to the family.
The ride to the airport took about 30 min, and after we checked-in, my husband went to the Lost and Found department in another part of the Airport to collect his Tablet.

When we had arrived from Lisbon a few days before Jose had left his tablet on the plane, in the compartment in front of his seat, and only realized it the next day when he wanted to use it!
Our very enterprising daughter called the airline who said they weren't aware of it but that she could call the Lost and Found office. They suggested she send an email with all details of the tablet and after a while they replied that it was there and she could collect it with identification. 
As she was the one corresponding with them, she then had to write a note to her Dad to allow him to be given his own tablet. But it all worked out and I'm sure he will pay more attention in future 😉.

Our flight only departed at 4pm and we still had plenty of time in the departure lounge and decided we should spend our last Forints (Hungarian currency) buying a coffee for Jose, a juice for myself and a packet of crisps. 

We really enjoyed our visit to Budapest and I leave you with a few more photos from the city:

Just a block or two from our apartment was the Kazinczy street Orthodox Synagogue, with the Art Nouveau facade. Because it's in the middle of a narrow street you can't take a photo that encompasses the whole building.


Some of the beautiful buildings around the city.

























My obsession with unusual doors and windows meant I took lots of photos of these around Budapest!  I also have lots of them from Lisbon...











 Quirky stuff:
Top left - One evening on our way to a restaurant I noticed this plain looking building  that faced a park, and had one single balcony and this gentleman was enjoying a meal outdoors. I thought it was quite funny.
Top right - My generation and older will remember the LP's. I saw this LP sculpture outside a music store.
Bottom leftIn many parts of the city I saw pigeon feeders - I wonder if they have special "anti-conceptional" feed? 
Many years ago pigeons were a pest in Lisbon and the only way to control them was for the Lisbon Council to feed pigeons with a special feed so they wouldn't procreate as much. It worked, as I haven't noticed as many pigeons around Lisbon.
Bottom right - I didn't realize the Hungarians had a good sense of humour, but obviously this pet owner has!
Much was left unseen of course - we didn't go to Hero's Square, which my daughter visited as she and her in-laws stayed one more day, or we didn't get to see the Castle, Parliament, or Hero's square all lit up at night.  Karina has sent me some photos and they are beautiful!
Hero's square - statues

Gellert Hill - St Stephen's church, Fisherman's Bastion, and Parliament on the other side of the Danube


Goodbye Budapest - the family in front of the sign


The only downside I encountered in Budapest was seeing so many people smoke - on the streets, in demarcated zones in cafes and restaurants, outdoor esplanades... The rate of smokers is also high in Portugal, but I found in Budapest there were a lot more smokers, mainly young people.

Cigarettes can only be sold in licensed shops, and apparently sales have fallen 40% in the last couple of years...so I can imagine it was a lot worse before!

    

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In Dubai, Jose and I took different flights - he was flying to Sydney and I was flying to Perth. 

His flight departed about 1 hour before mine, but we sat outside my departure lounge for a while (it was just 2 lounges down from his).
We were chatting in Portuguese and a lady about my age approached us and asked if we could help her. She was Brazilian, travelling overseas for the first time, couldn't speak English and was trying to send her daughter a message on WhatsApp to notify her she had arrived safely in Dubai, but she couldn't get the airport wi-fi working.

She was also travelling to Perth, and I told her it was 3am in Perth, not to worry as her daughter would most likely be asleep.
Jose tried in vain to connect to the wi-fi but couldn't either, so I offered for her to send the daughter a message with my mobile.
A short while later I went with my husband to his departure door to say goodbye and then returned to my lounge again.

I spotted the lady again, sat next to her and we chatted about our jobs (both in medical clinics), our children, life in Brazil...
Inside the plane we sat almost in the same row but on opposite sides of the plane. The flight wasn't full and I managed to get the seat next to me to stretch a little bit and managed a few hours sleep.
When we were given our disembarkation cards I walked to her seat to make sure she knew how to fill it in, but her daughter had sent her a photocopy of what to fill in. 
On the A380 flight home we have 2 hours of free wi-fi and I had sent the daughter a text on WhatsApp to say we would be landing 30 minutes earlier.


At the Perth airport, I stood in the queue behind her in case she needed help and when she was asked if she had anything to declare she turned back to look at me, I asked her and I answered the agent.
I had brought cheese with me from Portugal, so had to declare it and had to go stand with a few other people while the dog came to sniff our bags and we were then allowed to go out.
Outside the lady was waiting for me with her daughter who wanted to thank me personally for helping her Mom.  

I was going to get a taxi home, but the young lady insisted she would take me home, as she lived in a suburb further south from me and driving on the same freeway that would bring me home, so eventually I accepted.
Once in the car she mentioned she would have to drop off her Mom's carry-on bag to a friend as it contained party stuff for a small child who was celebrating a birthday the following day.

I agreed, but when we arrived at the friend's house, they basically unpacked the small bag and then got the big bag from the boot as well and there was more stuff there in between the clothes....anyway I eventually got home one and a half hours later, when it would have taken me half an hour by taxi!
On the positive side I saved the taxi fare of about $50.

At home my cats awaited me, at first looking at me from afar to make sure it was really me, and later they just wanted to sit on top of me and get patted.




At Dubai airport - taking over from Dubai and landing in Perth




                                      From left to right: Fluffy, Shelley and Twiggy



And so ended our 17 day holiday! It was a short holiday, but we managed to see a lot in such a short time and didn't feel rushed or tired from it all.

Strangely enough my husband's idea of a holiday is just sitting somewhere on a beach sleeping, people watching on an esplanade and not having to walk from monument to monument or to be dragged to visit one more church, or mural 😊 ...

My idea of a holiday is to see as much as I can from the city we are visiting, allowing for a few stops to eat and rest my feet - but on this trip Jose never once complained about all the walking we did, maybe because he was busy chatting away in French with the in-laws.  
There were a lot of coffee and food stops during the day though, and he didn't climb Gellert Hill due to his knees, nor did he go into the Synagogue, preferring to sit at the cafe across the street with our son in law drinking coffee and people watching.

Hope you enjoyed my final post about Budapest.

35 comments:

  1. I can't believe how much you packed into seventeen days Sami, incroyable! I'm a bit like yourself, I like to see as much as I can when visiting new places.. all the walking allows for extra eating 😀 I have enjoyed your trip very much, both words and photos ✨

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    1. Thanks Grace, glad I managed to show the best of Budapest.

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  2. Good thing you got the coughing under control - despite the dry air on the flights!
    I´m always afraid I might leave something behind in the plane, too!
    The doors are beautiful indeed.

    Haha, Sami, we are that man! We´re the only ones with a balcony and our neighbour is so jealous they always put down the blinds when we´re outside!
    (He also walked around the house and wanted our mini-antenna to be removed. He cannot see it from his condo!)
    LPs, oh, yes. All the cracking sounds...
    We need such feeders, too! The dog doesn´t look that happy ;-)
    I like that sign with all of you.

    I fail to understand why young people smoke?
    So sad you still have different destinations!
    Great you found that Brazilian lady again and could help her. Rather unusual she spoke no English, though?
    Great you got a ride home this way, too, but, alas! Time consuming after such a long journey!

    Glad Ingo and I are the same, travel-wise.
    Hmm, I´m kinda sad your holiday is over now! Thanks for sharing a great trip.

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    1. Thanks Iris. It is strange the one balcony in the whole building thing though...
      Generally I don't think Brazilians speak English that well, at least we get a lot of young Brazilians coming to Australia to study English.
      We both still commuting between Perth and Sydney...

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  3. Your cats are gorgeous and I'll bet they were thrilled to have their mom home. And wonderful of you to help the woman from the airport through customs and all. You are truly kind and that is such a gift in this world.

    I loved every moment of your trip. The doors are fabulous -- you should do a collage of those on a poster to frame. Really stunning. And I loved that opening blue wall by the cafe! Really, I've learned so much about places of which I knew nothing and that's what always excites me about blogging!

    Welcome home!

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    1. Thanks Jeanie, I try to help when I can. I agree with you, through blogging we learn so much about other countries and cultures.

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  4. Yes! Our pets are the real homecoming! Wonderful photos to dream on. Thank You Sami

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    1. Thanks Cloudia, they were certainly happy to have me home again.

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  5. Budapest is a magnificent city! The cats must have wondered if you brought anything home for them.

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    1. Thanks William, no gifts for the cats :)

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  6. Vou voar na Emirates, via Dubai até Paris, daqui a uns dias.
    E, repito, fiquei com uma enorme vontade de visitar Budapeste.

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    1. Boa viagem a Paris Pedro. Também acho que vale a pena a visita.

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  7. I like to do a bit of both when on holiday, visiting places but also just relaxing. Budapest is a very good people watching city. Aren't there just some wonderful doors. It is odd that there is only one balcony. Lucky him. We saw Hero Square. It was only a little interesting and a very vast space. I live in terror of leaving something in seat pockets on a plane.

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    1. I thought that building a bit odd with just 1 balcony. Glad I didn't miss much at Hero's square then. I always check everything before leaving the plane, but about 25 years ago, while traveling with the kids and lots of bags I also left a camera on a plane in South Africa. I noticed it when reaching the terminal, but it was already gone!! I was sad not for the camera but for the photos we had taken with the kids and family, specially with one uncle that died soon after.

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  8. I felt like I knew Budapest after your trip and photos. I really enjoyed every minute of every fun filled post you created while there. It is a beautiful city, yet somehow felt tortured and sad, too. You certainly brought it to life for me.

    Like you, I want to see everything I can during a vacation. I don't like to stop, either. That's one reason I like to travel alone. You would never catch me touring with others, because I much prefer my own pace and my own company. But my travels have been in STATES, not COUNTRIES like yours. And I always drive, too.

    Your trip was sensational, and I keep thinking how much I learned over these past few weeks when you began sharing your photos. Really wonderful and I am grateful you shared these with us.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Elizabeth. I agree that touring with others is not always ideal, I like my own (fast) pace too :)

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  9. I forgot to add how sweet of you to help the lady at the airport. The trip home from the Perth airport reminds me of the saying "no good deed goes unpunished!"

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    1. I didn't know this saying, but it fits the crime I committed, lol. Still it was nice of them to take me home.

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  10. Nos últimos anos a cidade de Budapeste tem servido de cenário para inúmeras produções cinematográficas e séries, como a do inspector Maigret, que tem o actor Michael Gambon como protagonista, devido à grandeza dos seus edifícios e também aos baixos custos de produção. Uma cidade que só pelas imagens que nos ofereceu da sua estadia, se transforma num verdadeiro convite a visitar a capital magiar.Já no que diz respeito à primeira imagem deste post, concordo que o café é a principal refeição do dia, não consigo viver sem ele:)
    Muito bom dia!

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    1. Obrigada pela visita. Uma boa escolha para visitar e certamente um belo cenário para alguns filmes. Não bebo café, mas sei que para muita gente o dia não começa sem ele :)

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  11. You have made the most of it in 17 days I think! You have seen half Europe. I prefer to seen everything on holidays too. We only had beach holidays with the kids when they were small.

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    1. I agree, we saw a lot in 17 days, I don't think we ever had such a rushed holiday. We did a lot of traveling when the kids were small, we lived in Germany and bought an old camping van, and went all over Europe.

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  12. Estou a gostar de fazer esta viagem através das fotografias da minha amiga.
    Um abraço e tenha um bom dia.

    Andarilhar
    Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
    O prazer dos livros

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    1. Obrigada Francisco, foi uma bela viagem.

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  13. Goodness me, what a lot you've seen and done.
    I have enjoyed your posts and pictures very much.

    All the best Jan

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  14. Dearest Sami,
    Wow, quite some adventures here and we both have lived through such special meetings with others at airports. I could fill some stories as well; mostly very warm and friendly. But yours sure was time consuming, ah well, we cannot complain for being safe and always knowing that they meant well.
    Today while driving back and forth to the orthopedic surgeon, Pieter and I talked a lot. As I noticed that so many younger women love to vacation at the beach and 'bake'... Well, that makes them look so old when they age; that's the bill you pay 'later'. Beside from that, both of us never had the patient for sitting still too long. I'm like you, exploring and getting to see as much as we can while being somewhere. Visiting an island is also a challenge as there is not much to explore... But for reading and swimming it is okay!
    Glad you made it back home safely.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Thank you Mariette. I'm not much of a beach person and don't enjoy baking in the sun, if I go to the beach I sit under the umbrella reading a book or magazine.

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  15. Budapest is stunning, was a great trip you had. I have a thing about doors too, I always like a good entrance! I never mind about travelling on my own either as like you there is always something happens to connect you with the people around. Although I must admit I might say a cheery goodbye before the tour which took you three times as long to get home than the taxi! Those cats would have been saying "she's late!!"
    Wren x

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    1. Thanks Wren, glad someone else has a door thing, lol.
      Yes, my cats were super happy to have me home, they didn't leave me alone for a few days, followed me around like dogs.

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  16. Sounds a great trip.
    Your idea of holiday matches mine, Sami. See, do, eat, drink :)

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  17. I'm with you, holidays involve a lot of walking, seeing, photographing to balance all the eating that usually comes along. You really did a lot in 17 days! Now you can take it easier back home with your beautiful cats.

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    1. Thanks Sara, I was surprised how much we did in such a short time!

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