Parliament in Budapest

Budapest, A Walking City

History of Budapest

The ancestors of the modern Hungarians are the Magyars who migrated from the Urals in 896. Hungary crowned its first King, Stephen, in 1000.  The country, becoming one of the largest monarchies, flourished under King Mátyás ’ rule from 1458-90.

The Ottomans, however, captured Buda in 1541 and made it the capital of Ottoman Hungary.  To quell their advance, Habsburg led Austria occupied western Hungary.  In 1686 Christian armies led by the Habsburg finally defeated the Ottoman.

TAKE A WALK!

Nice, France is Nice!

Nice is so nice!

We woke at 4:30 to get to our 7 am flight on Easy Jet.  The early time doesn’t really matter to me since I never seem to adjust to the European clock.  They fly A300’s but proceeded to tell me my flight attendant travel pro roller board suitcase wouldn’t fit in the overhead bin, and I had to pay $50 Euros to check it…what a scam!

Anyway, we made it to Nice and took a taxi to our hotel, Beaux Rivage, which was lovely.  We arrived very early and they tried very hard to accommodate us.  The lady at the front desk was superb.  Our TV in our room didn’t work, so we couldn’t check in eventhough we said we won’t be watching it! As a result, we simply checked our bags, and wandered over to the flower market area to find a place to eat.  The flower market wasn’t selling flowers today, but was more like a flea market selling all types of antiques and collectibles, and it was surrounded by cafes.  We selected the first café we saw on the corner because we were starving!  I snacked on yogurt and bread while Theresa opted for a chicken sandwich. Continue reading “Nice, France is Nice!” →