How much does a week-end in London really Cost???

 I went over to London to meet a friend who was over for a rather sad occasion and as I have known him and his family for a very long time, I really thought it necessary to go over and see him.

Since the cheap airlines came about during the Celtic tiger, you could find flights for ridiculous amounts of money like €20 Euro for a flight, but there is always a catch!  Since the death of the Celtic tiger, the prices have increased.

When I went over last year, my company paid - so it wasn't a question of what I did, the company pays for the flight, hotel and all travel and then gives you a budget of £50 per day for meals, so it's pretty easy to stay with in budget.

So I searched for the Cheapest flight to Heathrow, it was really the first time I was going to London on my own, so I wanted the simplest way without having to find my way around the Tubes or several trains.  I booked my air ticket with Aer Lingus the cheapest air ticket I could find:-

€125.97    -   Air Ticket : Return Dublin - London   
£208.00    -   2 nights, Hotel Accommodation - London (Very nice hotel across from Kensington Gardens)
£ 34.00    -    Heathrow Express Return ticket
£   5.00    -    Tube Ticket to Hotel Stop
£   9.00    -    All day Tube Ticket
£   5.00    -    Tube ticket to Paddington
£ 20.00    -    Meals and Coffee's on the Friday
£ 20.00    -    Meals and Coffee's on the Sat

So there is no such thing as a cheap week-end in London, all in all with the exchange rate and various incidentals it cost me about €500.00, yes I know I could have done it cheaper!  But really at my age I deserve to travel in style.

Thank goodness for friends buying me dinner and lunches while I was there else it would have turned out to be much more expensive.

By the way I am not complaining I just wanted to work out how much a my week-end would cost with my cheap flight!  :)                

2014

Wow, I can't believe I have not written a post for so long! 

I was just saying yesterday how things change when we get older, I have eaten Beetroot, Sweet Potato, Brussels Sprouts and Butternut for the first time in my life.  I don't know how many times my poor mother tried to make me eat any of the above.  I am exploring a lot of food that I would never have eaten before and enjoying some of it.

Today I discovered an Actress who has been around since just after my mother was born, Mamie Van Doren - I was watching a bridal program and she was on it, for an 81 year old WOW she looked fantastic and she has so much history!  Okay she did admit to 2 facelifts but the rest of her body is all natural.

I have to get her biography, I'd say it would be so interesting.

I have not made any new years resolutions this year - decided that what is the point.  Everyone says from January I am going to loose weight, join the gym, stop smoking etc. etc. and before January is out the resolutions are broken.  If you want to do something you should just do it, without committing to a date.

I have decided though that 2014 is all about me, I am tired of always taken the back seat in my life and making everyone else number 1.  Always the one to organize get togethers, always the one to stay in touch.  It's really about time I took a back seat and let someone else do it!   Let's see how many people I hear from.

I don't think it's too much to ask, for years and years I have always been the one to stay in touch, whether it be on Facebook, by e-mail, post etc - so this year is gonna be all about ME.

Happy Halloween

An Irish Autumn

We have really been blessed with the weather in Ireland this year, and I can admit that it's the best summer we have had in the 12 years we have been in this country. 

Last week Shannon was over from South Africa and we had a stunning week-end weather wise.  We took Shannon for a drive down the country and I took some stunning photos, here is a photo taken at Avoca and you would swear it was spring.

Cool maps of the world

Cool maps of the world: A selection of infographic maps that put a cool perspective on the world we live in. @Amazing_Maps https://twitter.com/Amazing_Maps

Photo of the Week - Phil Lynott statue returned

The previously vandalized Phil Lynott statue was returned to it's home on Friday 16th of August, all shiny and bright, just in time for his 64th birthday on the 20th of August.  We got to see it on Saturday while doing the tourist thing round Dublin again!

The Apartment in Budapest

Drinking and Exercise - Don't Mix ...

Love Padlocks

.

WHAT ARE LOVE LOCKS?

In a Park in Budapest, Hungary

On a Statue, on a bridge in Vienna, Austria

We saw these locks in various places on our holiday, does anyone know why people do it?

Week 2 - Working from home in Budapest

So I couldn't get another week off, so I had to compromise and work remotely from Budapest, which is fine as the WIFI has been great so far and I have managed to do my work.

On Monday, I just worked and caught up with all my colleagues as to what they have been doing and what I have been doing, went through my e-mails which weren't as bad as I thought they would be.  It was so hot on Monday, the mercury topped 40 degrees, I took at least 4 cold showers while working.   I was hoping to go out on Monday night, but D and Em had been at the baths on Margret Island and only got home after 8, by the time we ate dinner it was past 9, so no point in really going anywhere.

Tuesday I managed to get through quite a number of compliance tests, chatted to colleagues, cancelled a meeting with my boss in Dublin and managed to leave early, although it wasn't really early as I have been working an hour ahead of Ireland and putting in extra hours.  So I turned off my computer at 5:45 Hungarian time. 

We ambled over the road to the Market stalls and then found a small Market but the guys followed you around, I don't think they were Hungarian probably, the looked more Eastern and were willing to haggle, I am not into that and prefer the Hungarian way, this is the price if you don't like it - then tough.  It's just not in my nature to haggle, if I think it's too expensive I won't buy it.

Wednesday - well today hasn't started off too well, I intended getting up early and going off to the "Market" , they open at 6 in the morning and close at 18:00 and because I have to work until 19:00, I thought I could get up and be there by 7:00 which would give me a couple of hours to browse and then walk back and start working, but of course I woke up late.   Then when I get on-line, I see loads of people in Dublin have their status set to "Green" on-line as well as in the States where it is early hours of the morning there.  This annoys me as it looks like they are working, but they aren't - there really should be a Skype eticate mail sent out to all employees! 

Okay so that is my beef for today, maybe we will go for a walk tonight and I can get some air and not have cabin fever by the end of the day!

We ended up going for a walk and getting ice-creams at the wonderful little place that makes them in the shape of a Rose.

Thursday 1st of August - I managed to get through a lot of stuff today and meetings, so had a shower at about 3 o'clock as I had been working since 7 a.m., got dressed when Em & D got back from their day out and we all went out for Dinner at Spinoza Cafe again, our last night in Budapest - Derrick and I had a Goose leg with Red Cabbage and Potato Gratin, which was really nice.  

Day 7 .... Cooling off on the Northern Shores of Lake Balaton, near Felsoors.

BUDAPEST

Things I have noticed about Budapest - and the I am not insulting anyone here, just my observations:

• The public Transport system seems to work really well and can probably give London a run for their money.
• Pedestrian lights are timed, no buttons to press.
• Metro workers are quite militant and there is no room for error, we got off 2 stops too late and had to pay to go back.
• Majority of Hungarian people are really friendly.
• Most young Hungarians can speak English
• Budapest is a very sophisticated city with beautiful old baroque buildings, probably more than any other big European city that I have been to.
• Vibrant City, with a great night life
• The city never sleeps
• Lots of beggars but they hardly ever approach you
• A lot of grey apartment blocks outside the city, left over from the Communist occupation
• Bottled water is Cheap, a 500ml is no more than 40c at the Spar
• Cigarettes are Cheap about €3.80 compared to €9.80 in Ireland - Derrick is in his element
• The Stall guys near the metro don't haggle you, if you don't want to pay that price then don't buy it.
• Too many beggars rummaging through the dustbins ... so sad

To be continued ...
 

Day 6 .... Austria, Vienna and No Appel Struddel :)

We managed to leave the apartment at 8:00 a.m. this morning, and it was already hot when we left!  The drive from Budapest to Vienna is all on the Autobahn and according to Google Maps a 2 and a half hour drive, but considering that you can really go as fast as you like in the fast lane that is not really true, I think we made it in about 2 hours.

I haven't been to Vienna since January 1985 and when I was there it was January, -27 degrees Celsius and snowing.  We had a day to go and explore and it was so cold, that we got as far as St. Stephens Cathedral, and headed back to the hotel, sat by the fire and drank Whiskey. 

So this time, we drove right into the city centre, when we saw that the parking garage was charging €4.70 an hour we decided to find parking somewhere else, we found a little side road on the far end of the river, but at least we didn't have to pay for parking.

It was so hot, I am sure it was close to 40 degrees Celsius we felt like we were melting.  I was quite surprised that they had a place with drinking water where you could fill up your water bottle and cool down with a gentle spray.  We walked around what seemed like hours, the cathedral is under renovation so you could not see too much.

Eventually after taking many photographs, a couple of ice-creams and loads of water, a few souvenirs, (I was tempted to get the T-shirt "There are no Kangaroo's in Austria" for Wendy), we headed back to the car, it was scorching. 

We left Vienna and Austria and headed back to Budapest, we stopped in Gyor but it was just too hot to even think about walking around, 38 degrees Celsius at 15:30 in the afternoon, so we picked up some supplies and headed back to Pest and our lovely apartment.

I just never knew a person could sweat so much, by the time we climbed the stairs, I could ring the sweat out of my clothes.

Even the cold shower I took about an hour ago is no longer relieving this hot body!
 

Day 5 ... Margaret Island, Pest, Hungary

The plan was to go to Vienna on Friday, but maybe a good thing we didn't.  The city seems to be pretty quiet on a Saturday.   So instead of heading out in the car, which was probably a good thing too as the traffic seemed murderous.   I googled the swimming pool on Margaret Island and it was relatively cheap, cheaper than Aquaworld, so that was it descision made.

I wrote down the directions from Google maps:

From Déak Ferenc Tér take the M3 Subway towards Ujpest-kozk
-> Go 2 stops and get off at Nyugati Pályaudvar 300 HUF each
-> Walk to Nyugati pályaudvar M
-> Take Bus Nr. 26 Arpád hid M (8 stops) 350 HUF each after first having to find out where to buy the ticket, so had to go back to the Metro get a ticket and then wait for the next bus.  Metro tickets are used for both the bus and the underground.

Getting pretty good at this, except we didn't get off at the right stop, but that wasn't a problem we walked back, it was a beautiful walk through the park, very leafy with an ice-cream stop on the way.  You can also rent a bicycle or a Golf cart to travel around the Island, something we need to do.

So arrived at Palatinus Strand - the huge complex is fed by the Margaret Island thermal springs and consists of three thermal pools, an extra-large swimming pool, a smaller artificial wave pool, a water slide.  We spent most of the time in the pool cooling off, had a really nice shwarma for lunch and then headed home at about 7 PM.   Again needing a shower by the time we got home!

Really nice relaxing day.  

Day 4 ... Lake Balaton Siófok and Keszthely

Getting up early has not been easy, so when we eventually got up on Thursday we headed over to the car park to fetch the car and drove down to Lake Balaton.

The lake is the largest in Europe and stretches over 80km's in length.   We stopped at the first part of the lake in Siófok, it was quite different, people walking down the streets to the lake with nothing but their bathing suits on, and they came in all different sizes, shapes, ages it didn't matter.  If there was a 60 year old, very round and dangling breasts and she wore a bikini so what!

Day 3 ... picking up the car and out and about ...

I booked a car for a few days so we could do a bit of travelling around, so today we had to go and fetch the car.  A short walk to the Metro and this time on the Metro 3 Blue line - 450 HUF each to get to Gyongyosi Utka and the Car Rental place.

It was a short walk from our destination and when we got there we were so hot, after all the formalities of filling in the forms, the guy told us that he had upgraded us by two classes at no extra cost, so instead of a little car that we wanted we ended up getting a Big Kia station wagon.  So glad I have a hubby that nothing is a challenge for him.

We noticed where we got off the train there was a shopping mall, so first stop on the list was the shopping mall, and lunch.  Em got McDonald's, the first time this holiday and D and I had a schwarma or shish kebab, which was very nice, and cheap our meal for 2 schwarmas and 2 drinks was the equivalent of €7.00.

After lunch we got a couple of groceries and headed back to the parking garage near the apartment, and D got us there without any problems, what a super star.  We decided to get a sat nav which I don't think we will really need, but rather safe than sorry (especially as D doesn't like to ask directions).  He has already started swearing at the woman giving directions on the Garman.

After we got home it was very hot, so we chilled for a few hours and at about 6 o'clock I suggested we take a walk down to St. Stephens Basilica - a beautiful building, I haven't read too much about it yet, Em was dying for an ice-cream so we went to this little ice-cream shop where they make the ice-cream on the cone in the shape of a Rose, too beautiful.  I will have to add all my photos at a later stage.

We then walked down to the Danube to the Chain bridge, watched the Sun City over Buda.  We then walked through all the shopping streets in Pest and had dinner at a little Italian Restaurant.  From there we walked back to the apartment, and almost got lost but all was saved when I asked directions twice!!! (Note twice honey, because you didn't believe the first guy).


 

Day 2 Budapest ... Metro, Aqua world, Heroes Square, Spinoza Café

We got going at about 10 this morning, Emily wanted to do the Aqua park which is miles outside of Budapest.  I had read that we could get a free shuttle from Hero's square, I just remembered Trinity's words to me "Nothings for Free".  Anyway we found the Metro 1 (orange Route) which would take us to Hero's Square, however nothing is in English and I forgot the map at home, so instead of getting off at our stop, we ended up going all the way to the end of the line, where we should have got off 2 stops earlier.

So we got off and deliberated about walking or going back, we first tried to go back, but the metro workers who I must say are quite militant told us we had to buy another ticket.

Firstly there are NO family or child tickets on any public transport, so we had paid 350 HUF each one way and to go back 2 stops we had to pay another 300 HUF each.  We finally arrived at Hero's square only to be told by the guys from the hop on hop off bus, that the next shuttle to Aqua world was in 2 and 1/2 hours, and if we wanted we could do the bus trip and come back in time for the shuttle else we could get bus number 230.

Not knowing where the bus was we just decided to hop in a taxi and 5000 HUF later we arrived at our destination.   We had purchased entrance tickets for Aqua world from the Hop on hop off guys for 9000 HUF. 

The Aqua world was everything you can imagine, kids world with 17 pools and tons of rides, I settled outside by the outdoor pool in the shade and was quite happy.

Em was in her element and so was Dad.  We eventually left and found the bus nr. 230 to Heroes square 450 HUF each later and we were back at Heroes Square to take the Metro back into town.  Whoever said that Budapest was cheap are wrong!

By the time we got off the metro, we were all fairly hungry - after walking up and down roads looking for somewhere to eat, we were about to settle on Hummus a place not to far from where we are staying, but D poked his nose in to some restaurant and called me over.  They had food, I was happy, feet tired and very hot. 

The name of the restaurant was Spinoza Café and what a nice little restaurant, at the front door an elderly gentleman was playing the Piano, spilling out tunes from "Over the Rainbow" to "Moon River" and many more.   There were loads of tourists and I was amazed at how patrons younger than ourselves were loving the Piano, maybe it is making a come back.

We had a delightful meal, tipped the pianist and eventually made our way home.