We are off in December to the Christmas markets in Munich. I've been wanting to go to a German Christmas market since I moved over here, so I'm pretty excited. Hope it snows. Also hoping that we'll be able to do a day trip by train to Salzburg and maybe also the Disney castle. But mostly it will be about shopping for charming Christmas presents, drinking gluwhein, eating Lebkuchen and relaxing (and maybe a visit to the Hofbrauhaus too!).
It's also going to be Isabella's first time on a plane. Got any tips on how to entertain a very active baby on a two hour plane journey? And a good, portable, lightweight, easy folding travel pushchair with recline positions?
We have returned from our first family holiday in France. I had hoped to post a short run-down of each day using my mobile (mostly so that I wouldn't forget what we did) but we were so remote we couldn't really get much reception. Our farmhouse was huuuuge. Felt kinda bizarre rattling around in it for the first few days, but we soon got into the hang of 'lazy morning cup of tea on the terrace - wander around the local markets buying food for the day - coffee and light lunch at local bistro/cafe - afternoon sunbaking and swimming back at the farmhouse - lazy evening of fine wine and food' kind of days. We didn't even have a TV, which we worried about at first, but quickly got used to. I even managed to finish one book (albeit not a very good one)!
Sunday Eurotunnel across to France, and looong drive down to the charente region to stay at a friends for the night. Lovely BBQ out in their back garden.
Monday More travelling down to our farmhouse, just outside Bordeaux. Quick trip to local Intermarche to stock up on food.
Tuesday Visit to Castillon, for lunch and to buy more supplies at LeClerc, including some smelly cheese and Bordeaux wines.
Wednesday Coffee and lunch in Monsegur, followed by picturesque and leisurely stroll around the ramparts.
Thursday Morning visit to local markets in Eymet. Great market, lots of stalls and very busy. Very pretty town. Obligatory coffee and lunch at local cafe. Ventured out in the evening for dinner at little restaurant in Monsegur. We were the only customers, and the owners doted on Isabella and entertained her for most of the evening with the 'Cuckoo' game - the French version of peek-a-boo.
Friday Market day in Monsegur. Small market, but have to purchase huuuuge loaf of chocolate brioche.
Saturday Market day in La Reole. Can't beat Eymet. Bit smelly too. And can't find anywhere to have coffee and bite to eat. La Reole is a run-down, depressing town. Did see the oldest town hall in France, built for Richard the Lionheart. That kind of history still amazes me.
Sunday Sunbaking, reading, swimming and eating!
Monday Depart our farmhouse and head north to the coast, for a couple of nights at the beach. End up in St-Jean-De-Mont, and spend an hour or two trying to find accommodation. Pretty scarce unless you have a tent or caravan. End up in the lovely Hotel de Foret.
Tuesday Lazy morning eating and reading, then afternoon at the beach. Unfortunately, St-Jean-De-Mont is a bit tacky and touristy - a bit of a neon extravaganza. But we make the most of being on the beach and take the babe swimming in the ocean for the first time. Gorgeous three course dinner at the local Logis restaurant - great regional food and relatively cheap.
Wednesday In the car, travelling back to London. Highlight of the day is a great motorway services with a Pauls cafe!
So, we arrived safely in Budapest and promptly forgot about our original itinerary, as you do.
Have to say that getting from the airport to the hotel in Budapest is a dream - they have an 'airbus' which takes you direct to your hotel and costs only a little more than the public transport but less than a taxi.
So, we started by exploring our palace of a hotel, and having lunch, coffee and excellent cake in a kavehaus overlooking the Danube, getting some energy for the afternoons sights. Walked over the chain bridge to the Buda side, where we caught the funicular to the top of Castle Hill. Wandered around here for the afternoon really, taking some pics and seeing the sights. The Royal Palace is huge, but you can see the effects of dodgy 70's communist thinking - it's a magnificent building except for the cheap, grey plasticky mirror type replacement windows. Around every corner there seemed to be a beautiful, old, romantic building with a collossal concrete monstrosity sat right next to it. Views from the Old Fishermens Bastion where quite something, but it was really packed. Walked back down the hill to our hotel where we promptly crashed for the evening. Plans to go to Karputia for dinner were sidetracked by our concierge who suggested that it was a bit touristy and very large and instead we booked into a smaller more intimate place called albardos, but we were so tired (or the pregnant lady was) that we cancelled the reservation, soothed our bones in the spa and ordered room service.
Next day we originally had some grand plans to cruise the Danube to a nearby village but it meant an early start which we gratefully skipped. So, after a nice leisurely late start, we walked around the Jewish district and visited Europe's largest and the world's second largest synagogue. Aaron had to wear a yarmulke and that moment made the entire holiday worthwhile! Although it was quite sad to see the memorials to the Hungarians lost in the holocaust.
We then wandered back over the Danube to the Buda side for some afternoon tea at a famous teahouse called the Ruszwurm. I had this huuuuge Ruszwurm Cream Pastry with beautiful mocha coffee and Aaron had sour cherry strudel (see the pic). We earned it after all that walking. After a few hours respite in at the hotel spa, we headed out to a local restaurant recommended by the concierge, one of only a few open on Sundays. It was described as 'simple and unfussy' which gave us the impression that it was going to be a bit sparse and canteen-like, but it was actually quite fancy and the food was divine. Aaron had the best thing on the menu, which I would've had too if I hadn't been pregnant - 'Andrassy-style beef': fillet steak topped with goose liver and camembert with a hazelnut cream sauce and fluffy fried potatoes - and it was divine. I had the hungarian beef which was fillet steak in a tomato and paprika sauce. I'm going back when I'm not pregnant just to have the andrassy dish.
Next morning we got up earlier to indulge in the buffet breakfast before spending the morning wandering along the pedestrianised shopping street (Vaci Utca) on the Pest side to the Central Market Hall (Vásárcsarnok), where we saw more paprika in five minutes than we've both seen in a lifetime. Not to mention some seemingly famous Hungarian liquer called 'Unicum' and some kind of orange or apricot vodka that was for sale all over the place, along with some (ahem) lovely crocheted tableclothes etc. We did buy some little homemade biscuits from one stall and some really cheap Hungarian beer at the Match supermarket. The beer is called Borostuan and it's a tasty, blond beer. Finally, our last stop was the local baths in the city park - Szenchey. I wasn't able to go in due to my 'condition' but Aaron was able to swim about in the thermal baths and relax nicely. We then took one last look at Castle Hill across the Danube before flying back home.
Check out the pics from the weekend.
Back from Whistler, and had an absolutely fantastic time! I can ski! I was rocking down that mountain. On my arse for the first couple of days, granted, but I was doing parallel turns and traversing and even getting up a bit of speed with the rest of them.
Anyway, I was packed off to ski school for the first couple of days, and it was really good. First half day and I flied through Level 1. The second morning I flied through Level 2, had some lunch, came back in the afternoon all cocky and preparing to tackle my first real run, but completely freaked when we got off the chairlift. It just looked way too steep and way too high up. So consequently I pretty much really did get down that thing on my butt. I fell about ten times just getting down this one tiny slope. My knees were seriously knocking with nerves. I finished that day feeling completely bummed and ski-sick. I thought I would never be able to ski by the time the holiday finished (and so never spend any time with the group I was travelling with).
So I decided to sign up for one last lesson the next day - a supergroup, so the class would be limited to a max of three people. And I was so glad I did even though it was expensive - the supergroup was superb, I learnt so much and skiied properly down a green line without falling (much). My instructor did tumble down the side of the piste, and my classmate did twist her knee and needed to be bought down by the 'ski ambulance' but I did ok!
The next day I bunked off school and hit the slopes freestyle. Spent the morning on the lower slopes, but conditions weren't great due to lack of snow. It was very icy and kinda treacherous. So for the afternoon, took a deep breath and headed to the top of Blackcomb. Much more snow and the runs were so much better. Spent the afternoon going up and down the Expressway and the Greenline. It was sunny that day, so the view was gorgeous. Did the same thing for the next few days, but the last two days were different as it was snowing! Visibility was pretty bad, but it was snowing! Anyway, suffice to say that... I loved ski-ing, and loved Whistler.
Photos soon-ish ...
